The Ed Macauley Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Tuesday, November 1st,
2005
A coaching change prior to the start of the 1947-48 regular season threatened to derail the Billikens' momentum, but the selection of Ed Hickey instead lifted the program to the next level. Hickey's three-lane fast break was perfectly suited to Macauley's style. Kiel Auditorium blowouts became the norm, while the new head coach and the burgeoning team star became affectionately known as "Mutt & Jeff". St. Louis finished the season with a 24-3 record, earning a berth in the 1948 NIT tournament – then the premiere collegiate tournament in the land. Macauley repeated as an All-Missouri Valley First Team selection, while receiving Helms Foundation First Team All-America and National Player of the Year honors.
The best was yet to come. The Billikens rode its fast break into the finals of the NIT tournament, defeating New York University for the championship and touching off a wild celebration back home in St. Louis. Macauley was named the MVP of the tournament. And while the train ride home took three days, thousands of frenzied fans were there to greet the team upon its return.
Macauley's senior season started with the team ranked No. 1 in the nation. He ended it by being named a Consensus First Team All-America, and by being named the Associated Press Player of the year. The Billikens failed to repeat as NIT champions, but Macauley had firmly established himself as one of the greatest collegiate players of his generation.
In the NBA's early years, when teams were struggling to build fan bases, the draft included territorial picks. Before the start of the draft, a team could forfeit its first-round pick and instead select a player from its immediate area, presumably with a strong local following. The NBA's St. Louis Bombers wasted little time in forfeiting its own No. 1 to snag the hometown hero who had put the Billikens' basketball program on the map. Macauley spent one largely unforgettable season in a Bombers' uniform, averaging 16 points-per-game and proving that his game was equally suited to the pros. The Bombers folded after that season, the players were thrown into a dispersal draft, and Macauley was awarded to the Boston Celtics.
The year was 1950, and the addition of Macauley was one in a series of franchise-defining moves for team owner Walter Brown. The Celtics were struggling on the court, Brown was losing money, and the team was searching to find an audience. Brown responded by hiring a fiery young coach named Arnold "Red" Auerbach. He then got lucky on two other fronts: The Celtics backed into the rights to Holy Cross point guard Bob Cousy, who had been the property of the Chicago franchise until it folded, and Macauley came to Boston via St. Louis. The three men instantly formed the nucleus of the Boston Celtics, giving the team credibility in a town where college hoops had long been king.
Like Hickey at St. Louis, Auerbach preached an attacking brand of basketball, which played to the strengths of both Cousy (passer extraordinaire) and Macauley (deadeye marksman). Macauley averaged 20.4 points-per-game during his first season in a Boston uniform, while earning All-NBA First Team and NBA All-Star honors. The inaugural NBA All-Star Game was also held that season, with Macauley representing the Celtics in front of the partisan Boston Garden crowd. His game-high 20 points earned him Most Valuable Player honors and, as the first MVP of the league’s midwinter classic, a special piece of NBA history.