On this day in 1965, former Boston Celtics small forward Kevin Douglas Gamble was born in Springfield, Illinois.
A product of the University of Iowa, Gamble was drafted 63rd overall (there were many more rounds to the draft in that era) in the 1987 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers.
He would play for that team briefly before spending time playing for teams in the the Continental Basketball Association (an analogue to today’s G League), the Philippine Basketball Association and the World Basketball League.
In December of 1988, Gamble got picked up by the Celtics to help cover for an injured Larry Bird, and managed to parlay the opportunity into increasingly important roles, eventually becoming a starter by the 1990-91 season.
He would play for Boston a total of six seasons, averaging 11.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while with the team.
It is also the birthday of former Celtic center Steve Hamer, born this day in 1973 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Hamer played his college ball at the University of Tennessee and was drafted by Boston 38th overall in the 1996 NBA draft.
The Tennessean played 35 games for the Celtics that season, averaging 2.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.
Finally, ex-Boston forward Gene Stump was also born today, in 1923 in Chicago, Illinois.
A product of DePaul, Stump was selected by the Celtics in their very first draft during their second season of existence, when they were still in the Basketball Association of America (BAA — a precursor league of the NBA) era.
The Chicagoan played 99 games for Boston over two seasons, recording 6.3 points per game (many common counting statistics were not yet recorded).
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