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

(NBA) from 1949 to 1959 for 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 Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

, 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 Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at S ...

. During his career, Macauley earned seven

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

selections and won a championship with the Hawks in 1958. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for Saint Louis.

Early life

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

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

College career

Macauley attended

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

, where his team won the NIT championship in 1948. Macauley was named the "AP Player of the Year" in 1949. Macauley acquired his nickname of "Easy Ed" during a pre-game warmup in his sophomore year, when fans shouted "Take it easy, Ed" because he (the captain of the team) did not realize that the national anthem was being played when he left the locker room and ran out onto the court.

Professional career

Macauley played professional basketball for the St. Louis Bombers,

, and

St. Louis Bombers (1949–1950)

The Bombers selected Macauley with the fifth overall pick in the 1949 BAA Draft.

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

from the 1950–51 season through the 1955–56 season. 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.

St. Louis Hawks (1956–1959)

Macauley was traded from the Boston Celtics to the St. Louis Hawks on the day of the

1956 NBA draft The 1956 NBA draft was the tenth annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 30, 1956, before the 1956–57 season. In this draft, eight NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball pl ...

(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 National Basketball Association, ...

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 Center (basketball), center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. He was t ...

, who was drafted as the second overall pick in the draft that day. For his part, Macauley convinced reluctant Celtics owner Walter A. Brown to trade him to St. Louis, 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, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasionally ...

and was in St. Louis receiving care. 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 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

, 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

. 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 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 denominations, such as the Cathol ...

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 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 pre ...

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 Robert Joseph Cousy ( , born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. He 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 ...

. 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. Macauley died on November 8, 2011, at his home in 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 NBA All-Stars NBA broadcasters NBA players with retired numbers Basketball player-coaches Power forwards 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 20th-century American sportsmen