Larry Siegfried, former Celtics player, dies at 71

Former Ohio State star Larry Siegfried, who helped the Buckeyes to their only championship in 1960 and won five NBA titles in seven years with the Boston Celtics, died Thursday night. He was 71.

Siegfried had been at the Cleveland Clinic since suffering a heart attack on Oct. 5, said Lesli Barkdull Neal, owner and funeral director at Barkdull Funeral Home in Shelby.

The Celtics won five titles from 1964 to '69 with Siegfried playing guard.

A native of Shelby, a small community between Cleveland and Columbus, Siegfried was captain and MVP of the 1960-61 Ohio State team and was a second-team All-American. A No. 3 pick in the draft by the Cincinnati Royals, he played two seasons in the American Basketball Association with the Cleveland Pipers before joining Bill Russell and former Ohio State teammate John Havlicek with the Celtics.

His scoring average was in the double figures for the Celtics each year from 1965-66 to 1969-70. - AP