1957 NBA Finals

The 1957 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1956–57 National Basketball Association season, and was the conclusion of the 1957 NBA Playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Division champion St. Louis Hawks and the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics. This was the first trip to the Finals for each team, the first Finals in which both teams competing were making their first appearances since 1951. Red Auerbach became the first head coach to have taken two separate teams to the NBA Finals, having done so with Washington in 1949. The Celtics won the series over the Hawks, 4–3. It remains the only Game 7 in NBA history to be decided in double-overtime.

1957 NBA finals

Team Coach Wins Boston Celtics Red Auerbach 4 St. Louis Hawks Alex Hannum 3
Dates	March 30–April 13
Hall of Famers	Celtics: Bob Cousy (1971) Tom Heinsohn (1986) Andy Phillip (1961) Frank Ramsey (1982) Arnie Risen (1998) Bill Russell (1975) Bill Sharman (1976) Hawks: Bob Pettit (1970) Slater Martin (1982) Ed Macauley (1960) Coaches: Red Auerbach (1969) Alex Hannum (1998)
Eastern finals	Celtics defeated Nationals, 3–0
Western finals	Hawks defeated Lakers, 3–0
← 1956 NBA finals 1958 →

This was the second meeting between teams from Boston and St. Louis for a major professional sports championship.^[1]

Game summaries

Game	Date	Home team	Result	Road team
Game 1	March 30	Boston Celtics	123–125 (2OT) (0–1)	St. Louis Hawks
Game 2	March 31	Boston Celtics	119–99 (1–1)	St. Louis Hawks
Game 3	April 6	St. Louis Hawks	100–98 (2–1)	Boston Celtics
Game 4	April 7	St. Louis Hawks	118–123 (2–2)	Boston Celtics
Game 5	April 9	Boston Celtics	124–109 (3–2)	St. Louis Hawks
Game 6	April 11	St. Louis Hawks	96–94 (3–3)	Boston Celtics
Game 7	April 13	Boston Celtics	125–123 (2OT) (4–3)	St. Louis Hawks

Celtics win series 4–3

Team rosters

Boston Celtics

1956–57 Boston Celtics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 14 Bob Cousy 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1928-08-09 Holy Cross F/C 15 Tom Heinsohn 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1934-08-26 Holy Cross F 20 Dick Hemric 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1933-08-29 Wake Forest F 18 Jim Loscutoff 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1930-02-04 Oregon F/C 16 Jack Nichols 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 1926-04-09 Washington G 17 Andy Phillip 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1922-03-07 Illinois G/F 23 Frank Ramsey 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1931-07-13 Kentucky F/C 19 Arnie Risen 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1924-10-09 Ohio State C 6 Bill Russell 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1934-02-12 San Francisco G 21 Bill Sharman 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1926-05-25 USC F 29 Lou Tsioropoulos 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1930-08-31 Kentucky

Head coach Red Auerbach Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

St. Louis Hawks

1956-57 Western Division Champions St. Louis Hawks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From SF 26 Irv Bemoras 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) November 18, 1930 Illinois PF 12 Jack Coleman 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) May 23, 1924 Louisville SF 6, 17 Cliff Hagan 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) December 9, 1931 Kentucky PF 33 Alex Hannum 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) July 19, 1923 USC PF 20, 50 Ed Macauley 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 185 lb (84 kg) March 22, 1928 Saint Louis PG 22 Slater Martin 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) October 22, 1925 Texas SG 21 Jack McMahon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) December 3, 1928 St. John's SG 32 Med Park 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) April 11, 1933 Missouri C 9 Bob Pettit 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) December 12, 1932 LSU C 70 Chuck Share 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) March 14, 1927 Bowling Green

Head coach Alex Hannum Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Box scores

March 30

Boxscore

St. Louis Hawks 125, Boston Celtics 123 (2OT)
Scoring by quarter: 31–21, 18–26, 22–27, 31–28, Overtime: 11–11, 12–10
Pts: Bob Pettit 37 Rebs: Bob Pettit 14		Pts: Bill Sharman 36 Rebs: Bill Russell 18
St. Louis leads series, 1–0

Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 5,976

• Tom Heinsohn hits the game-tying lay-up with 6 seconds left in regulation to force the first OT; Bob Cousy hits the game-tying shot with 15 seconds left in the first OT to force the second OT.

March 31

Boxscore

St. Louis Hawks 99, Boston Celtics 119
Scoring by quarter: 21–31, 22–31, 27–32, 29–25
Pts: Ed Macauley 19 Rebs: Bob Pettit 13 Asts: Slick Leonard 4		Pts: Cousy, Ramsey 22 each Rebs: Bill Russell 25 Asts: Bob Cousy 7
Series tied, 1–1

Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 13,909 Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Sid Borgia

April 6

Boxscore

Boston Celtics 98, St. Louis Hawks 100
Scoring by quarter: 19–19, 25–21, 28–29, 26–31
Pts: Bill Sharman 28 Rebs: Bill Russell 19 Asts: Bob Cousy 8		Pts: Bob Pettit 26 Rebs: Bob Pettit 28 Asts: three players 5 each
St. Louis leads series, 2–1

Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Attendance: 10,048

• Bob Pettit hits the game-winner with 45 seconds left.

April 7

Boxscore

Boston Celtics 123, St. Louis Hawks 118
Scoring by quarter: 31–36, 35–17, 30–37, 27–28
Pts: Bob Cousy 31 Rebs: Bill Russell 20 Asts: Arnie Risen 9		Pts: Bob Pettit 33 Rebs: Bob Pettit 16 Asts: Martin, Hagan 6 each
Series tied, 2–2

Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Attendance: 10,035 Referees: Sid Borgia, Arnie Heft

April 9

Boxscore

St. Louis Hawks 109, Boston Celtics 124
Scoring by quarter: 30–21, 30–38, 25–35, 24–30
Pts: Bob Pettit 33 Rebs: Bob Pettit 15 Asts: Med Park 6		Pts: Bill Sharman 32 Rebs: Bill Russell 23 Asts: Bob Cousy 19
Boston leads series, 3–2

Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 13,909

April 11

Boxscore

Boston Celtics 94, St. Louis Hawks 96
Scoring by quarter: 23–22, 28–27, 27–28, 16–19
Pts: Tom Heinsohn 28 Rebs: Bill Russell 23		Pts: Bob Pettit 32 Rebs: Bob Pettit 23
Series tied, 3–3

Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Attendance: 10,053 Referees: Sid Borgia, Arnie Heft

• Cliff Hagan hits the game-winning shot at the buzzer, which is believed to be the first buzzer-beater shot to win a playoff game in NBA history.^[2]

April 13

Boxscore

St. Louis Hawks 123, Boston Celtics 125 (2OT)
Scoring by quarter: 28–26, 25–25, 24–32, 26–20, Overtime: 10–10, 10–12
Pts: Bob Pettit 39 Rebs: Bob Pettit 19 Asts: Martin, Coleman 7 each		Pts: Tom Heinsohn 37 Rebs: Bill Russell 32 Asts: Bob Cousy 11
Boston wins series, 4–3

Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 13,909

• Bob Pettit hits the game-tying free throws with 7 seconds left in regulation to force the first OT; Jack Coleman makers the game-tying basket with 9 seconds left in the first OT to force the second OT. Bob Pettit misses the game-tying shot at the buzzer to force a third OT.
• Only NBA Finals Game 7 to date to go past the first overtime, and as of 2021, the only Game 7 in NBA history to go past the first overtime.

Celtics center Bill Russell set a rookie record for rebounds in a single NBA finals game with 32 in game 7, and averaged an NBA finals rookie record of 22.9 rebounds per game for the entire series.^[3]