1958 NBA Finals

1958 basketball championship series August 2023 1958 NBA Finals championship banner, St. Louis Hawks.jpg 1958 NBA champions banner at State Farm Arena NBA 1958 Boston Celtics Red Auerbach 2 St. Louis Hawks Alex Hannum 4 March 29–April 12 Celtics:Bill Russell (as a player and coach) Andy Phillip Arnie RisenTom Heinsohn (as a player and coach) Bob CousyFrank Ramsey Sam Jones Bill Sharman (as a player and coach) Hawks: Slater Martin Ed Macauley Cliff Hagan Bob Pettit Coaches: Alex Hannum Red Auerbach Celtics defeated Warriors, 4–1 Hawks defeated Pistons, 4–1 The 1958 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series for the 1957–58 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. It pitted the Western Division champion St. Louis Hawks against the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics. The Hawks won the series in six games to win the franchise's first and only NBA title. This was the last Finals until 1967 that was not won by the Celtics, and the last until 1971 that was won by the Western Division or Conference. As of , this is the only championship won by the Hawks, who currently possess the second longest championship drought in the NBA, and the fifth longest championship drought in North American sports.https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/49054611/longest-title-droughts-nba-finals-mlb-world-series-nfl-super-bowl-nhl-stanley-cup ESPN staff Knicks' victory takes them off the list of longest title droughts ESPN June 14, 2026 June 14, 2026 Recap After being defeated by the Celtics in Game 7 of the 1957 NBA Finals, St. Louis survived a sometimes difficult 1957-58 NBA season en route to winning the Western Division crown with a 41–31 record. The Celtics, meanwhile, had dominated the Eastern Division with a 49–23 record.http://www.nba.com/history/finals/19571958.html NBA.com: Pettit Drops 50 on Celtics in Game 6 NBA.com 2007-05-27 https://web.archive.org/web/20120222184959/http://www.nba.com/history/finals/19571958.html 2012-02-22 dead This was the third meeting between teams from Boston and St. Louis for a major professional sports championship.https://sports.yahoo.com/boston-st-louis-meet-for-11-th-time-only-two-to-meet-in-nfl-mlb-nba-and-nhl-045852356.html Boston & St. Louis meet for 11th time, only two to meet in NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL finals Flores Jr. Johnny Yahoo Sports May 21, 2019 December 16, 2024 The Hawks upset the Celtics (with a healthy Russell) in Game 1 at the Boston Garden, 104–102.https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/195803290BOS.html St. Louis Hawks at Boston Celtics Box Score, March 29, 1958 Boston struck back with a wipeout in Game 2, 136–112.https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/195803300BOS.html St. Louis Hawks at Boston Celtics Box Score, March 30, 1958 In St. Louis, the Hawks prevailed 111–108 in Game 3 when Russell severely sprained his ankle.https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/195804020STL.html Boston Celtics at St. Louis Hawks Box Score, April 2, 195857-58Finals Without Russell, the Celtics evened the series with a 109-98 surprise victory in Game 4.https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/195804050STL.html Boston Celtics at St. Louis Hawks Box Score, April 5, 1958 St. Louis forced a 102–100 win in Game 5 in Boston to take the series lead.https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/195804090BOS.html St. Louis Hawks at Boston Celtics Box Score, April 9, 195857-58Finals Back home in Kiel Auditorium on April 12, the Hawks weren't about to miss their opportunity to defeat the defending champions. Pettit turned in a spectacular performance. He scored 31 points in the first three quarters, then zoomed off in the final period, nailing 19 of his team's last 21 points. His last two points, on a tip-in with 15 seconds remaining, put the Hawks ahead 110–107. The Celtics scored one final bucket but could do no more. The Hawks finally had a title, 110–109.57-58Finals Pettit had scored 50 points, including 18 of the Hawks' final 21 points in propelling the Hawks to the championship.https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/195804120STL.html Boston Celtics at St. Louis Hawks Box Score, April 12, 1958 Pettit's 50 points set a new Finals record for most scored by a player in a series-clinching game, a record that would be tied by Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2021. Most observersMarch 2019 figured that the Celtics probably would have won the 1958 title if Russell had not suffered his ankle injury in game 3.57-58Finals Auerbach, however, found no comfort in that opinion. "You can always look for excuses," he said. "We just got beat."57-58Finals Series summary Game Date Home team Result Road team Game 1 March 29 Boston Celtics 102–104 (0–1) St. Louis Hawks Game 2 March 30 Boston Celtics 136–112 (1–1) St. Louis Hawks Game 3 April 2 St. Louis Hawks 111–108 (2–1) Boston Celtics Game 4 April 5 St. Louis Hawks 98–109 (2–2) Boston Celtics Game 5 April 9 Boston Celtics 100–102 (2–3) St. Louis Hawks Game 6 April 12 St. Louis Hawks 110–109 (4–2) Boston Celtics Hawks win series 4–2 Team rosters St. Louis Hawks St. Louis Hawks 1957–58 11 Jack Coleman PF 6 7 195 Louisville basketball 1924-05-23 12 Walt Davis PF 6 8 205 Texas A&M 1931-01-05 16 Cliff Hagan SF 6 4 210 Kentucky 1931-12-09 20 Ed Macauley C 6 8 185 Saint Louis 1928-03-22 22 Slater Martin PG 5 10 170 Texas 1925-10-22 21 Jack McMahon SG 6 1 185 St. John's 1928-12-03 12 Red Morrison C 6 8 220 Idaho 1932-04-26 17 Med Park SG 6 2 205 Missouri 1933-04-11 9 Bob Pettit PF 6 9 205 Louisiana State 1932-12-12 19 Frank Selvy GF 6 3 180 Furman 1932-11-09 13 Chuck Share C 6 11 235 Bowling Green 1927-03-14 15 Win Wilfong PG 6 2 185 Memphis 1933-03-18 Alex Hannum https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1958-nba-finals-hawks-vs-celtics.html Boston Celtics Boston Celtics 1957–58 14 Bob Cousy G 6 1 175 1928-08-09 Holy Cross 15 Tom Heinsohn F/C 6 7 218 1934-08-26 Holy Cross 24 Sam Jones basketball, born 1933 SG 6 4 198 1933-06-24 North Carolina Central 16 Jack Nichols basketball F/C 6 7 222 1926-04-09 Washington 17 Andy Phillip G 6 2 195 1922-03-07 Illinois 23 Frank Ramsey basketball G/F 6 3 190 1931-07-13 Kentucky 19 Arnie Risen F/C 6 9 200 1924-10-09 Ohio State 6 Bill Russell C 6 9 215 1934-02-12 San Francisco 21 Bill Sharman G 6 1 175 1926-05-25 USC 29 Lou Tsioropoulos F 6 5 190 1930-08-31 Kentucky Red Auerbach https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1958-nba-finals-hawks-vs-celtics.html Game summaries Game 1 #eee March 29 Recap OT St. Louis Hawks 104 102 Boston Celtics Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 17–23 42–30 21–30 24–19 Cliff Hagan 33 Bob Cousy 27 Bob Pettit 19 Bill Russell 29 Jack McMahon 5 Bob Cousy 5 Heft, Rudolph St. Louis leads the series, 1–0 Game 2 #eee March 30 Recap St. Louis Hawks 112 136 Boston Celtics Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 25–33 35–35 28–38 24–30 Cliff Hagan 37 Bob Cousy 25 Cliff Hagan 12 Bill Russell 27 Hagan, Pettit, McMahon 3 Bob Cousy 10 Rudolph, Heft Series tied, 1–1 Game 3 #eee April 2 Recap Boston Celtics 108 111 St. Louis Hawks Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri 25–23 24–26 26–34 33–28 Frank Ramsey 29 Bob Pettit 32 Bill Russell 13 Bob Pettit 19 Bob Cousy 7 Jack McMahon 7 Heft, Rudolph St. Louis leads the series, 2–1 Game 4 #eee April 5 Recap Boston Celtics 109 98 St. Louis Hawks Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri 25–16 32–35 27–20 25–27 Bob Cousy 24 Cliff Hagan 27 Cousy, Ramsey, Heinsohn 13 each Bob Pettit 17 Bob Cousy 10 Wilfong Share 9 each Heft, Rudolph Series tied, 2–2 Game 5 #eee April 9 Recap St. Louis Hawks 102 100 Boston Celtics Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 26–18 32–25 26–27 18–30 Bob Pettit 33 Frank Ramsey 30 Bob Pettit 21 Frank Ramsey 20 Slater Martin 5 Bob Cousy 5 Rudolph, Heft St. Louis leads the series, 3–2 Game 6 #eee April 12 Recap Boston Celtics 108 111 St. Louis Hawks Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri 18–22 34–35 25–21 32–32 Bill Sharman 26 Bob Pettit 50 Arnie Risen 13 Bob Pettit 19 Bob Cousy 9 Rudolph, Heft St. Louis wins the NBA Finals, 4–2 See also 1958 NBA playoffs References 1957-58 NBA Season Summary, basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 29, 2014. External links NBA History Finals Category:NBA Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals Category:Basketball competitions in Boston Category:Basketball competitions in St. Louis NBA Finals, 1958 NBA Finals, 1958 NBA Finals NBA Finals