April 15, 1965: John Havlicek Steals the Ball

April 15, 1965: Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, at the Boston Garden. The Boston Celtics led the Philadelphia 76ers 110-109, but a rare mistake by Russell gave the Sixers the ball with just a few seconds left on the clock.

If the Sixers could score, they would end (or, at least, interrupt) the Celtic dynasty, and head to the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, who had wrapped up the Western Conference Championship 2 days earlier.

Hal Greer was getting ready to inbound the ball, and if the Sixers could get it to Wilt Chamberlain, that would probably be it. First, Greer saw Chet Walker (Number 25 in the photo above), and tried to get the ball to him.

John Havlicek had other ideas. Johnny Most had the call, on WHDH, 850 on the AM dial (now WEEI):

Greer is putting the ball in play. He gets it out deep, and Havlicek steals it! Over to Sam Jones! Havlicek stole the ball! It's all over! It's all over! Johnny Havlicek is being mobbed by the fans! It's all over! Johnny Havlicek stole the ball! Oh my, what a play by Havlicek at the end of this ball game!

"I knew he had 5 seconds to inbound," Havlicek said at the time. "So I started counting to myself: '1,001, 1,002, 1,003.' Usually, something has happened by then. So, by 1,003 and a half, I started to peek a little more."

The film always confused me. The player dribbling the ball up the court is clearly a black man, who, as Most pointed out, was Sam Jones. Havlicek was still playing when I was a little kid, so I knew he was white. If Havlicek was the one who stole the ball, why was he not the man dribbling up the court? The film shows him jumping and just tipping the ball with his hand, and Jones retrieving it. It's a "Blink and you'll miss it" play.

But it's become the most famous single play in NBA history -- due to Most doing for it what Russ Hodges did for Bobby Thomson's home run to win the New York Giants the 1951 National League Pennant, and, in each case, the moment did the same for the man -- and 2nd only to Willie Mays' catch in the 1954 World Series as the most famous defensive play in the history of sports.

The Celtics went on to beat the Lakers in the Finals, having already done so in 1959 (while the Lakers were still in Minneapolis), 1962 and 1963; and did so again in 1966, 1968 and 1969, with Chamberlain and the 76ers finally breaking through in 1967, beating the San Francisco (now Golden State) Warriors.

Havlicek would be a member of 8 NBA Championship teams with the Celtics, the last in 1976. The current version of the NBA Championship Trophy, now named for former Commissioner Larry O'Brien, was introduced the following year, so "Hondo" never won the trophy he's holding in this photo. The predecessor Trophy, and this trophy until O'Brien's retirement as Commissioner in 1984, was named for the Celtics' founder and owner, Walter Brown.

Havlicek was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, and named to the NBA's 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams. The Celtics retired his Number 17. He died in 2019. I don't know if he ever met Mays.

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April 15, 1965 was a Thursday. Rock singer and songwriter Linda Perry was born that day.

As I said, the Lakers had beaten the Warriors to win the Western title 2 days earlier. The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit, to win Game 7 of their Stanley Cup Semifinal, and set up a Finals meeting with the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens won.

And these baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the California Angels, 5-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where the Angels groundshared with the Dodgers until their stadium in suburban Anaheim opened the next year. Mel Stottlemyre pitched a 7-hit shutout. Roger Maris hit a home run. Mickey Mantle went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The New York Mets beat the Houston Astros, 5-4 at Shea Stadium. Bobby Klaus won it with a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Washington Senators beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium. The Cubs' only run came on a home run by Ernie Banks. Hank Aaron did not play.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 6-4 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Al Kaline and Norm Cash hit home runs. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-4 at Busch Stadium (formerly Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis. Gordy Coleman hit a grand slam. Vada Pinson also hit a home run. Frank Robinson went 2-for-4. Pete Rose went 0-for-4 with a walk. Lou Brock went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-3 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium.

* The Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants were rained out at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 8. The Giants won the opener, 10-4. The Phillies won the nightcap, 4-2. Over the 2 games, Willie Mays went 3-for-8 with a home run and 3 RBIs.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Los Angeles Dodgers were rained out at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 11. The Dodgers won the 1st game, 4-2. Sandy Koufax outpitched Joe Gibbon. The Pirates won the 2nd game, 4-3. Manny Mota won it with a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Over the 2 games, Roberto Clemente went 2-for-8.

* And the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox were not scheduled.

January 27, 1967: The Apollo 1 Fire

Left to right: Ed White, Gus Grissom, Roger Chaffee

January 27, 1967: America experiences its 1st space program tragedy.

Astronauts Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, one of the original "Mercury 7"; Edward H. White II, the 1st American to make a spacewalk; and Roger B. Chaffee, a Navy pilot and engineer who was preparing for his 1st spaceflight, were undergoing a rehearsal for the launch of Apollo 1, meant to launch on February 21. An electrical fire spread through the capsule, killing them.

Grissom was 40 years old, White 36, Chaffee 31.

The tragedy set the U.S. space program back. The 1st manned Apollo flight, Apollo 7, wouldn't get off the ground until October 11, 1968 -- almost 2 years later, and putting President John F. Kennedy's end-of-decade (December 31, 1969) goal in serious jeopardy.

Apollo 8 broke Earth orbit, and orbited the Moon on December 21, 1968. Apollo 9 demonstrated the use of the lunar module on March 7, 1969. Apollo 10 was the "dress rehearsal," as the lunar module got to within 50,000 feet of the Moon's surface on May 22, 1969.

On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the Moon. Neil Armstrong took his walk, and then Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin took his.

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January 27, 1967 was a Friday. Baseball and football were out of season. And no NHL games were scheduled. But there were 3 games played in the NBA that night:

* The Boston Celtics beat the Detroit Pistons, 112-106 at the Boston Garden.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Cincinnati Royals, 110-107 at the Philadelphia Civic Center. This game featured possibly the two greatest players in the sport's history. For the Royals, Oscar Robertson had 39 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. But, for the Sixers, Wilt Chamberlain had 17 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. Hal Greer scored 25 for the Sixers.

* And the San Francisco Warriors beat the Baltimore Bullets, 143-116 at the Cow Palace in the San Francisco suburb of Daly City, California. Rick Barry scored 39 for the Warriors.