Expert: Fabio Anderle - 7/3/2003

Question
I'd always thought that the Celtics took their name from the Original Celtics.  I've recently seen a few pages on the web that say that they got it from the Scottish football team Glasgow Celtic.

Is there a definitive answer on where the Boston Celtics got their name?

Answer
Hi Brad,

well, yes, there's a scottish soccer team called Glasgow Celtic, and the don green and white too. But the reason why the Boston team was called the Celtics has nothing to do with it. When Walter Brown, the first owner of the franchise, founded the Basketball Association of America in 1946, he had to christen his own team too. He toyed with the names "Whirlwinds", "Unicorns" and "Olympics", but luckily he thought they did not fit well. Brown, while chatting with friend (and the first team's PR) Howie McHugh, suddenly hit on "Celtics": the name had a great basketball tradition (as you underlined, the Original Celtics had been a great New York team), and boston was full of Irishmen, and that could have been good for tickets selling. So Brown picked the green uniforms and the Boston Celtics Mystique was born on June 6, 1946.
I hope this is your definitive answer

Fabio