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SQ12#40 Celtics’ Ownership: A Tale of Two Brown’s
John Y. Brown and Walter A. Brown both played key roles in the history of the Boston Celtics. Their tenures provide a stark contrast in the effects they had on that storied franchise. It is probably safe to say they represented opposite ends of the ownership spectrum.
Dateline: September 9, 2012––21 days until the start of training camp!
Walter was the first owner and a key in the formation of the NBA—helping merge the Basketball Association of America, he helped found, with the National Basketball League in 1949. He had founded the Boston Celtics in 1945. In 1950 he hired Red Auerbach who had just parted ways with his 2nd team owner in two years over creative differences. Finally free from meddlesome management, Red rapidly brought the failing franchise into contention. With the draft of Russell in 1956, Red, with Walter’s support and lack of interference, had launched a dynasty. By the time Walter died in 1964, the Celtics had won six championships in the previous seven years, and the number 1 was retired to the rafters in Brown’s honor.
The flip side of that coin was John Y. Brown. The Celtics are probably lucky to have survived his ownership as he had killed off basketball in Kentucky (the Colonels of the ABA, for whom he took a $3M buyout rather than pay three to join the NBA) and Buffalo (the Braves which he swapped for the Celtics so Irv Levine could move the franchise to LA and become the Clippers—and you thought their star-crossed history began in La-La land?) He very near drove off Red by trading off key players and draft picks to bring in his personal binkies. Fortunately within three years he sold the Celtics to Mangurian (in 1979). One should note that his money (KFC tycoon) leverage was considerably more successful in financing a successful run for Governor of Kentucky, and after divorcing his first wife, marrying much younger beauties (former Miss America Phyllis George and former Mrs. Kentucky Jill Louise Roach). He and Rick Pitino would have deserved each other (although it is doubtful that any room would have held both their egos), and they do share the distinction of nearly breaking up the long-time love affair between the Celtics and Auerbach
We have our own modern day contrast in the form of “Thanks Dad” Gaston who scraped pennies leaving a threadbare team fabric and brought in the Evil Emperor. Compare that to the current ownership which has anted up and given Ainge a free hand resulting in a Championship and a steady supply of post-season play. We’ve talked a lot about the depth of this year’s team but we should be just as aware, and appreciative, of the management with Danny behind Doc, and Wyc behind Ainge. Ownership matters, a lot; and not all Brown’s are created equal.
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[...] Nation SQ12#40 Celtics’ Ownership: A Tale of Two Brown’s A profile of John Y. Brown and Walter A. Brown, two former owners of the [...]
Hello. My name is John Y Brown III and I am the son of John
Y Brown Jr, the man so many rabid Celtics fans love to hate.
I have never responded to any of the critical commentary
about my father’s brief ownership of the Boston Celtics 35 years ago—but
something about this piece made me want to finally chime in. It was probably
the comment about my mother and step-mother which seemed wholly inappropriate
and to contribute nothing to a website dedicated Boston Celtic history—except as
an excuse to take yet another gratuitous jab at my father. So here goes.
I was 14 at the time my father got involved with the Boston Celtics.
I can’t say I remember a whole lot about it but a decade ago I set up a Google
Alert for “John Y Brown” and to my surprise about two-thirds of alerts over
this period have come not from Kentucky, but from whiny Boston Celtic fans
griping about my father “almost ruining the Celtics.” So much so that at times I have come to view
the great City on a Hill more like the Princess and the Pea, the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a
fussy petulant princess who couldn’t sleep because there was a pea under her
mattress (even after many other mattresses —or years in the case of Celtic’s
fans—were layered in between. Not 35 mattresses, mind you. But a lot). I’ve
come to think of Celtic fans more for their bitchiness than basketball
greatness. Come on, guys. You all are better than that. And my father wasn’t as
bad as you have made him out to be. Each time the story gets retold, my father
gets worse and Red Auerbach gets better. Sewing circles, even virtual ones, are
like that.
Let me say now that
I don’t agree with how my father handled some of his key decisions with the
Celtics. One should rarely ever challenge an historic living legend like Red
Auerbach. And darn sure not in his own backyard—and most especially if you
are an outsider in that back yard. Goodness knows you need to pick your battles
better than that. As for the trades, they seemed to me excessive and ill-timed,
but certainly not malevolent. And despite certain Celtics fans obsession with
pointing out my father’s management mistakes and desire to dismiss him as some
sort of incompetent Kentucky rube, let’s keep in mind that he (along with my
mother) also helped the Kentucky Colonels to be the winningest team in ABA history, including winning the ABA championship
in 1976 with the team that was the best basketball team in the ABA or NBA that
year—and arguably one of the best pro teams ever. He went
on to be a very good governor and before that, despite knowing less
about fried chicken that basketball, was able to do some impressive things in
business with KFC. In fact, Harvard University, just 6 miles from Boston, found
it in their heat not only to forgive my
father for his Celtic transgressions but a few years ago named him one of the
200 greatest business leaders of the 20th century. I take it that
die hard Celtic fans don’t get up to Cambridge much…but when you do, please ask
around.
Down here from my
perch in Kentucky, I have always looked up to Boston. You have one of the world’s
greatest cites —staggeringly rich with history and accomplishment. And, yes,
that includes basketball. And Irish Pride. Down here in the Bluegrass State we
take our basketball seriously, too, and have a pretty impressive basketball
history ourselves. And, yes, we are a proud bunch, too. In fact, I think we’d be embarrassed if an outsider
pointed out to us that we were growing tiresome from our incessant whining and public
licking of a wound for over 30 days—let alone over 30 years. Heck, Red Auerbach made silly, snide and ill-informed remarks
about the ABA during the Kentucky Colonels glory days. But it never occurred to
us to make a past-time out of ridiculing him about it the next several decades.
Which brings me back
to my mother. My mother and father divorced about the same time he bought part
of the Boston Celtics. During that time, I can count on one hand the unpleasant
comments she’s made about my dad—and she was married to him for 17 years! As
for crude, crass and outright incredulous remarks made Celtic fans during that
same time span? I can’t count that high. And you all only had to deal with him
for 2 years!
So what does all
this mean to me? I’m not entirely sure. The sins of the father, including those
involving unwise professional basketball team trades and public disagreements
with Red Auerbach, are not supposed to be visited on the son.. Certainly, I
suppose I can at least say I am grateful my father married a gracious and
charming Southern woman and not the city of Boston. Maybe I just needed to finally vent and say my
piece after all these years. With the small hope that it may keep my Google
Alerts from being as clogged by catty comments about my father not befitting
fans of the greatest basketball franchise in history. Here’s hoping.
I think a lot of
your city, Boston. In fact, I love it. And Lee I don’t mean to pick on you and your
wonderful website. But for your all’s sake, I hope you find a way to eventually make peace
with Boston’s brief and tumultuous tryst with my father and any additional
unpleasant run-ins with other Kentucky basketball folks. Oh, and as for the long-running beef with Rick
Pittino, I said then and still believe he should have stayed at UK. So we agree
on that, too. But enough already. What will it take for Boston to finally put
this behind you? I don’t know if I have
the answer to that. We sent you Rajon Rondo. For a less sensitive and more
forgiving city that would be enough. The rest, I guess, is up to you.
Thanks for letting
me get this off my chest. And hope I don’t have to do this again 35 years from
now.
Graciously, John Y
Brown III (and Auerbach apologist)
What little you know, Lee Lauderdale, but then you didn’t do any research did you? You don’t know what really transpired in the city of Louisville with the Kentucky Colonels, John Y Brown Jr and the NBA. I am sorry you still have after all these years a bad taste in your mouth about John Y Brown Jr. The best Governor this state or any state has had the privilege of having at any time in history.
We all are not perfect and some people no matter how well admired, how well they do their job, still make mistakes and maybe JYBJr made a few in Boston. But don’t slur that man or rebuff him as a person, father, husband, business man or Governor.
Have you done anything worthwhile for your state? Have you left your state in better condition after you left office then when you were elected? Have you left more money in the State Treasury when you left office then any other Governor? Can you turn a little chicken place into one of the largest companies in the world? Were you able to sleep in the Lincoln Bedroom with a former Miss American. Are you as well loved and thought of by your past loves and children as he is? I doubt it.
Now as far as the Colonels go, he did not run them out of town, into the ground, kill them or anything else you might want to say. It was the city of Louisville that killed Colonels and ran JYBJr to Boston. Maybe the Celtics shouldn’t have been for sale.
JYBJr was willing to pay the fee to join the NBA. He was more then happy to pay HIS money for the team and the fans. However, JYBJr asked the City of Louisville and the drum beaters to put up a few hundred thousand dollars in good faith. It was not much but I can’t remember the exact number at this time. The City Fathers refused and JYBJr sold the team. After what this man had done for the City, the fans and the state they had the nerve to to tell him no. If they had supported him, we would not have just built our first arena here, we would have been building our second or third. We know our basketball in this city and state and we had a very good team and a very good thing.
One year after the folding of the Colonels because of the slap in the face from the city, they bought a Rembrandt for many millions of dollars. It is a nice painting, I enjoy looking at it when I go to the Speed Museum, however, that one painting did not do for this city what John Y Brown Jr. did in the few years he owned the Colonels.
Go buy some mouth wash and wash that bad taste out of your mouth. It is time you let it go. You have the most storied team in the NBA. Get over it, move on, you are going to go nuts if you don’t let it go.
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My father asked me to post his note since he doesn’t know how to.
In all due respect—for the Defense 1) owned
the team only one year after swapping franchises with the Buffalo
Braves .2).previous year record was third poorest in the NBA 3).Made
trade that brought two top draft picks used to get Parrish and McHale
the next year.Two years later Boston won the NBA and my former partner
gave me a ring which I wear with pride.4) Sold when I announced for Gov
because it was my priority . Final result.— I was a damn fool for
selling them”
[...] points. I believe they deserve their views be given equal exposure so I recommend you read them here. Do I still believe that the John Brown ownership of the Celtics served the team poorly, indeed I [...]
[...] Celtic Nation SQ12#41 In the Rear View Mirror An addendum to Lauderdale’s article about John Brown. [...]
Mr. Brown,
Thank you for taking the time to comment and provide follow-up, it is very much appreciated. My name is Michael D. McClellan, and I am the Editor-in-Chief of Celtic Nation. I am not sure if your father would be interested, but I would very much like to interview him regarding his involvement in the NBA, both with the Braves and the Celtics. If you click on the Interviews link, you will see a sampling of the players, coaches, etc., that I have interviewed over the years and the manner / format in which the interview would be conducted. You have my word that the content would be positive in nature, and that anything beyond that would focus on the challenges faced by the entire league during this period and not just the Celtics. Would also like to get his thoughts on the current team – and whether he kept up with the Celtics through the years; the championships won by Bird, McHale and Parish, the death of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis, etc.
In closing, thank you for your time and consideration. If an interview is a possibility, please send an email via the Contact form at the bottom of this page. And thank you again for taking the time to post on the site.
Kind Regards,
Michael D. McClellan
Editor-in-Chief, Celtic Nation
MIchael, You are most kind and I can’t speak for my father but know he would like to clear up the many misconceptions that have developed over the years about him….and I truly appreciate your generous offer and will pass along your contact info and invitation and hope something positive comes from it for you, he and the great city of Boston and great legacy of the Boston Celtics. Kindly, John Y III
Thank you sir, it is much appreciated! Please let him know that I will be courteous and respectful of his time, and that I would very much enjoy featuring him on the site with the other members of the Celtic family. I am actually from a neighboring state (WV), and have spent much time in Southeast Kentucky (Pikeville and Prestonsburg areas), and have recently interviewed Rick Robey (interview is on the site as well).
Thank you again, and please let me know if a phone interview is a possibility. As an aside, I sent an email to you via facebook as well.
Michael
Michael, that is a most generous offer and I will relay to my father who i out of the country now. Again, thank you for your kind offer. You and the Celtic Nation blog are class acts!!
Mr McCellan, My father’s back and interested in talking to you. I will share your contact info and he will call soon. Thank you again!
In all due respect—for the Defense 1) owned
the team only one year after swapping franchises with the Buffalo
Braves .2).previous year record was third poorest in the NBA 3).Made
trade that brought two top draft picks used to get Parrish and McHale
the next year.
valid point