Ed Macauley

Charles Edward Macauley (March 22, 1928 – November 8, 2011) was a professional basketball player and coach. His playing nickname was "Easy Ed". Macauley played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1949 to 1959 for the St. Louis Bombers, Boston Celtics, and St. Louis Hawks. During his career, Macauley earned seven All-Star selections and won a championship with the Hawks in 1958. He played college basketball for Saint Louis.

Early life Macauley attended St. Louis University High School, where he excelled in basketball.

College career Macauley attended Saint Louis University, where his team won the NIT championship in 1948. Macauley was named the "AP Player of the Year" in 1949.

Boston Celtics (1950–1956) After playing one season with the Bombers, Macauley was chosen by the Celtics in a 1950 dispersal draft. He played for the Celtics in the NBA from the 1950–51 season through the 1955–56 season. Macauley was named MVP of the first NBA All-Star Game All three players would eventually make the Hall of Fame, although Russell is considered one of the greatest players in league history.

Macauley made the NBA Finals in 1957, averaging 14.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in the seven-game series. The Hawks were defeated by the Celtics (who were making their first Finals appearance in team history) in seven games. In the 1958 NBA Finals, the Hawks faced the Boston Celtics. The Hawks had four future Hall of Famers, while the Celtics had eight. Macauley averaged 5.8 points and 6.3 rebounds in the series, which the Hawks won in six games.

Macauley was named player-coach of the Hawks for the 1958–59 season, and he played in 14 regular-season games before retiring as a player. After leading the Hawks to the 1960 NBA Finals (which they lost in seven games to the Celtics), Macauley retired from coaching. In the two years Macauley coached the Hawks, he led them to an 89–48 record and a 9–11 playoff record.

Broadcasting career After retiring from basketball, Macauley became a sportscaster at KTVI, a St. Louis television station.

Post-playing career In 1989, Macauley was ordained a deacon of the Catholic Church. With Father Francis Friedl, he co-authored the book Homilies Alive: Creating Homilies That Hit Home.

Basketball legacy

Macauley scored 11,234 points in ten NBA seasons and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1960. At age 32, he still holds the record for being the youngest male player to be admitted. His uniform number 22 was retired by the Celtics on October 16, 1963, the same date when the Celtics retired the number of his teammate, Bob Cousy. Macauley was also awarded a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. As of 2019, Macauley was one of only two Celtics to have his number retired without having won a championship with the team; the other was Reggie Lewis.

Personal life Macauley and his wife, Jackie, had seven children and 17 grandchildren. He suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Head coaching record