The Boston Celtics are the class of the NBA. One of the league’s original franchises, the club is a true standard-bearer. The Celtics are as close to genesis as you can get in pro ball.

But what if the Boston Celtics weren’t the originals? What if the darlings of the NBA are themselves an homage to a forgotten era of basketball?

The New York Celtics

The game of basketball was formed in 1891, and in the early twentieth century, it had grown in popularity across the country. By 1898, the first professional league – the National Basketball League – had already been formed. Still, the homogeny of rules and hierarchy in the game we know today was lacking. Amateur leagues and circuits gained steam as new professional outfits jockeyed for notoriety well into the twentieth century.

In 1911, the New York City Bureau of Recreation opened its first public basketball leagues. Settlement houses often fielded teams comprised of tenants and neighborhood teens. As Murry Nelson explained in his book The Originals: The New York Celtics Invent Modern Basketball, the first Celtics team was a settlement house club comprised of largely Irish immigrants living in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.

(Note: Murry’s book is the most comprehensive source on this subject I could find. For more information, I recommend picking up a copy.)

The New York Celtics officially hit the scene in 1914, with a man called Frank McCormack as the manager. The team enjoyed modest success and a sizable fanbase, but disbanded in 1917 when the US entered World War I.

Though this first chapter of Celtics basketball was a short one, the end of the war would bring about a second-coming for the C’s and a new era in the game of basketball.

The Original Celtics

Jim Furey was a 25-year old department store cashier when World War I came to a close in 1918. It was Furey and his brother Thomas who sought to reorganize the New York Celtics into something larger.

The brothers had been granted control of the Celtics by McCormack, who left New York to fight in the war. The Furey brothers believed in professional basketball could be a way to earn money and fame. The Celtics’ small but loyal following would be key to its success.

The earning potential for basketball players and clubs at this time was growing. Individuals would play for multiple teams, riding the train up and down New York to earn several pay checks in a weekend. Some players were known across NYC as a result. At the same time, immigrants groups in the city saw sport as a means of cultural assimilation and acceptance. There was a ripe market for players and fans at this time.

Jim Furey sought to capitalize on this trend. He cleverly renamed the New York Celtics to the Original Celtics, and began signing players in 1918.

Some men, such as John Peter Barry, were holdovers from the first amateur C’s team. At the same time, Furey brought aboard big name stars from all over NYC, including a handful of New York City All Stars. Crucially for the Original Celtics, most of its core players moonlighted throughout the week. Celtics games were Saturdays and Sunday nights; unlike their competition, this team could count on having its best players in the starting line up for most matches.

The Original Celtics were a juggernaut. In 1919, the team won 65 of 69 games, drawing crowds in the several thousands. As Prohibition set in, New Yorkers were hungry for new forms of entertainment. At the same time, Furey’s team was comprised of Irish, German, Swedish, Dutch, and Jewish players. The team had a fanbase that transcended the many cultural and ethnic divides of the city. Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden only strengthened the team’s allure.

The Barnstorming era

Without a single, dominant basketball league in the city, the Celtics bounced between associations in the early twenties. By 1923, the Original Celtics went the barnstorming route, taking pro ball on the road across the Northeast and Midwest. The team could earn several thousand dollars for a single appearance.

The Celtics were one of the hottest tickets around. They were among the first clubs to sign exclusive contracts, and were known for their dazzling ball-handling and fast rate of play. Murry writes that one Pittsburgh Post article claimed the team would, “[pass] with such speed as to even leave the referee in arrears and [toss] the basketball around as if it were a mere baseball…”

The Celtics didn’t stop there. The club is credited with developing advantages that are essential elements of today’s game. This includes attacking in the post, playing a zone defense, and switching defensive assignments. In fact, one of the team’s long-time members, Henry “Dutch” Dehnert is considered the father of the modern pivot.

The Original Celtics couldn’t be stopped. In 1922-23, the team reportedly won a whopping 90 percent of its games. It finished that year with a gargantuan record of 193-11-1. Wherever they went, the Celtics dominated.

In 1926, however, the American Basketball League was formed. Its developer, George Preston Marshall, prohibited ABL teams from playing against the Celtics. As a result, the Original Celtics reluctantly abandoned life on the road and joined the ABL.

The Celtics went on to win the first two ABL titles, much to the chagrin of opposing clubs. In response, the ABL disbanded the C’s. Attendance dropped considerably, and by 1931, the ABL folded.

The Original Celtics would attempt several comebacks, in New York leagues as well as on the road as a barnstorming tour. The original glory and success never returned, however. By 1941, the team was finished.

Today, the Original Celtics are enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame, a testament to the clubs sensational success and impact on today’s game. The NBA’s Boston Celtics, though, are perhaps the team’s greatest legacy.

The Boston Celtics

In 1946, Walter Brown, the head of the Boston Garden Arena Corporation, sought to form a basketball club. The new Basketball Association of America started in that same year, and Brown wanted in.

Brown toyed with a few names for his team at first. He considered the Unicorns, the long-standing mascot of the Boston Athletic Association. The Olympians and the Whirlwinds were also on the table.

Brown ultimately picked the Celtics, a direct homage to the winning tradition of the Original Celtics. And as Brown himself explained, it didn’t hurt that Boston was full of Irish-Americans. The Boston Celtics were born, joining the NBA a few years later in 1949.

Were it not for the New York Celtics and the Original Celtics, Brad Stevens could very well be coaching the Boston Unicorns in the upcoming NBA season. Instead, he and his Celtics preside over a rich basketball legacy of innovation and dominance.

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