James Loscutoff Jr. (born February 4, 1930) is a former professional basketball player for the NBA's Boston Celtics. A forward, Loscutoff played on seven Celtics championship teams between 1956 and 1964.
Born in San Francisco, California, Jim grew up as one the four children of James (Sr.) and Nellie Loscutoff.[1] He starred in basketball at Palo Alto High School, graduating in 1948.[2][3] Loscutoff then attended Grant Technical College (which later became American River College), a two-year college near Sacramento, California before proceeding to the University of Oregon.
Standing 6'5", Loscutoff was selected with the third non-territorial pick of the first round in the 1955 NBA Draft. In nine seasons from 1955 to 1964, he played forward and won seven championships as part of the legendary Celtics teams of the 1960s. He was originally drafted by coach Red Auerbach to provide some much-needed defensive nerve for the Celtics team, which (despite becoming the first team to average 100 points per game in the 1954–55 season) had one of the worst defensive records in the league.
Loscutoff's "Retired Number"
Loscutoff was described by one player as a hatchet-man,[4] and his defense and strength were part of the defensive greatness of the 60s Celtics, alongside Hall-of-Famer Bill Russell.
Loscutoff's nicknames included "Jungle Jim" or "Loscy". The organization wished to honor Loscutoff, but he asked that his jersey number (18) not be retired so that a future Celtic could wear it. The number 18 was indeed worn by Dave Cowens, and it was after his tenure and in honor of him that the number was retired. However, Loscutoff does have an honorary banner amongst the rafters in the TD Garden, along with the rest of the retired numbers—one displaying his nickname, "Loscy".
Today, Loscutoff lives between Florida and Andover, Massachusetts, where his family owns a day camp for children.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ "Jerry Loscutoff (paid obituary)". Palo Alto Weekly, pg. 6, August 19, 2005 [1]
- ^ "The Last Roundup". Oakland Tribune. FindArticles.com. March 15, 2009 [2]
- ^ Tennis, Mark. "Mr. Basketball 2003: Trevor's Time". Scout.com, April 3, 2003 [3]
- ^ Deveney, Sean (January 28, 2002). "Believe it or not, NBA used to be rougher - Insider - National Basketball Association". The Sporting News. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_4_226/ai_82885057.
- ^ Twiss, Jeff. "Legal Timeout with Jim Loscutoff". http://www.nba.com/celtics/history/LegalTimeLuscutoff.html. Retrieved 2007-10-11.
[edit] External links
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| Name |
Loscutoff, Jim |
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| Date of birth |
February 4, 1930 |
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San Francisco, California |
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