Bob Ryan Ranks Every Celtics Owner Ever — And One Nearly Destroyed the Franchise

Bob Ryan Ranks Every Celtics Owner Ever — And One Nearly Destroyed the Franchise

From NBA History Story Tellers on CLNS by Nick Gelso, CLNS Media

July 13, 2026 · 18 min

About this episode

Bob Ryan discusses the history of Boston Celtics owners and their impact on the franchise.

Bob Ryan has covered the Boston Celtics under every owner since Walter Brown — the founder who mortgaged his own house to keep the team alive. In this episode, Bob goes through all of them, era by era… including the one owner who nearly destroyed the franchise. John Y. Brown traded THREE first-round picks to the Knicks for Bob McAdoo — without telling Red Auerbach. Red was so furious he nearly took the Knicks job. Imagine Celtics history if he had. Bob covers it all: • Walter Brown, the founder who paid for the team out of his own pocket • The revolving-door 70s: Ballantine Beer, Irv Levin, and the franchise swap with Buffalo • John Y. Brown — the man Red couldn’t forgive • Harry Mangurian, the underrated owner who let Red rebuild • The Gaston years and the leaky Garden roof • Wyc Grousbeck’s championship era • Bill Chisholm’s record $6.1 billion purchase — and what it means for the banner 18 core 🔔 Subscribe for Celtics history from the man who covered every era of it 👇 Who’s the best owner in Celtics history? Worst? Drop it below. 📌 Chapters: 0:00 — Walter Brown: The Founder Who Mortgaged His House 2:10 — The Revolving Door: Beer Companies & Franchise Swaps 4:45 — John Y…

People in this episode

Host: Nick Gelso

Guest: Bob Ryan

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Boston Celtics, Knicks, Ballantine Beer, Buffalo

Places: Garden

More episodes of NBA History Story Tellers on CLNS

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the NBA History Story Tellers on CLNS podcast page.