<p>Excerpt:</p>
<p>Now 78, but still a threat to throw an elbow under the boards, Heinsohn came to us from New Jersey as an oddly dressed freshman at Holy Cross in Worcester in the autumn of 1952.</p>
<p>My mother bought me a brand new suit for going away to college, he remembered. We were poor, but she wanted me to have that. It was a powder blue suit with peg pants you know, skinny at the bottom. I think I made quite an impression with that.</p>
<p>At Holy Cross, he lived in Alumni Hall, OKane Hall, and Hanselman. He dined at Kimball. He was a first-team All-American and played on a Crusaders team (with Ronnie Perry and Togo Palazzi) that won the National Invitation Tournament when it was a bigger deal than the NCAA Tournament.</p>
<p>A rugged, 6-foot-7-inch shooting forward, Heinsohn was NBA Rookie of the Year in 1956-57. Another rookie on that Boston team was a guy named Bill Russell. Busy winning a gold medal for the United States at the Melbourne Olympics in the latter part of 1956, Russell didnt join the Celtics until December.</p>
<p>FULL ARTICLE HERE: Why</a> Tommy Heinsohn is a Celtics institution - Sports - The Boston Globe</p>