Today in Celtics history: Bird gets all the honors, Sharman's 70 ft. "pass"

Today, January 15th is the 29th anniversary of when Larry Bird was awarded (1987) both Man of the Year by the Sporting News and Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press, the first time any athlete had won both awards. It was the peak of Larry Legend's Hall of Fame career, which saw his production in the 1987-88 season at their apex, though it ultimately failed to get the Boston Celtics to the NBA Finals for the first time in five years, falling to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Also, today is the 59th anniversary of Bill Sharman's arguably most incredible "pass" in the history of the NBA All-Star game. Sharman, who was playing in the 1957 All-Star game, attempted a full-court lob to fellow All-Star and Celtics teammate Bob Cousy, only to see the pass go into the basket from nearly three-fourths of the court away. Cousy reportedly responded to Sharman's unintentional circus shot by saying (according to NBA.com):

"Don't you ever pass?"

Here's a clip of that amazing accidental bucket:



Also of note on a more general sort: Today marks the 124th anniversary of the original 13 rules of basketball being published in the Springfield, Massachusetts YMCA newsletter. Hard to believe this little memo was an ancestor to the rules of the modern game. Happy birthday, basketball!


For more stories about Celtics history on Celticslife, click here. For more by Justin, click here.





Top photo via the Sporting News
Bottom photo via History.com
Follow Justin at @justinquinnn