Four years, four rings.  Few could ever accuse Gene Guarilia of not being in the right place at the right time, nor could they accuse him of not making the most of a truly golden opportunity.  Dropped into the greatest sports dynasty the world has ever known, Guarilia responded the only way he knew how:  By working hard to keep the world champion Boston Celtics squarely on top.  Whether those contributions occurred in a game or on the practice court is of little consequence, because for Guarilia, like everyone else who played for Arnold “Red” Auerbach during the make-hay days of the 1960s, winning championships was all that really mattered.  The Celtics conquered the NBA 11 times in 13 seasons because everyone who suited up for the green-and-white knew their role and played it to perfection.  From Bill Russell’s blocked shots and timely rebounds, to Sam Jones’ signature bank shots, to John Havlicek’s heroics off the bench, the Boston Celtics were the perfect amalgam of talent and intelligence, winning games as much with their wit as with their workmanship.  Guarilia was no exception.  He came to the Celtics with a reputation as a rugged rebounder and consummate team player, and for four seasons he roamed the Boston Garden’s fabled parquet floor, intent on adding to the Celtics’ growing cache of championship banners.

Guarilia was born on September 13th, 1937, in the Luzerne County borough of Duryea, Pennsylvania.  Located nine miles south of Scranton on the Lackawanna River, and with a population of just over 8,000 during the 1940s, Duryea was an uncomplicated, blue collar town where coal mining and the manufacture of silk had been the chief industries in the early years of its existence.  Duryea also proved to be the perfect place for the young Guarilia to hone his basketball skills.  He took to the sport at an early age, excelling on the makeshift hoops erected at Holy Rosary Grade School, and he remained keenly interested even though he didn’t play organized basketball until the ninth grade.  Still, few at the time would have expected Guarilia to earn a living roaming the hardwood; the Basketball Association of America and the rival National Basketball League – precursors to the NBA – had floundered during much of the 1940s, as ‘cage ball’ struggled to compete with baseball and football as a major professional sport.  Kids dreamed of being the next Babe Ruth, or perhaps the next Slingin’ Sammy Baugh.  But the next Bob Cousy, Bob Pettit, or Bill Russell?  Professional basketball had yet to produce its first wave of legends.  Sure, there was George Mikan, but he was more curiosity than charlatan, a 6’10” giant viewed by the masses as something straight from under P.T. Barnum’s circus tent.  Guarilia played the game without benefit of baseball’s rich history and larger-than-life heroes.  He played it without benefit of a Red Grange or a Jim Thorpe, athletes who lifted professional football to a status approaching that of our national pastime.  Gene Guarilia simply played it because it was fun, because he was good at it, and later because maybe – just maybe – scoring points and grabbing rebounds might one day help pay for a college education.

Gene Guarilia’s story begins in Duryea at the age of four, when he would follow his older brother Joseph to Holy Rosary Grade School, making such a nuisance of himself that the school’s nuns suggested that young Eugene might benefit from the structure of first grade.  Never mind that Guarilia was two years younger than the normal starting age; it was better to have him in class, where they could apply structure and discipline in equal doses, rather than contend with his disruptions from the street and the schoolyard.  This isn’t to suggest that Guarilia was a problem child – far from it, in fact; he simply looked up to his older brother, tagged along with him everywhere, and missed him terribly whenever school was in session.  So it was that Guarilia entered first grade at four, keeping pace with surprising ease and sparking a lifetime interest in education.