On this day in Boston Celtics history, future Celtics player, head coach, and general manager of the storied franchise Michael Leon “ML” Carr was born in Wallace, North Carolina back in 1951.
Carr, who is one of several former Celtics players to coach the team after having played for Boston (along with Tommy Heinsohn, Satch Sanders, Dave Cowens, Chris Ford, KC Jones, and Bill Russell), played his collegiate basketball with the Guilford Quakers, an NCAA Division III school. The North Carolina native got his start in pro ball in the American Basketball Association (ABA — a competing league that would merge with the NBA in 1978).
He played with the ABA’s Spirits of St. Louis before leaving the league to play for the NBA’s Detroit Pistons.
Boston Celtics’ Robert Parish takes a shot over Houston Rockets Mike Dunlevy (10), Moses Malone, center, and Major Jones while Celtics M.L. Carr (30) and Larry Bird watch during the second quarter National Basketball Association Championship on May 13, 1981. (AP Photo)
He joined the Celtics in 1979 as a free agent after winning All-Defensive Second Team honors with Detroit, helping catapult a floundering Celtics squad back into contention that had plummeted to the bottom of the standings the season before.
Carr was known as much for his tenacious defense as his towel-waving and aggression towards hecklers and opposing teams alike.
Nov 22, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Former Boston Celtics players Gerald Henderson and ML Carr take in a game against the Houston Rockets at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Carr would return to Boston as coach in 1994 after his six seasons and two championships with the Celtics as a player, though the coaching era was far less memorable.
ML had the dubious honor of leading the team to its worst record in history in the second and last year of his tenure as head coach, replaced by Rick Pitino in 1997.
(AP Photo/John Spivey)
It is also the date of former Celtic power forward Brandon Hunter’s debut with the team in a 107 – 82 thrashing of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Ohio University product had been taken by Boston with the 56th pick of the 2003 NBA draft and scored 2 points, a rebound, and an assist in his first-ever NBA game for a modest debut.
Finally, it is also the date we lost Celtics short-timer Moe Becker in 1996. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1917, the Duquesne alum played just 6 games for Boston in their inaugural season of 1946-47.
Becker averaged 2.2 points per game over that stretch — rest in peace.
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Story originally appeared on Celtics Wire
