#18 Jim Loscutoff, “Loscy,” Forward, 1955-1964
Born in San Francisco in 1930, Jim Loscutoff attended Grant Technical College near Sacramento, California from 1948 to 1950 before attending the University of Oregon off and on from 1950 to ‘55, making First Team All-Conference in his last year. He was drafted third overall by the Boston Celtics relatively late at age of 25.
The Celtics wanted to bolster their weak defense as a compliment to their already strong offense. Loscutoff set a then-team record of 26 rebounds in a single game during his rookie season. Their defense was further strengthened when they drafted future Hall of Fame center Bill Russell the following year.
The team won their first NBA Championship in 1957 against the St. Louis Hawks. Although Loscutoff wasn’t known for putting a lot of points on the board, he scored the winning free throws in double overtime in the deciding game. Loscy would win six more rings in Boston, first in 1959 against the Minneapolis Lakers, in ‘60 and ‘61 against the Hawks, in ‘62 and ‘63 against the now Los Angeles Lakers, and in ‘64 against the San Francisco Warriors. The Celtics made the finals in 1958 as well, but lost to the Hawks.
The team wished to retire Loscutoff’s number “18” after his retirement in 1964, but he asked that it be kept in circulation so it could be worn by a future Celtic. Instead, the team raised a banner bearing his nickname of “Loscy” to the rafters, and in 1970, a rookie center named Dave Cowens began wearing number “18.”
Loscutoff currently sits at number 42 all time among Celtics players in points, and his career highs include 10.6 points and 10.4 rebounds in 1956-57, despite playing less than 32 minutes per game. He scored a career high 26 points in a November 1956 win against the Minneapolis Lakers. Jim Loscutoff died in December of 2015 from complications of Parkinson’s disease at the age of 85.
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