Thomas William Heinsohn (August 26, 1934 – November 9, 2020) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player, coach, and broadcaster. He was associated with the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(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 spent over 30 years as the

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

for the Celtics' local broadcasts alongside play-by-play commentator Mike Gorman. He is regarded as one of the most iconic Celtics figures in the franchise's history, known during his lifetime for his charisma and loyalty to the team and its traditions. From this, he earned the nickname "Mr. Celtic". Heinsohn was inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

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

Early life

Thomas William Heinsohn was born on August 26, 1934, in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

. Heinsohn moved while in elementary school to

Union City, New Jersey Union City is a City (New Jersey), city in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was List of municipalities in Ne ...

, where he was a standout at St. Michael's High School.

College career

Heinsohn accepted a scholarship to Holy Cross in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

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 Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

, and averaged 27.4 points per game and 21.1 rebounds per game for the season.

Professional career

Boston Celtics (1956–1965)

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

, Heinsohn was chosen as the

'regional', or 'territorial', draft pick. In his first season, Heinsohn played in the

NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is the annual all-star game hosted each February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's All-star, star players. Since 2022, it was held on the third Sunday of ...

and was named the NBA Rookie of the Year over teammate

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played Center (basketball), center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. He was t ...

. He finished his rookie season by winning his first championship ring, scoring 37 points and grabbing 23 rebounds in the double-overtime 7th game of the NBA Finals. Heinsohn was part of a Celtics squad that won eight NBA titles in nine years, including seven in a row between

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

and

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

. In NBA history, only teammates Russell and Sam Jones won more championship rings during their playing careers, and Heinsohn's streak of going to the NBA Finals each season of his nine-year career is unmatched. Heinsohn was also the first in NBA history to score 1,000 points in the NBA Finals. Heinsohn retired after nine seasons due to a foot injury. During his playing career, Heinsohn was named to six All-Star teams. On the day his teammate and fellow Holy Cross Crusader

Bob Cousy Robert Joseph Cousy ( , born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. He played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time NBA ...

retired, Heinsohn scored his 10,000th career point. His number 15 was retired by the Celtics in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

. Off the court, Heinsohn played an important leadership role in the NBA Players Association. He was the association's second president, following founding president

, and was instrumental in the league's acceptance of a pension plan for players following a showdown at the All-Star game in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, in which the All-Star players, led by Heinsohn, threatened to strike.

Coaching career

Boston Celtics (1969–1978)

left, 150px, Heinsohn as Celtics' head coach in 1975 Heinsohn became the Celtics' head coach beginning in the 1969–70 season, following Bill Russell's retirement as both player and coach. Initially, the team missed Russell's impact, and the Celtics struggled in both 1969–70 and 1970–71, failing to reach the playoffs in both seasons. The team broke through the following season, making the conference finals. Heinsohn then 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 playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

by the eventual champion

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

. To date, this is the best regular season record in Celtics history. The next season Heinsohn and the Celtics won the championship, and they claimed another title in

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

. Between 1971–72 and 1975–76 seasons, the Celtics would win at least 50 games a season. The team would take a step back in the 1976–77 season, finishing 44–38, and was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs. The Celtics started poorly in the 1977–78 season, and were 11–23 after a loss to the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

in late December. Heinsohn would leave the team shortly thereafter, replaced by his former teammate and coaching assistant Tom "Satch" Sanders. 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. 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.

Broadcasting career

Heinsohn's broadcasting career began in

, calling

play-by-play In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...

for WKBG's Celtics broadcasts, after being asked by

Red Auerbach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. As a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he led the Boston Celtics to an unprecedented champio ...

. He spent three seasons in this role before becoming coach in 1969. From

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, Heinsohn was the Celtics' road play-by-play man on

WFXT WFXT (channel 25) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network and owned by Cox Media Group. Its studios are located on Fox Drive (near the Boston-Providence Turnpi ...

, WSBK and WABU. In

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, Heinsohn joined Mike Gorman as

on PRISM New England, which held the Celtics' television broadcasts. They became one of the longest-tenured tandems in sports broadcasting history. Occasionally,

made appearances with the tandem of Heinsohn and Gorman. On Celtics broadcasts, Heinsohn liked to point out players who displayed extra hustle to help the team by giving them "Tommy Points." One player in each game had exceptional play and hustle highlighted for the
Tommy Award
. During broadcasts he was known for his sense of humor and indignantly questioning game officials when he felt calls against the Celtics were made in error. 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 Brent Woody Musburger (born May 26, 1939) is an American sportscaster, currently the lead broadcaster and managing editor at Vegas Stats and Information Network (VSiN). With CBS Sports from 1973 until 1990, he was the original host of their ...

, Verne Lundquist, and

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

during his time with CBS. Heinsohn also called NCAA college basketball during the Men's Tournaments starting with the 1986–87 season, later devoting more time to calling college games for CBS than the pros, being used for regular season as well as tournament games until the 1990 NCAA men's basketball tournament. For NCAA games, Heinsohn was typically paired with Verne Lundquist. After the 1987 NBA season, Heinsohn was moved from the primary color analyst role to 2nd on the network's depth chart, being paired with Brent Musburger for the 1987–88 season, calling solely playoff games. Heinsohn in the 1988–89 season again only called playoff games, paired with Verne Lundquist. In his final season, Heinsohn called a regular-season game for CBS as well as early-round 1990 NBA playoff games with James Brown.

Personal life and later career

Heinsohn was married to Diane Regenhard. Their marriage ended in divorce. Tom and Diane Heinsohn had three children: Paul, David, and Donna. He had 5 grandchildren: Danielle, Victoria, Brooke, Adrian, and Christopher. Heinsohn's second wife was Helen Weiss, who died in 2008. Away from the court, Heinsohn enjoyed

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and playing

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

; he once headed a

life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typical ...

company. In 1988, he wrote a memoir titled "Give 'em the Hook", with writer Joe Fitzgerald.

Death

Heinsohn died at his home from

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

on November 9, 2020, at the age of 86.

Awards and honors

*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

inductee (as a player in 1986, and as a coach in 2015) *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

Regular season

Playoffs

Coaching record

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Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

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NBA Championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heinsohn, Tom 1934 births 2020 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American color commentators American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American people of German descent American television sports announcers Basketball coaches from New Jersey Basketball players from Jersey City, New Jersey Boston Celtics announcers Boston Celtics draft picks Boston Celtics head coaches Boston Celtics players Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball players Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees NBA All-Stars NBA championship–winning head coaches NBA players with retired numbers National Basketball Players Association presidents National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Power forwards Sportspeople from Union City, New Jersey St. Michael's High School (Union City, New Jersey) alumni 20th-century American sportsmen

Early life

College career

Professional career

Boston Celtics (1956–1965)

Coaching career

Boston Celtics (1969–1978)

Broadcasting career

Personal life and later career

Death

Awards and honors

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Coaching record

See also

References

External links