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The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Contributors 2023

Walter A. Brown

  • Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Contributors 2023
  • Sport(s): Basketball & Hockey Owner
  • Statistics: 7 NBA Championships (1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963 & 1964)

    Member of the Basketball Hall of Fame

    Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame

    Member of the IIHF Hall of Fame

    “Number 1” retired by the Boston Celtics
  • Walter A. Brown succeeded his father as the manager of the Boston Garden, and he believed that it should be the house of a permanent basketball team. Brown put his money where his mouth was by mortgaging his home, forming the Boston Celtics, and co-founding the Basketball Association of America. The BAA would merge with the National Basketball League in 1949, and the formation of the NBA as we know it occurred with the Celtics as an original team.



    Brown hired Red Auerbach in 1950, and the Celtics would become a dynasty in the late 1950s and 1960s. Brown passed away in 1964, but he did see his team win seven NBA Championships.



    While Brown is far more recognized for basketball, his contributions to hockey were nearly as equal. Brown, who coached the Boston Olympics to five Eastern Hockey League Championships, bought the Boston Bruins in 1951 and kept them financially solvent. He was also the president of the International Ice Hockey Federation from 1954 to 1957.



    We are proud to nominate Walter A. Brown for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.
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