Exploding cigars, a trick by the legendary Tommy Heinsohn

[Global Celtic]

Bill Russell, in "Red and Me" (by Bill Russell with Alan Steinberg).

"I could see Red's mischievous smile. And that brought to mind an even funnier incident, when Red was caught off-guard, which almost never happened. It was the time he gave Tommy Heinsohn - one of the Celtics' notorious characters - an exploding cigar. Tommy was having a lousy day. He was in the process of a messy divorce (...) so he was late driving to practice. He knew that Red would be all over his ass, so he started speeding, and a cop pulled him over and gave him a ticket. Tommy told himself, "Screw it. I'll be late anyway. I'll just sit here and smoke a cigar and relax. Then I'll go to practice and I'll be able to handle anything Red comes up with." He lit a cigar - but it was one that Red had given him, and it exploded. Finally, he arrived at practice, soot all over his face, and Red laughed like hell.
Tommy spent most of the next two years presenting Red with real cigars. But Red always had Tommy puff them first, in front of the team, as a test. He was too smart - he knew that Heinsohn was plotting revenge. Finally, after dozens of good cigars, Red dropped his guard and quit the testing. So, one day at practice, Red was addressing the team about something important when Tommy slipped him the loaded cigar. Red lit it up... and Bang! It caught him so much by suprise, he was beside himself. He never saw it coming. Especially from Heinsohn, who was not known for his infinite patience."