The Celtics have come a long way since the vintage New York Original Celtics. The team that used to battle all-black teams like the New York Rens, Commonwealth Big Five, Ciralsky Meat Packers, and the Harlem Globetrotters, now is an all-black team. Then … Bangin’ hard meant giant thigh bruises (Hall of Fame center Joe [...]
The Celtics have come a long way since the vintage New York Original Celtics.
The team that used to battle all-black teams like the New York Rens, Commonwealth Big Five, Ciralsky Meat Packers, and the Harlem Globetrotters, now is an all-black team.
Then …
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… promoting a game against the Commonwealth Big Five:
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And now …
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To learn a whole lot more about the New York Original Celtics, check out a great book by Penn State professor Murry Nelson called The Originals
Meanwhile, will today’s Celtics, their fans, and coach “Doc” Rivers need this book?
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Or will the Boston Celtics throw this book at the Los Angeles Lakers?
We’ll find out tonight with N.B.A. Finals Game 1 in Boston!
(Original Celtics photo courtesy of Bettman Archives; Boston Celtics photo courtesy of Getty Images.)
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Bangin’ hard meant giant thigh bruises (Hall of Fame center Joe Lapchick)
The 
Can today’s Celtics bang as hard?
The Original Celtics have no affiliation with the Boston Celtics.
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Hey Joe, thanks. We know that … just trying to make a point and have some fun with it. The only affiliation is the “Celtics” part of the name and the shamrock. But yes, we could have stated that clearly.
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That picture is of last year’s celtics team, you know the one that won 24 games and then all got traded?
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How do I get a copy of the photo of the five Original Celtics. In the early ’50s Johnny Beckman took me to a Knicks game honoring the Original Celtics and had the team members who attended autograph some Knickerbocker stationary. I want to frame the autograph with a picture.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
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[...] time, Joe Lapchick, was born on April 12, 1900 in Yonkers, New York. Lapchick was a star with the New York Original Celtics and other pro hoops teams during the 1920s and 1930s. For nearly two decades, his Celtics engaged [...]
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