1961 NBA Finals

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1961 NBA finals
TeamCoachWins
Boston Celtics Red Auerbach 4
St. Louis Hawks Paul Seymour 1
DatesApril 2–11
K. C. Jones (1989)
Satch Sanders (2011)
Hawks:
Bob Pettit (1971)
Cliff Hagan (1978)
Clyde Lovellette (1988)
Lenny Wilkens (1989)
Coaches:
Red Auerbach (1969)
Eastern finalsCeltics defeated Nationals, 4–1
Western finalsHawks defeated Lakers, 4–3
← 1960
NBA finals
 1962 →

The 1961 NBA World Championship Series was the

1960–61 season in North America. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Division champion St. Louis Hawks and the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics. This was the fourth and final World Championship Series meeting between the two teams, and was the fifth meeting between teams from Boston and St. Louis for a major professional sports championship.[1]
It was also the Celtics' fifth straight trip to the championship series, and they won the series against the Hawks, 4–1.

As of 2025, this remains the Hawks’[note 1] last appearance in the NBA Finals, the second-longest drought behind the Kings franchise who last played in the NBA Finals in 1951.

Series summary

Game Date Home team Result Road team
Game 1 April 2 Boston Celtics 129–95 (1–0) St. Louis Hawks
Game 2 April 5 Boston Celtics 116–108 (2–0) St. Louis Hawks
Game 3 April 8 St. Louis Hawks 124–120 (1–2) Boston Celtics
Game 4 April 9 St. Louis Hawks 104–119 (1–3) Boston Celtics
Game 5 April 11 Boston Celtics 121–112 (4–1) St. Louis Hawks

Celtics win series 4–1

Team rosters

Boston Celtics

1960–61 Boston Celtics roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
F/C 17 Gene Conley 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Washington State
G
 		14 Bob Cousy 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Holy Cross
F
 		20 Gene Guarilia 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) George Washington
F
 		15 Tom Heinsohn 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Holy Cross
G
 		25
K. C. Jones
 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) San Francisco
G/F 24 Sam Jones 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 198 lb (90 kg) North Carolina Central
F
 		18 Jim Loscutoff 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Oregon
G/F 23 Frank Ramsey 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Kentucky
C 6 Bill Russell 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) San Francisco
F
 		16 Satch Sanders 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) NYU
G
 		21 Bill Sharman 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) USC
Head coach
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

St. Louis Hawks

1960–61 Western Division Champions St. Louis Hawks roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
SG 11 Al Ferrari 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1933–07–06 Michigan State
C 13 Larry Foust 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1928–06–24 La Salle
PG 17 Si Green 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1933–08–20 Duquesne
SF 16 Cliff Hagan 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1931–12–09 Kentucky
SF 19 Fred LaCour 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1938-02-07 San Francisco
C 34 Clyde Lovellette 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 234 lb (106 kg) 1929–09–07 Kansas
SG 15 Johnny McCarthy 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1934–04–25 Canisius
PF
 		9 Bob Pettit 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1932–12–12 LSU
SG 25 Dave Piontek 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1934–08–27 Xavier
PF
 		21 Woody Sauldsberry 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1934-07-11 Texas Southern
PG 32 Lenny Wilkens 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1937-10-28 Providence
Head coach

Paul Seymour

Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster

Box scores

April 2
St. Louis Hawks 95, Boston Celtics
129
Scoring by quarter: 26–30, 22–26, 25–35, 22–38
Pts: Cliff Hagan 33
Rebs: Cliff Hagan 13
Asts: Hagan, Sauldsberry
4 each		 Pts: Tom Heinsohn 26
Rebs: Bill Russell 31
Asts: Bob Cousy 7
Boston leads series, 1–0
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 11,531
April 5
St. Louis Hawks 108, Boston Celtics
116
Scoring by quarter: 32–27, 20–26, 23–31, 33–32
Pts: Cliff Hagan 40
Rebs: Bob Pettit 19
Asts: Cliff Hagan
6		 Pts: Bob Cousy 26
Rebs: Bill Russell 28
Asts: Bob Cousy 14
Boston leads series, 2–0
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 13,909
April 8
St. Louis Hawks
124
Scoring by quarter: 31–28, 35–38, 31–32, 23–26
Pts: Russell, Heinsohn 24 each
Rebs: Bill Russell 23
Asts: Bill Russell
9		 Pts: Bob Pettit 31
Rebs: Bob Pettit 24
Asts: Si Green 7
Boston leads series, 2–1
April 9
St. Louis Hawks
104
Scoring by quarter: 28–31, 24–25, 39–26, 28–22
Pts: Cousy, Sanders 22 each
Rebs: Bill Russell 24
Asts: Bob Cousy
12		 Pts: Bob Pettit 40
Rebs: Bob Pettit 18
Asts: Cliff Hagan 7
Boston leads series, 3–1
Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 10,442
April 11
St. Louis Hawks 112, Boston Celtics
121
Scoring by quarter: 39–33, 22–29, 23–37, 28–22
Pts: Bob Pettit 24
Rebs: Pettit, Sauldsberry 11 each
Asts: Johnny McCarthy
6		 Pts: Bill Russell 30
Rebs: Bill Russell 38
Asts: Bob Cousy 12
Boston wins series, 4–1
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 13,909

In Bill Sharman's final NBA game, the Celtics closed out the championship.

See also

References

  1. ^ Flores Jr., Johnny (May 21, 2019). "Boston & St. Louis meet for 11th time, only two to meet in NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL finals". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved December 16, 2024.

Notes

  1. ^ The Hawks franchise relocated to Atlanta for the 1968–69 season.

References

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