Why are Boston called the Celtics?
The name grew out of a conversation between team founder Walter Brown and Howie McHugh, who was a member of the publicity staff at Boston Gardens back in 1946, while they were discussing what name to give the new basketball franchise. Possible nicknames included Whirlwinds, Unicorns and Olympics. One of the men hit up the idea of calling the team the Celtics, a name that dates back to the 1920s and a barnstorming basketball team (meaning a team that traveled from city to city and played exhibition games) from New York called the the Original Celtics. The name evoked basketballs earlier history and was a tribute to Boston’s large Irish population. In other words, the Boston Celtics name predates Dropkick Murphy by about half a century. The Celtics, Chicago Bulls and Red Sox have all played the song following home wins.
