Today in Boston Celtics history: Sharman deal; Conley draft; Wagner, Morrison born; '64 title

Today in Boston Celtics history, Bill Sharman was traded to the Celtics in 1951 from the then Fort Wayne Pistons (now the Detroit Pistons), who had acquired Sharman earlier that year in a dispersal draft from the now-defunct Washington Capitals.

A native of Abilene, Texas, Sharman played his college basketball at the University of Southern California before being selected by the Capitals in the 1950 NBA Draft as the 17th overall pick. During his ten-season tenure with Boston, Sharman won four championships and was selected for eight All-Star games, earning All-Star MVP honors in 1955, as well as being named to seven All-NBA teams.

He retired as a player in 1961 to go into coaching and became the first person in North American sports history to win titles as a player, coach, and executive.

Transactions

It was on this day that the 1952 NBA Draft was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with the Celtics taking Gene Conley with the 90th overall pick out of Washington State (there were many more rounds to the draft in that era). Conley played four seasons with Boston in two stints, the middle broken up with five seasons playing for the Milwaukee Braves baseball team, with whom he won an MLB national championship in 1957. He won three NBA championships with the Celtics in the second stint, between 1959 and 1961.

Speaking of Conley, on this day, the 1961 NBA Expansion draft was held to populate the roster of the newly-created Chicago Packers. They took the place of the defunct Chicago Stags, and would eventually become the Washington Wizards after several moves and rebrandings. Conley was selected from Boston’s roster as an unprotected player but never played for the Packers, instead electing to play baseball for the Boston Red Sox.

Birthdays

It also happens to be the birthday of Celtics short-timer Moritz Wagner, born this day in 1997 in Berlin, Germany. An alum of Michigan, Wagner was picked up by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2018 NBA Draft. He played for that club and the Washington Wizards before he was dealt to Boston in a three-team deal in 2021 that sent Daniel Theis and Javonte Green to the Chicago Bulls. Wagner was cut that April but averaged 1.2 points and 2.1 rebounds while with the Celtics.

Wagner shares that birthday with Dwight “Red” Morrison, who was born in 1932 in Fresno, California on this date. An Idaho alum picked up by Boston with the 14th overall pick of the 1954 NBA Draft. Morrison played 142 games over two seasons with the Celtics before retiring to go into construction (yes, really!). He logged 3.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, and an assist per game while with the team.

Gone too soon

This is also the date that Boston wing Al Lucas left us in 1995.

Lucas played his college ball at Fordham and spent his first four seasons as a pro playing for the (defunct) Sheboygan basketball club of the National Basketball League (NBL — a predecessor league of the NBA) before joining Boston for just 2 games in 1948. He recorded a point and an assist per game over that stretch — rest in peace.

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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics history: Sharman deal; Conley draft; Wagner, Morrison born; '64 title