Apprecating the Celtics-Sixers Rivalry

[Employee8]

I own a copy of the Celtics encyclopedia and I finally got around to reading it last Fall.  It's something I keep at work to read during lunch breaks.  An absolute great read for a young fan like myself (got into the Celtics during the Pierce/Walker era).  I've been quite superficial on the team's history (Larry Bird! Bill Russell! Whoa, Tom Heinsohn actually played for the team? Number 19 on the rafter belonged to Don Nelson? RIP Dennis Johnson, whoever you are).

So I'm boning up on my history and wow, we had some amazing moments with Philly over the years.  Good read for those who would like some reading material.  This is from Boston Celtics Encyclopedia written by Peter C. Bjarkman in 1999.

1957-58: Beats Philly Warriors 4-1 in Eastern Finals
1959-60: Beats Philly Warriors 4-2 in Eastern Finals
1961-62: Beats Philly Warriors 4-3 in Eastern Finals (Oscar Robertson averages triple double and Wilt averages above 50 ppg)
1964-65: Beats Philly Sixers 4-3 in Division Finals (Havlicek stole the ball! Havlicek stole the ball!, one of the best thrillers in Celtics history)
1965-66: Beats Philly Sixers 4-1 in Division Finals (Auerbach's last year)
1966-67: Lost to Philly Sixers 1-4 in Division Finals (Wilt's only playoff series win against Celtics, possibly the strongest 76ers team in history with Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Greer, Wally Jones, Luke Jackson, Chet Walker, Larry Costello, Bill Melchioni, Matt Guokas, Bob Weiss, Dave Gambee and Billy Cunningham)
1967-68: Beats Philly Sixers 4-3 in Division Finals
1968-69: Beats Philly Sixers 4-1 in Division Semifinals
1976-77: Lost to Philly Sixers 3-4 in Conference Semifinals
1979-80: Lost to Philly Sixers 1-4 in ECF
1980-81: Beat Philly Sixers 4-3 in ECF
1981-82: Lost to Philly Sixers 3-4 in ECF (Beat LA)
1984-85: Beat Philly Sixers 4-1 in ECF
2001-02: Beat Philly Sixers 3-2 in Easter First Round (come from behind series...I am introduced to the scene!)

Holy cow.  And this is not including the Nationals, who became the Sixers when Warriors left town for San Francisco.  So much history between the two teams and Russell boasts a 7-1 series record against Wilt.

Notable part in the encyclopedia, at least to me:

"Boston was most anxious for the postseason to roll around and provide another shot at Chamberlain and his hencemen.  And also, of course, at the irksome Philadelphia fans.  Havlicek later remembered how the chants of Philly fans late in the previous postseason and throughout the 1968 campaign to boot had remained ever-so-fresh in his mind. 'The Celtics are dead, Boston's dead! The dynasty is dead!' had been a taunting chant ringing out almost everywhere around the league that year, but it was especially galling when endured in Philadelphia.  And it was the best type of motivation for revenge that any team could ever find."

Anyone with Sixers-Celtics memories?  I was surprised to see the clip of Dr. J fighting Larry Bird.  Would love to hear them and get ready for the game Wednesday!

[GreenFaith1819]

I started following the Celtics back in 81, and throughout the 80's came to appreciate the rivalry.

Moses vs Chief...Larry vs Dr. J..McHale vs Charles....they even had a video game by Electronic Arts called:





Yep - "Dr. J. vs Larry Bird", lol...

I also remember THIS man:



Andrew Toney was a Certified Celtics Killer...that man would come off the bench and give BOS all sorts of problems back in the day.

Rich rivalry, definitely.

[Celtics18]

Man, I hated Andrew Toney and his automatic elbow jumper.

[OsirusCeltics]

I'll appreciate it when the series is over

The best matchup in the rivalry was obviously Chamberlain vs Russell.. But I loved watching Iverson vs Pierce in 2002

[GreenFaith1819]

Man, I hated Andrew Toney and his automatic elbow jumper.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCNcCDYDlXY

Any time your nickname is "The Boston Strangler", then I'm sure he earned his stripes vs BOS.

[gar]

Was in Philly all of those years. Dr. J was pure poetry. Maurice Cheeks was so steady and crafty. Moses was a beast. Was great to see all the people out in the streets with hanging out of car windows with their brooms on Broad Street one sweep after another.
Moved to Boston in '85 and never looked back.

[GreenFaith1819]

Was in Philly all of those years. Dr. J was pure poetry. Maurice Cheeks was so steady and crafty. Moses was a beast. Was great to see all the people out in the streets with hanging out of car windows with their brooms on Broad Street one sweep after another.
Moved to Boston in '85 and never looked back.

Moses was absolutely relentless....I thought that those 80's Sixers teams had more than one championship in them.

At least that one Banner in '83 came at the expense of the Lakers, so thank you Dr. J/Moses/Bobby Jones/Mo Cheeks!!