The Boston Celtics made a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers for star point guard Kyrie Irving, and it was all anyone in the sports world could talk about Wednesday morning.
But Irving isn’t the first important figure to go to Boston by way of Cleveland.
WKYC-TV writer Ben Axelrod took to Twitter and pointed out a couple of Boston sports legends who began their careers there, too.
Bill Belichick has coached in the NFL since 1975, but his first head-coaching gig came in 1991 with the Cleveland Browns. Belichick was fired after the Browns moved to Baltimore, and he found a job as an assistant head coach and defensive backs coach with the New England Patriots in 1996. He spent three seasons with the New York Jets after that, but he went back to the Patriots in 2000 as a head coach and has helped lead them to five Super Bowl wins since then.
Manny Ramirez spent the first eight seasons of his Major League Baseball career with the Cleveland Indians and was a four-time All-Star before signing with the Boston Red Sox as a free agent ahead of the 2001 season. The outfielder never missed an All-Star Game in his eight seasons there, helped lead the Red Sox to their first World Series win in 86 years in 2004 and was beloved by Boston fans.
Irving has yet to play a game in green, but fans certainly wouldn’t mind if he’s even half as successful as the other Cleveland transplants.
Thumbnail photo via Aaron Doster/USA TODAY Sports Images
