Boston Celtics jersey history No. 6 – Tom Kelly (1947-48)

Oct 18, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; The number 6 is seen on the Boston Celtics jersey honoring Celtic great Bill Russell during the third quarter of the game between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics have had players suiting up in a total of 68 different jersey numbers (and have three others not part of any numerical series) since their founding at the dawn of the Basketball Association of America (BAA — the league that would become today’s NBA), worn by well over 500 players in the course of Celtics history. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Celtics Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team.

With 25 of those jerseys now retired to honor some of the greatest Celtics to wear those jerseys, there is a lot of history to cover. And for today’s article, we will continue with the fourth of five players to don the No. 6 jersey, Boston guard alum Tom Kelly.

After he finished his collegiate ball at New York University, Kelly was picked up with the 38th overall pick of the 1948 BAA (Basketball Association of America — a precursor league of the NBA) draft by the Celtics.

He would spend his entire BAA career with Boston, and it was a short one — just 27 games.

During his time suiting up for the Celtics, Kelly wore just jersey No. 6, and averaged 7.1 points and 1.4 assists per game.

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