After majoring in history at Saint Louis University, Ed Macauley wanted to be a high school teacher and basketball coach.
“I never got to do that,” the 75-year-old said with a chuckle.
Instead, Macauley did other things, such as win a National Invitation Tournament title, an NBA championship and earn NBA All Star MVP honors.
“Easy” Ed Macauley is being honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame, which showcases the cultural heritage of St. Louis and influential St. Louisans. Macauley will be inducted into the Walk of Fame with William Greenleaf Eliot (education), Michael McDonald (music), Ozzie Smith (baseball) and Kay Thompson (literature).
“To be inducted into the walk of fame, a person must have been born in St. Louis or spent formative or creative years in St. Louis. The second criteria is that they must have a national impact on our cultural heritage,” said St. Louis Walk of Fame founder Joe Edwards.
Macauley grew up about a mile and a half from the University City Loop area and was a standout on St. Louis University High School’s basketball team. Though he was recruited by other big-name schools, such as Kentucky, Missouri, Notre Dame and Boston College, Macauley decided to stay in St. Louis to be near his.
In 1948, Macauley received incredible honors, as he led the Bills to the National Invitation Tournament title.
Then, the National Invitation Tournament was the most prestigious national tournament. The NIT selected top team from across the country to compete based on their record for the season. At that time, the NCAA Tournament only incorporated teams that won their respective conference championships.
“We went to the NIT in Boston and won the tournament,” Macauley said. “People couldn’t believe it. They said, ‘What do you mean you won? Saint Louis U. won?’ I said, ‘Yeah, we won!’ When we got back to St. Louis and pulled into Union Station, there were 15,000 fans waiting for us. It was the most astounding thing I’ve ever seen. It was a great experience.”
In his senior season with the Bills, Macauley was named the Associate Press’ Division I Player of the Year. That year, the Billikens were ranked first in the first AP basketball poll, proving their NIT win was not a fluke.
Following his career at SLU, Macauley played in the NBA for the St. Louis Bombers until the team went under in 1950. After that, Macauley was drafted by the Boston Celtics, where he played for six years, before being involved in the trade that brought NBA legend Bill Russell to Boston. Macauley returned to St. Louis to play for the Hawks.
The trade turned out to be a blessing for Macauley, who was hit that year with the news that his son, Patrick, had contracted spinal meningitis, which was destroying his brain, leaving him with cerebral palsy.
“I didn’t know if I could go back to Boston that year,” Macauley said. “The opportunity for the Celtics to acquire Bill Russell came along, and it worked out well for me.”
With the Hawks, Macauley won the NBA Championship in 1959. He appeared in seven All-Star games, including the first in NBA history in 1951, where Macauley led the Eastern Conference team to a 111-94 win over the West.
“They didn’t actually select an MVP the first or second year,” Macauley said. “The third year, someone said they should have an MVP, so they selected one for that night and someone said they should have one for the first and second games. I was notified later that I had been selected as the MVP of the first All Star game.”
Today, Macauley still lives in St. Louis and is one of SLU’s most distinguished alumni. Macauley was ordained a deacon in the Catholic Church in 1989, co-authored the book Homilies Alive in 1993, and now maintains the website www.homiliesalive.com.
Macauley will be honored on the Walk of Fame on Sunday, May 11 with a concert and keynote address before the induction, beginning at 1:30 p.m.
The event is free, open to the public and will be held outside at 6504 Delmar in the Loop.
Returning to his childhood neighborhood brings back fond memories for Macauley, who looks back on not only his childhood memories in St. Louis with fondness, but his days at SLU as well.
“The best memories are of the guys who played on the ball club. We’ve stayed close as friends, and we’ve lost some now, but we still get together three, four or five times a year. Friendship was one of the best things about that team,” Macauley said.
“My wife (who Macauley met at SLU) and I now have seven children and 17 grandchilden, all in St. Louis. The fact that I went to Saint Louis U. meant that none of that would have happened otherwise. It shaped my whole life, and I’m glad I chose to attend SLU.”
