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 St. Louis University High School (SLUH) is a Jesuit Catholic high school for boys. Founded in 1818, it is the oldest secondary educational institution in the U.S. west of the Mississippi River, and one of the largest private high schools in Misso ...

, then went on to

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

, 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 with the St. Louis Bombers,

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. 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 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, Mas ...

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 confusi ...

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 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

, 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 The 1960 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1960 NBA Playoffs, which concluded the National Basketball Association 1959–60 season. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Conference champion St. ...

, 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 NBA ...

retired his number 14. He was also awarded a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. 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 Chur ...

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 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