For decades, an intimidating figure has loomed large over any NBA game played in Boston... a leprechaun spinning a basketball on his finger?
The Celtics' famous logo has been an indelible part of the franchise's history. Lucky the Leprechaun was featured at center court on the old Boston Garden floor, and he made his way to TD Garden when the Celtics began playing at that venue in the mid-1990s.
But how did the Celtics land on Lucky? Well, it turns out that the logo has strong ties to one of the most important figures in basketball history.
MORE: What is No. 24 patch on Celtics' uniforms?
Who is Lucky the Leprechaun? How Celtics' logo was created
The Celtics' logo was originally created by Red Auerbach's brother, Zang, in the early 1950s. Zang was an artist and cartoonist who worked for multiple print publications and also designed the logo for the Washington Senators baseball team.
Red, of course, was one of the most successful NBA coaches and executives of all time. The Hall of Famer led the Celtics to nine championships as a head coach and contributed to seven other title runs as a member of the front office. Perhaps most importantly, Red is Lucky the Leprechaun's biggest hero. (Seriously, he is.)
Here is a description of the modern Lucky from the team website:
The world-famous figure has his left eye winking at you, his left hand resting on his shillelagh, his right index finger is pointing straight upward with a brown basketball sitting atop, his left foot crossed over and to the side of the right foot, he possesses a big smile (with a pipe projecting from the right corner of his mouth) and he is dressed in black buckle shoes, black pants, a gold front-button vest with a matching bow tie (with green three-leaf clovers displayed prominently in view on both), a long-sleeved white shirt and all topped off with a black derby hat with the same matching three-leaf clovers.
History of Celtics' logo
The Celtics have seen their logo change a few times since the franchise was founded in 1946.
- 1946-1950: The first logo was a simple white shamrock with "Celtics" written above it.
- 1950-1960: Zang's original version of Lucky was mostly black and white, but he did have a green vest. He also wore an NBA crown.
- 1960-68: The only change here was the orange background.
- 1968-1974: This was the first time that Celtics fans saw a leaning Lucky.
- 1974-1996: A more modern Lucky got a black, green and white look. Instead of a basketball background, he had a green ring with "Boston Celtics" written in white.
- 1996-present: And here's the current Lucky.
Check out how the @celtics have switched up their logo over the years! #TeamDay pic.twitter.com/sp3X8jFVlo
— NBA TV (@NBATV) August 28, 2019
