#TBT: Some Celtics Smoked a Lot in the 50s and 60s
Here’s some top notch investigative reporting for NBA fans: It turns out, NBA players were not immune to the smoking trend that captivated the lungs of over 40% of Americans in the 50’s and 60’s.
Grantland uncovers that Tommy Heinsohn was a huge smoker, and John Havlicek and Bob Cousy also dabbled in cigarettes during their Hall of Fame careers.
In the Grantland piece, Cousy divulges that he accepted an endorsement deal for Kent cigarettes because before the players were millionaires they had to “scrounge for every dollar’’ they could. However, Cousy decided he did not want to be associated with the cigarette business and ultimately returned the money and had the ad pulled.
Little evidence is provided to substantiate the rumor that Hondo was a smoker, but the anecdotes about Heinsohn and Red Auerbach smoking up the locker room at half time are widely accepted and known factoids.
Bob Ryan added that Don Nelson and JoJo White were the biggest smokers on the team when he covered them for the Boston Globe in the 70’s.
The admittedly cursory investigation doesn’t really make any compelling conclusions, other than to state the obvious. Lots of Americans smoked in that time, and the Celtics were no exception.
By the way, Boston won 11 World Championships in the 50’s and 60’s.
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