#22, Ed Macauley, “Easy Ed”, Center, 1950-1956
Born in St. Louis in 1928, Ed Macauley attended Saint Louis University from 1945 to ‘49, where he was First Team All-American in 1948 and ‘49 and Second Team in 1947.
He was drafted as a territorial pick by the St. Louis Bombers in 1949, but the team folded in 1950 and Macauley was picked up by the Boston Celtics. He became one the team’s best players of the 1950s, making First Team All-NBA in 1951, ‘52 and ‘53, and Second Team in ‘54. He was also an All-Star in seven straight years, from 1951 to ‘57, and led the league in field goal percentage in 1953 and ‘54. He scored a career high of 46 points in a March 1953 win against the Minneapolis Lakers.
In 1956, Macauley requested a trade to his hometown St. Louis Hawks so he could spend more time with his son who was ill at the time. This worked out well for the Celtics, as he was traded for the Hawks’ second overall pick, center Bill Russell. Macauley was an All-Star his first year back in St. Louis, which saw the Hawks making the NBA Finals, although they lost to Russell and the Celtics. The following year, The Hawks met the Celtics again in the finals and won.
Macauley only played 14 games in 1958-59 before becoming head coach of the Hawks part way through the year, a position he held through the ‘59-60 season. The Hawks made it back to the finals in 1960, but again lost to the Celtics.
Ed Macauley currently sits at 19th all time in points among Celtics players. His career highs include a 49% field goal percentage that led the league in 1953-54, and 20.4 points per game in ‘50-51. His number “22” was retired by the Celtics in 1963, and along with Reggie Lewis, Macauley is one of only two Celtics players to have their number retired without winning a championship in Boston. At the time, Macauley was already a Hall of Famer, having been inducted in 1960 at age 32, still the youngest person ever inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Ed Macauley died in November of 2011 at the age of 83.
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