Terry O’Reilly squares off against Tommy Heinsohn in the first round of Boston’s Biggest Sports Legend tournament.
Terry O’Reilly did a little bit of everything during his career with the Bruins. He took the ice for 13 years, captained the squad for two, coached for a little under two and was never afraid to put fans in their place. In December of 1979 at Madison Square Garden, a Rangers fan stole Bruin Stan Jonathan’s stick and hit him with it. O’Reilly responded by charging into the stands and scaring the living daylights out of the fan. He got suspended for eight games, but it was worth it. He asserted himself as a Black and Gold legend. His best season came in 1977-78, when the winger notched 29 goals and 90 assists. He finished his career with 204 goals, 402 assists, a plus-212 rating and 2,095 penalty minutes. He never won a championship with the B’s, but he was one of the lucky few to have his number hung from the rafters at the Garden.
Long before he was the Celtics’ colorful color commentator, Tommy Heinsohn was already a legend. In his first season after being selected by the Celtics in the 1956 draft, Heinsohn made the All-Star Game, earned Rookie of the Year honors and won a title. He won eight championships in nine years in green, the third-most titles in NBA history behind Bill Russell and Sam Jones. Heinsohn finished his career with 12,194 points, 5,749 rebounds and six All-Star selections before moving to the broadcast booth. He turned to coaching in 1969 and led the Celtics for eight years. In 1972-73, he shepherded Boston to a league-best 68-14 mark and earned Coach of the Year honors. The C’s won a title the next year, and they won another one in 1976. He finished his coaching career with a 427-263 mark. In 1981, he returned to broadcasting where — to this day – the Hall of Famer exuberantly hands out Tommy Points to guys who play hard and Tommy Awards to guys who play best, just like he did during his time on the hardwood.
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