On this day, former Boston Celtics big man John Mahnken was born in 1922 in West New York, New Jersey.
A 6-foot-8, 220 lb. product of Georgetown University, Mahnken would be signed by the Rochester Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) of the National Basketball League (later absorbed by the NBA) after returning from service in the second world war.
The former Hoya would sign with the Washington Capitals of the Basketball Association of America (BAA – a precursor league to the NBA) in 1946, then coached by a one Red Auerbach, later to be his coach in Boston as well.
Mahnken would be traded a total of five times before landing with the Celtics in 1951 for his first multi-season stretch of his career since it began.
He spent four seasons total playing for Boston, recording 3.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
It would be the last stop of a seven-season career pre-dating even the BAA, after which Mahnken would virtually disappear from professional basketball circles until shortly before he passed in 2000.
