On this day in 1934, former Boston Celtics small forward Daniel S. Swartz was born in Owingsville, Kentucky. Swartz began his collegiate basketball career playing for the University of Kentucky Wildcats, but would transfer to Morehead State University in his sophomore season.
He would be selected by the Celtics with the 11th overall pick of the same draft (1956) in which Boston also drafted stars Bill Russell and K.C. Jones, but did not play for the team until the 1962-63, five seasons later. In the interim, Swartz played Amateur Athletic Union basketball with the Wichita Vipers, Cleveland Pipers and Philadelphia Tapers.
He also played for the American Basketball League’s (ABL – a short-lived competitor of the NBA) Los Angeles Jets.
Happy birthday in heaven Dan Swartz. Boston Celtics. Champion. pic.twitter.com/hRt2fV0bvt
— Honest☘️Larry (@HonestLarry1) December 23, 2020
He would finally join the team that drafted him in the NBA in October 1962, playing a single season in the NBA.
Swartz earned a title for his troubles, the Celtics winning it all that season with the Kentuckian in a reserve role.
He would average 4.5 points and 2.3 rebounds as a Celtic.
It is also the date of a game in 1990 that saw Larry Bird score a triple-double on the Atlanta Hawks, who Boston beat 132-104 at the Garden.
Bird’s full stat line was 14 points, 10 rebounds and as many assists and 2 steals in 32 minutes of playing time. Larry Legend shot 7-of-11 overall — missing his sole 3-point attempt — and logged no free throw attempts.
Technically speaking, it was one of the longest games in NBA history.
It initially began on Nov. 28 of the same year, but had to be rescheduled after condensation of the floor in the game’s first quarter made the contest unplayable.
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