On this day in Boston Celtics history, champion point guard Jo Jo White was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1946. White played collegiately at the University of Kansas and later played for the US men’s Olympic basketball team in the 1968 USA Olympics held in Mexico City, Mexico that unexpectedly won a Gold medal.
After the Olympics, the Missouri native was selected by the Celtics with the ninth overall pick of the 1969 NBA draft despite a mandatory two-year commitment to the US Marine Corp. Boston did not have to wait the full two years for White to join the team, however.
Iconic general manager Red Auerbach managed to get White’s tour with the Marines shortened to be able to play that season with the Celtics.