Thomas William Tommy

Professional Basketball Player. He was also a coach and commentator. He attended college at Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts on a scholarship and became the school's all-time leading scorer with 1789 points, an average of 22.1 points per game. He scored 51 points in a game against Boston College during his senior year, setting a school record. His Number 24 has been retired by Holy Cross. He then went on the play with the Boston Celtics of National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1965. In his first season, he got to play in an NBA All-Star Game, was named the NBA Rookie of the Year over teammate Bill Russell, and won his first championship ring. He was part of a Celtics team that won eight NBA titles in nine years, including seven in a row between 1959 and 1965. In NBA history, only teammates Russell and Sam Jones won more championship rings during their playing careers. During his playing career, he was named to six All-Star teams. His number 15 was retired by the Celtics in 1965. For six decades, he was associated with the Boston Celtics for six decades as a player, coach and broadcaster. After playing for the Celtics from 1956 to 1965, he also coached the team from 1969 to 1978. He 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 next season, the Celtics won the championship, and they claimed another title in 1976. He accumulated a career coaching record of 427–263. He also was the color commentator for over 30 years for the Celtics' local broadcasts alongside play-by-play commentator Mike Gorman. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his contributions as a player and also for his success as a head coach. He also helped form the NBA Players Association. He was the only person to have the distinction of being involved in an official team capacity in each of the Celtics' 17 championships, as well as each of their 21 NBA Finals appearances.