1961 NBA Finals

1961 basketball championship series August 2023 NBA 1961 St. Louis Hawks Paul Seymour 1 Boston Celtics Red Auerbach 4 April 2–11 Celtics: Bob Cousy (1971) Bill Russell (1975)Bill Sharman (1976)Frank Ramsey (1982)Sam Jones (1984)Tom Heinsohn (1986 as player, 2015 as coach)K. C. Jones (1989)Satch Sanders (2011, contributor) Hawks:Bob Pettit (1971)Cliff Hagan (1978)Clyde Lovellette (1988)Lenny Wilkens (1989) Coaches: Red Auerbach (1969) Celtics defeated Nationals, 4–1 Hawks defeated Lakers, 4–3 The 1961 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1961 NBA playoffs, which concluded the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 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.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 It was also the Celtics' fifth straight trip to the championship series, and they won the series against the Hawks, 4–1. As of , this remains the Hawks’The Hawks franchise relocated to Atlanta for the 1968–69 season. 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 Boston Celtics 1960–61 17 Gene Conley C/F 6 8 225 Washington State 14 Bob Cousy G 6 1 175 Holy Cross 20 Gene Guarilia F 6 5 220 George Washington 15 Tom Heinsohn F 6 7 218 Holy Cross 25 K. C. Jones G 6 1 200 San Francisco 24 Sam Jones basketball, born 1933 G/F 6 4 198 North Carolina Central 18 Jim Loscutoff F 6 5 220 Oregon 23 Frank Ramsey basketball G/F 6 3 190 Kentucky 6 Bill Russell C 6 10 215 San Francisco 16 Satch Sanders F 6 6 210 NYU 21 Bill Sharman G 6 1 175 USC Red Auerbach St. Louis Hawks St. Louis Hawks 1960–61 11 Al Ferrari SG 6 4 190 Michigan State 1933–07–06 13 Larry Foust C 6 9 215 La Salle 1928–06–24 17 Si Green PG 6 2 185 Duquesne 1933–08–20 16 Cliff Hagan SF 6 4 210 Kentucky 1931–12–09 19 Fred LaCour SF 6 5 210 1938-02-07 San Francisco 34 Clyde Lovellette C 6 9 234 Kansas 1929–09–07 15 Johnny McCarthy SG 6 1 185 Canisius 1934–04–25 9 Bob Pettit PF 6 9 205 LSU 1932–12–12 25 Dave Piontek SG 6 6 230 Xavier 1934–08–27 21 Woody Sauldsberry PF 6 7 220 1934-07-11 Texas Southern 32 Lenny Wilkens PG 6 1 180 1937-10-28 Providence Paul Seymour https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1961-nba-finals-hawks-vs-celtics.html Box scores #eee April 2 Boxscore St. Louis Hawks 95 Boston Celtics 129 26–30 22–26 25–35 22–38 Cliff Hagan 33 Cliff Hagan 13 Hagan, Sauldsberry 4 each Tom Heinsohn 26 Bill Russell 31 Bob Cousy 7 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 11,531 Boston leads series, 1–0 April 5 Boxscore St. Louis Hawks 108 Boston Celtics 116 32–27 20–26 23–31 33–32 Cliff Hagan 40 Bob Pettit 19 Cliff Hagan 6 Bob Cousy 26 Bill Russell 28 Bob Cousy 14 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 13,909 Boston leads series, 2–0 #eee April 8 Boxscore Boston Celtics 120 St. Louis Hawks 124 31–28 35–38 31–32 23–26 Russell, Heinsohn 24 each Bill Russell 23 Bill Russell 9 Bob Pettit 31 Bob Pettit 24 Si Green 7 Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri 8,468 Boston leads series, 2–1 April 9 Boxscore Boston Celtics 119 St. Louis Hawks 104 28–31 24–25 39–26 28–22 Cousy, Sanders 22 each Bill Russell 24 Bob Cousy 12 Bob Pettit 40 Bob Pettit 18 Cliff Hagan 7 Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri 10,442 Boston leads series, 3–1 #eee April 11 Boxscore St. Louis Hawks 112 Boston Celtics 121 39–33 22–29 23–37 28–22 Bob Pettit 24 Pettit, Sauldsberry 11 each Johnny McCarthy 6 Bill Russell 30 Bill Russell 38 Bob Cousy 12 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 13,909 Boston wins series, 4–1 In Bill Sharman's final NBA game, the Celtics closed out the championship. See also 1961 NBA playoffs 1960–61 NBA season References Notes note References "1960-61 NBA Season Summary", basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2014. External links 1961 Finals at NBA.com 1961 NBA Playoffs at Basketball-Reference.com Finals Category:NBA Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals Category:Basketball competitions in Boston Category:Basketball competitions in St. Louis Category:1961 in Boston Category:1960s in St. Louis Category:Events at the Boston Garden