March 2, 1951: The 1st NBA All-Star Game

Walter Brown, owner of the Boston Garden,

and thus owner of the Boston Celtics (and Bruins),

and host of the game, flanked by the Celtics named to the game,

Ed Macauley (22) and Bob Cousy (14).

March 2, 1951, 70 years ago: The 1st NBA All-Star Game is played, at the Boston Garden.

The players for this game were chosen by sportswriters, without regard to position, and the only rule was that a writer could not select a player from his own city. On February 13, the NBA's President (the title wouldn't be "Commissioner" until 1967), Maurice Podoloff announced the 10 players on each team.

From the Eastern Division, wearing white jerseys, coached by Joe Lapchick of New York:

* From the Baltimore Bullets: Center Red Rocha. This version of the Bullets went out of business in 1954. In 1961, the Chicago Packers were formed. They became the Chicago Zephyrs in 1962, the new Baltimore Bullets in 1963, then moved to the D.C. area for 1973-74, becoming the Capital Bullets. That name was every bit as dumb as a football fan might perceive "Chicago Packers" to be, so for 1974-75, they became the Washington Bullets. In 1997, they became the Washington Wizards.

* From the Boston Celtics: Guard Bob Cousy and center Ed Macauley.

* From the New York Knickerbockers: Forwards Vince Boryla and Harry Gallatin, and guard Dick McGuire. Hardly anybody uses the team's full name: To all and sundry, they are the Knicks.

* From the Philadelphia Warriors: Forwards Joe Fulks and Paul Arizin, and guard Andy Phillip. They became the San Francisco Warriors in 1962, then moved across the Bay to Oakland in 1971, becoming the Golden State Warriors. Despite moving back to San Francisco in 2019, they have kept the Golden State name.

* From the Syracuse Nationals: Forward Dolph Schayes. They moved in 1963, taking the Warriors' place in the City of Brotherly Love, becoming the Philadelphia 76ers.

From the Western Division, wearing blue jerseys, coached by John Kundla of Minneapolis:

* From the Fort Wayne Pistons: Forwards Larry Foust and Fred Schaus. They moved to Detroit in 1957.

* From the Indianapolis Olympians: Guard Ralph Beard and center Alex Groza. They went out of business in 1953.

* From the Minneapolis Lakers: Center George Mikan, and forwards Jim Pollard and Vern Mikkelsen. They moved to Los Angeles in 1960.

* From the Rochester Royals: Guard Bob Davies. They became the Cincinnati Royals in 1957, the Kansas City Kings in 1972, and the Sacramento Kings in 1985.

* From the Tri-Cities Blackhawks: Guard Frank Brian and forward Dwight Eddleman. This team was based in Moline, Illinois, and the region, which also includes Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa is now widely known as the Quad Cities. They became the Milwaukee Hawks the next season, the St. Louis Hawks in 1955, and the Atlanta Hawks in 1968.

Due to the limited size of the rosters, the NBA is the only one of the "Big Four" North American sports leagues that doesn't guarantee every team at least one player in its All-Star Game. Nevertheless, all 10 teams were represented. (The season had started with 11, but the Washington Capitols had gone out of business early on.)

The game was not broadcast on television, only on radio. At the end of the 1st quarter, the East led 31-22. At halftime, the East led 53-42. After 3 quarters, the East led 83-64. The final score was East 111, West 94.

Points scored, East: Macauley 20 for the game's Most Valuable Player award, Fulks 19, Schayes 15, Arizin 15, Boryla 9, Cousy 8, Rocha 8, Phillip 6, McGuire 6, Gallatin 5. West: Groza 17, Brian 14, Davies 13, Mikan 12, Mikkelsen 11, Schaus 8, Eddleman 7, Beard 6, Pollard 4, Foust 2. So everybody who got into the game scored. Schayes led all players with 14 rebounds, and McGuire did so with 10 assists.

Now 92 years old, Cousy is the game's last surviving player.