Charles Edward Macauley (March 22, 1928 – November 8, 2011) was a professional basketball player and coach. His playing nickname was "Easy Ed".

Early life

Macauley spent his prep school days at St. Louis University High School, then went on to

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...

, where his team won the NIT championship in 1948. He was named the AP Player of the Year in 1949. His nickname of "Easy Ed" came during a pre-game warmup, when fans shouted "Take it easy, Ed" because he (the captain of the team) did not realize he had ran down the court during the playing of the national anthem.

NBA career

Macauley played in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

with the

St. Louis Bombers The St. Louis Bombers were a National Basketball Association team based in St. Louis from 1946 to 1950. Franchise history The St. Louis Bombers were originally part of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946. The BAA merged wit ...

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

, and

St. Louis Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

. Macauley was named MVP of the first NBA All-Star Game (he played in the first seven) and he was named to the NBA's

All-NBA First Team The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sel ...

in three consecutive seasons. He was named to the All-NBA second team for the only time in the 1953–54 season while also leading in field goal percentage. However, it is a trade orchestrated by Celtics owner

Walter A. Brown Walter Augustine Brown (February 10, 1905 – September 7, 1964) was the founder and original owner of the Boston Celtics, as well as an important figure in the development of ice hockey in the United States. Life He was born in Hopkinton, Ma ...

that Macauley is likely best known for, as he was traded from the Boston Celtics to the St. Louis Hawks on the day of the 1956 NBA draft (April 29, 1956). He and

Cliff Hagan Clifford Oldham Hagan (born December 9, 1931) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6-4 forward who excelled with the hook shot, Hagan, nicknamed "Li'l Abner", played his entire 10-year NBA career (1956–1966) with the St. ...

were sent to the Hawks for

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most Va ...

, who was drafted as the second overall pick in the draft that day (he later stated that if he was drafted by St. Louis, he wouldn't have been in the NBA as he called it an "overwhelmingly racist" city). For his part, Macauley convinced a reluctant Brown to trade him as it would do him a favor, as Macauley's son had been diagnosed with

spinal meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion o ...

and was in St. Louis receiving care at the time. 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, which saw the Hawks lose to the Celtics (making their first Finals appearance in team history) in seven games. In the 1958 NBA Finals, the Hawks faced the

. The Hawks had four future Hall of Famers with Macauley while the Celtics had eight. In his final playoff series played, he averaged 5.8 points and 6.3 rebounds in the seven-game series, which the Hawks won in seven games. He was named player-coach for the 1958-59 season, and he played in fourteen games (all regular season) before retiring as a player. After one more season as coach, he retired, having led them to the 1960 NBA Finals, which they lost in seven games to the Celtics. In the two years Macauley coached with the Hawks, he led them to an 89–48 record, with a 9–11 playoff record.

Legacy

Macauley scored 11,234 points in ten NBA seasons and was inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

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 in October 16, 1963, the same date when his teammate,

Bob Cousy Robert Joseph Cousy (, born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. Cousy played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time N ...

retired his number 14. He was also awarded a star on the

St. Louis Walk of Fame The St. Louis Walk of Fame honors notable people from St. Louis, Missouri, who made contributions to the culture of the United States. All inductees were either born in the Greater St. Louis area or spent their formative or creative years ther ...

. As of , Macauley remains the only player to have his jersey retired by Boston that did not lead the team to an NBA title.

Personal life

After retiring, he became sports director of

KTVI KTVI (channel 2) is a television station in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CW owned-and-operated station KPLR-TV (channel 11). Both stations share studios o ...

, then the ABC affiliate in his native St. Louis. In 1989, Macauley was ordained a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

of the Catholic Church. With Father Francis Friedl, he co-authored the book ''Homilies Alive: Creating Homilies That Hit Home''. Macauley died on November 8, 2011, at his home in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

at the age of 83.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

*
BasketballReference.com: Ed Macauley (as coach)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macauley, Ed 1928 births 2011 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players American Roman Catholics Basketball coaches from Missouri Basketball players from St. Louis Boston Celtics players Centers (basketball) Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Basketball Association All-Stars National Basketball Association broadcasters National Basketball Association players with retired numbers Player-coaches Power forwards (basketball) Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball players St. Louis Bombers (NBA) draft picks St. Louis Bombers (NBA) players St. Louis Hawks head coaches St. Louis Hawks players American Roman Catholic deacons