The Ed Macauley Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Tuesday, November 1st,
2005
Your relationship with the late Walter Brown was clearly special – in many ways,
it was a father-son relationship. Please tell me about Mr. Brown; what did he
mean to you on both a professional and personal level?
Walter
was one of the greatest men in sports, but he wasn't a self-promoter. He was
just a great Catholic man that loved athletics. He probably overpaid his people
too much. He was a great Red Sox fan – he used to attend every Red Sox game
during the summer. He had a young daughter, and his daughter liked me more than
she like Bob Cousy [laughs]. She was about eight at the time, and there weren't
too many girls, no matter how old they were, who liked me at all [laughs].
Anyway, Walter and I really respected each other…we were both Catholic. Walter
was just a great figure in sports. But as I've said, we didn't win anything
while I was playing for him.
Let's
talk money. Today the NBA is big business, and players pull down
extravagant salaries. It was a different world back then – many of your
contemporaries held down second jobs during the offseason. What was the pay
scale like in the 1950s?
I
think at that time I may have been the second-highest paid player in the
NBA. They had to draft me in St. Louis. I had a $10,000 salary with a
$7,500 bonus if I played well, and I played well. I was making $17,500.
George Mikan was making anywhere from $25,000 to $28,000, I'm not exactly
sure how much. Guys like Cousy were probably making $7,000 to $8,000. Not
many guys were over $10,000. Some guys were under $5,000.
At that time, friends and teammates from college were working regular jobs and making $400 a month. They were buying homes, buying cars, and starting families. So while the highest paid players made more than someone working a regular job, the difference in salaries wasn't as vast as what you see today. As a result, there was more camaraderie on teams back then. There was probably less jealousy on a ball club because nobody was getting rich, and we were playing because we liked to play ball.
You were
MVP of the first All-Star Game, which was held in the fabled Boston Garden.
Please take me back to that inaugural midwinter classic.
I
was on the All-Star team each year that I was there, and the inaugural
All-Star Game was held during my first season with the Celtics. I don't
know if you've been to an All-Star Game lately, but they are extravaganzas.
There's dancing, and bands, and guys jumping on trampolines. Well, the
first All-Star Game in Boston was almost cancelled, because they didn't know
if there would be enough people in the stands to even hold it. Cousy and I
represented the Celtics – we were in Boston, so we arrive at the Garden and
meet the other players in our locker room. We didn't have a luncheon, or a
big ceremonial dinner, or any of that. Today they have huge luncheons, and
all kind of hoopla. The second All-Star Game was also held in Boston, and I
think we had a small luncheon for that one. We were on our own for that
first All-Star Game [laughs].
That first game was quite an experience. Joe Lapchick was our coach – the Knicks were in first place – Harry Gallatin was on the team, and Dick McGuire, and those were guys that we hated [laughs]. Suddenly, we were on the same team. I had to walk in and say, 'Hi Dick, hi Harry, let's go win a ball game'. And somehow we were able to put aside our differences and do just that [laughs].
Bill
Sharman joined the Celtics for the start of the 1951-52 season. The
addition of Mr. Sharman created one of the greatest scoring trios in NBA
history. Please tell me a little about the great Bill Sharman, and also
about the versatile scoring punch provided by the trio of Cousy, Sharman and
Macauley.
Billy
was a great shooter, and he was strong. He was baseball player who played
in the major leagues, as you know, so he came to the Celtics with a lot of
game experience. Major league baseball is a obviously a different game, but
there are things that you learn that are going to be helpful in basketball.
He was a great shooter – one of the greatest free throw shooter in the
history of the game.
Cousy was phenomenal. Every scorer loved to play with Cooz, because if you were open you were going to get the ball. He made everyone on the ball club better. If you weren't open, and he had to take the shot, then he was a great scorer himself.
