The Boston Celtics nation mourns the loss of a former Celtics Legend as “Easy Ed” Macauley has passed away. A lot of people might be unfamiliar with his work as a player due to the fact his biggest move in the NBA was being a part of a trade that set the wheels in motion for Boston Celtics to become the league’s most dominant force. Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagen were the centerpieces of the trade that netted Boston the rights to one Bill Russell in a trade with St. Louis. Being traded for the greatest winner of all time is obviously going to cast a shadow on your career. However, “Easy Ed” had a great career with many great accomplishments.
Before Russell, Ed was the Celtics best player by far. After staring at St. Louis University by leading them to the NIT title, he was drafted by the original St. Louis Bombers. Luckily for Boston the team folded and Boston got the scoring machines rights. The man would lead Boston in scoring and keep the team relevant. The man earned six all star trips in Boston and even earned the first MVP in the inaugural game. After being traded to St. Louis, Macauley’s Hawks would be one of the few teams to taste victory over a Russell led Celtics team as the Hawks would win the NBA crown in 58 over Boston to avenge their 57 title loss. Macauley finished with 11,234 points in ten NBA seasons with a 17.5 career scoring average. After his career was over Ed was honored with his number 22 being retired by Boston, A star on the St. Louis Walk Of Fame, and the NBA basketball Hall Of Fame.
