(Editor’s Note: In these times of sporting uncertainty, we are re-running some classic columns from the vault of the sports department at the Recorder. Former scribe and editor Jason Butynski wrote his “Jaywalking” column for over a decade until leaving the department to take a job in the Greenfield schools last year. This “Jaywalking” appeared in the January 12, 2015 edition of the Recorder.)
It’s amazing where a story can lead you.
Two days before Christmas, I touched on some of the history of Nichols Gymnasium in Greenfield. The gym opened when the new high school opened up in 1958 and has all sorts of stories to tell from its 57 years of service to the area.
After the story ran, I heard from a few people with tales to tell — things I missed or never knew even happened.
One of those people was David Fitz of Greenfield. I had a voicemail two days before New Year’s Eve from Fitz, telling me he had a great story about the time that the Boston Celtics played at Nichols Gym.
If you are over the age of 60, you might actually remember those days. I don’t, but have received a bunch of second-hand schooling from locals, including Fitz.
The NBA was not nearly as popular in the 1950s and ’60s as it is today. Formed in 1946, the league was still in its infancy in 1958. To grow its fan base, the Boston Celtics actually traveled around New England playing preseason games in country gyms. Those travels actually brought the Celtics to Greenfield on at least two occasions. I also found out from others that the Celtics also played preseason games in South Deerfield during that time.
Fitz attended a pair of Celtics games at Nichols Gymnasium, and not only does he still have the programs from each game, he has each program signed by every member of both teams.
The first time the Celtics came to Nichols Gymnasium was Oct. 15, 1958. In fact, it was the first basketball game played at the new gym, with the Celtics taking on the Cincinnati Royals, now the Sacramento Kings. The 1958-59 Celtics were one of the greatest collections of NBA players ever, winning eight straight NBA titles beginning that 1958-59 season. Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Tommy Heinsohn, Sam Jones and K.C. Jones were on the roster, and the club was coached by Arnold Auerbach, better known as Red. It’s odd, though, because looking back on it now, we all know how special each of these Hall of Famers was. But at that time it didn’t seem to be that big of a deal. Here’s what Recorder-Gazette scribe Jim Fox wrote that day of the game under the headline, “Cousy & Co. Give New Gym First Test Tonight.”
“The Celtics play the Royals tonight at 8 at the new high school gym and the game has created the closest thing to local ticket scalping since the GHS-Weymouth football game of 1951. About four years back the Celtics played before something less than a capacity house in Turners Falls against the Lenox Merchants.
But since those days the Celtics evidently have grown more famous. Or perhaps then it’s the lure of seeing two NBA teams for the price of one. At any rate, tickets are few and far between for the exhibition tilt …”
That does not sound like the preview for a game featuring a Hall of Fame lineup. In fact, as the story goes on, the biggest storyline that day was whether or not the gym ceiling at Nichols was too low.
Is it true that somebody goofed and constructed the new GHS gym ceiling, or beams, too low? Come tonight and decide for yourself … Even if the roof is too low (we didn’t say it was), notice the fact that the town has a basketball emporium seating more than 800 is worthy of celebration.
The gymnasium wound up filled to capacity. In fact, the next day’s newspaper had a small story about the Greenfield Rotary Club offering an apology because the specifications of the gym stated that it could seat 1,360 patrons. The Rotary sold 1,300 tickets to ensure that everyone would fit, but an estimated 60 or 70 people were forced to stand, which led to six complaints.
The next day the Recorder had a headline that included the subhead “And Russell Didn’t Bump His Head,” and although the story was all about the Celtics’ 102-97 victory in which Cousy scored 16 points, and Sam Jones added 15, the story did end with the following sentence:
“P.S. — The ceiling is low. But Russell didn’t scrape his head, so everything seems to be OK.”
One of the people in the gym that night was Fitz, who went to the game with another Greenfield native, Tom Jones. The two were 13-year-old boys at the time, and Fitz said they didn’t know they would be witnessing such a heralded collection of players.
“The Celtics were young and in their infancy and trying to build their fan base,” he said.
After the game the boys made their way back to the Celtics locker room. There was no security, according to Fitz, because it was a different time.
“After the game we just walked into the locker room,” Fitz said.
The two boys got their programs signed by each of the Celtics that night, and they were back the following year, when the Celtics returned to Greenfield to take on the Minneapolis Lakers, led by Elgin Baylor. Fitz again got his program signed in the locker room after the game. The interesting thing about that program is that Auerbach’s name was misspelled (it was missing the “e”) – hard to imagine, given that he is considered one of, if not the greatest NBA coach of all time.
Fitz, who said he is not a fan of the Celtics or the NBA nowadays, does still have both programs in great condition. Neither program sees much in the way of daylight, as they remain squirrelled locked away in a lock-box, and he doesn’t really know what he is going to do with them. He has considered sending both to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, but doesn’t know what their interest would be. He said he has never considered selling them, although I figured they might fetch a few bucks.
With that in mind, I stopped by Baseball Treasures in Greenfield, which is next to the Garden Cinemas. Owner Skip Price was behind the counter and I brought pictures of both programs to see what they might be worth. He said that the programs were very nice, but didn’t know what the market would be. Neither program has been authenticated, which would cost a couple hundred bucks, and even if they were, the collection of signatures might only be worth a few hundred bucks. Price said it’s hard to determine the market because there is nothing to compare it to. I found a Russell autograph as part of the 1956 Olympic team that was selling for $300, while a Russell and Wilt Chamberlain autographed 8 by 10 picture was going for $250. I would think all those autographs could fetch at least $500, but as I said, Fitz was not looking to sell.
So there you go. The first-ever basketball game to ever be played in Nichols Gym was a Celtics game. Just another piece of our area’s history.
One other thing that was pointed out to me from the Celtics’ programs both years was the team’s trainer, Buddy LeRoux. I had never heard about LeRoux, but apparently he got his start in sports as a trainer for the Celtics, Bruins and eventually Red Sox. LeRoux took the money he earned as a trainer and invested in real estate, and eventually had enough money to put together a group of businessmen who purchased the Red Sox in 1977 from the widow of Tom Yawkey, who had passed away in 1976. By 1983 the team was not very good and attendance was down, and the partners began fighting amongst each other. By 1985, he no longer owned the team.
Jason Butynski is a Greenfield native who wrote for the Recorder from 2006-2019. His Jaywalking column appeared every Tuesday.