Tom Heinsohn

Thomas William Heinsohn (born August 26, 1934) is an American former professional basketball player. He has been associated with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for six decades as a player, coach and broadcaster. He played for the Celtics from 1956 to 1965, and also coached the team from 1969 to 1978. He has since spent over 30 years as the color commentator for the Celtics' local broadcasts alongside play-by-play commentator Mike Gorman. He has been regarded as one of the most iconic and charismatic Celtics of the 1950s-60s championship teams, being called “the godfather of the city of Boston,” by former teammate John Havlicek.

Tom Heinsohn
Heinsohn at the 2008 championship parade for the Boston Celtics
Personal information
Born (1934-08-26) August 26, 1934
Jersey City, New Jersey
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight218 lb (99 kg)
Career information
High schoolSaint Michael's
(Union City, New Jersey)
CollegeHoly Cross (1953–1956)
NBA draft1956 / Pick: Territorial Pick
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Playing career1956–1965
PositionPower forward
Number15
Career history
As player:
1956–1965Boston Celtics
As coach:
1969–1978Boston Celtics
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

Career statistics
Points12,194 (18.6 ppg)
Rebounds5,749 (8.8 rpg)
Assists1,318 (2.0 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
Basketball Hall of Fame as coach
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2006

Tom Heinsohn has been granted Hall of Fame status for his contributions as a player. He has also been inducted into the Hall of Fame for his success as a head coach. He also helped form the NBA Players Association. Heinsohn is the only person to have the distinction of being involved in an official team capacity in each of the Celtics' 17 championships, as well as each of their 21 NBA Finals appearances.

Biography

College career

Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Heinsohn was a standout at St. Michael's High School in nearby Union City. He accepted a scholarship to Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts and became the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,789 points, an average of 22.1 points per game. During his senior year, Heinsohn scored a school record 51 points in a game against Boston College.

Professional career
Heinsohn during a game against the Philadelphia Warriors, circa 1962

In 1956, Heinsohn was chosen as the Boston Celtics 'regional', or 'territorial', draft pick. In his first season, Heinsohn played in an NBA All-Star Game, was named the NBA Rookie of the Year over teammate Bill Russell, and won his first championship ring. He was part of a Celtics squad that won eight NBA titles in nine years, including seven in a row between 1959 and 1965. In NBA history, only teammates Russell and Sam Jones won more championship rings during their playing careers. During his playing career, Heinsohn was named to six All-Star teams. On the day his teammate and fellow Holy Cross Crusader Bob Cousy retired, Heinsohn scored his 10,000th career point. His number 15 was retired by the Celtics in 1965.

Off the court, Heinsohn played an important leadership role in the NBA Players Association. He was the association's second president (following founding president Bob Cousy), and was instrumental in the league's acceptance of free agency following a showdown at the All-Star game in 1964, in which the All-Star players, led by Heinsohn, threatened to strike.

Coaching career

Heinsohn became the Celtics' head coach beginning in the 1969–70 season. He led the team to a league best 68–14 record during the 1972–73 season and was named Coach of the Year, although Boston was upset in the playoffs. The next season Heinsohn and the Celtics won the championship, and they claimed another title in 1976. He accumulated a career coaching record of 427–263.

On February 14, 2015, it was announced that Heinsohn would be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame for a second time as a coaching inductee.[1] He is one of five members of the class of 2015 who were directly elected and is just one of four people to be inducted as both a player and coach.[1]

Broadcasting career

Heinsohn's broadcasting career began in 1966, calling play-by-play for WKBG's Celtics broadcasts, after being asked by Red Auerbach.[2] He spent three seasons in this role before becoming coach in 1969. From 1990 to 1999, Heinsohn was the Celtics' road play-by-play man on WFXT, WSBK and WABU.

In 1981, Heinsohn joined Mike Gorman as color commentator in the Celtics' television broadcasts; they have since become one of the longest-tenured tandems in sports broadcasting history. Occasionally, Bob Cousy makes appearances with the tandem of Heinsohn and Gorman. For a time in the 1980s, Heinsohn was in the same capacity during CBS's playoff coverage of the NBA (with Dick Stockton), calling four Finals from 1984 to 1987, three of which involved the Boston Celtics against the Los Angeles Lakers. Heinsohn also teamed with Brent Musburger and James Brown during his time with CBS.

On Celtics broadcasts, Heinsohn likes to point out players who display extra hustle to help the team by giving them "Tommy Points." One player in each game has exceptional play and hustle highlighted for the "Tommy Award". During broadcasts he is known for his sense of humor and indignantly questioning game officials when calls against the Celtics appear to be made in error.

Away from the court, Heinsohn enjoys painting and playing golf; he once headed a life insurance company.

Recently, Heinsohn has worked fewer games due to age and health issues. Brian Scalabrine, the Celtics' studio analyst, has filled in for Heinsohn during his rare absences at home games and now has taken over for Heinsohn on all road games. He started to take on this role during the 2012–13 NBA season, and during the 2014–2015 NBA season became full-time on road games. When the Celtics are having a road game, Heinsohn works as a studio analyst on the Celtics' television broadcasts.

Awards and honors
The number-15 jersey was retired by the Boston Celtics in 1966.
  • 10-time NBA Champion (eight as a player, two as a head coach)
  • 1957 Rookie of the Year
  • Six-time NBA All-Star
  • 1973 Coach of the Year
  • Two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (as a player in 1986, and as a coach in 2015)[3]
  • Recipient of the 1995 Jack McMahon Award by the National Basketball Coaches Association
  • Recipient of the 2009 Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award by the NBA Coaches Association
  • Number 15 retired by the Boston Celtics.
  • Number 24 retired by Holy Cross

NBA career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship

Regular season
Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1956–57† Boston 72 29.9 .397 .790 9.8 1.6 16.2
1957–58 Boston 69 32.0 .382 .746 10.2 1.8 17.8
1958–59† Boston 66 31.7 .390 .798 9.7 2.5 18.8
1959–60† Boston 75 32.3 .423 .733 10.6 2.3 21.7
1960–61† Boston 74 30.5 .400 .767 9.9 1.9 21.3
1961–62† Boston 79 30.2 .429 .819 9.5 2.1 22.1
1962–63† Boston 76 26.4 .423 .835 7.5 1.3 18.9
1963–64† Boston 76 26.8 .398 .827 6.1 2.4 16.5
1964–65† Boston 67 25.5 .383 .795 6.0 2.3 13.6
Career 654 29.4 .405 .790 8.8 2.0 18.6

Playoffs
Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1957† Boston 10 37.0 .390 .710 11.7 2.0 22.9
1958 Boston 11 31.7 .351 .778 10.8 1.6 17.5
1959† Boston 11 31.6 .414 .661 8.9 2.9 19.9
1960† Boston 13 32.5 .419 .750 9.7 2.1 21.8
1961† Boston 10 29.1 .408 .767 9.9 2.0 19.7
1962† Boston 14 31.8 .399 .763 8.2 2.4 20.7
1963† Boston 13 31.8 .456 .765 8.9 1.2 24.7
1964† Boston 10 30.8 .389 .810 8.0 2.6 17.4
1965† Boston 12 23.0 .365 .625 7.0 1.9 12.7
Career 104 31.0 .402 .743 9.2 2.1 19.8

Coaching record
Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Boston 1969–70 823448.4156th in Eastern Missed Playoffs
Boston 1970–71 824438.5373rd in Eastern Missed Playoffs
Boston 1971–72 825626.6834th in Eastern1156.455 Lost in Conf. Finals
Boston 1972–73 826814.8291st in Atlantic1376.538 Lost in Conf. Finals
Boston 1973–74 825626.6831st in Atlantic18126.667 Won NBA Championship
Boston 1974–75 826022.7321st in Atlantic1165.545 Lost in Conf. Finals
Boston 1975–76 825428.6591st in Atlantic18126.667 Won NBA Championship
Boston 1976–77 824438.5372nd in Atlantic954.556 Lost in Conf. Semifinals
Boston 1977–78 341123.3243rd in Atlantic (released)
Career 690427263.619804733.588
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See also

References
  1. Forsberg, Chris (February 14, 2015). "Tommy pointed to Hall again as coach". ESPN. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  2. Jason Gay 2016. "Tommy Heinsohn Is Forever Celtic Green," Wall Street Journal, April 10, p. D10.
  3. "Five Direct-Elect Members Announced for the Class of 2015 by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame" (Press release). Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. February 14, 2015. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
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