Larry Siegfried dies at 71; guard won five NBA titles with the Boston Celtics

Larry Siegfried, who helped Ohio State University win its only NCAA basketball championship in 1960 and won five NBA titles with the Boston Celtics, died Thursday night. He was 71.

FOR THE RECORD:
Larry Siegfried: The obituary of former pro basketball player Larry Siegfried in the Oct. 16 LATExtra section said he played two seasons for the Cleveland Pipers of the American Basketball Assn. before joining the Boston Celtics. The Pipers played in the American Basketball League for one full season and were disbanded before the start of their second season in the ABL. —

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

From 1964 to 1969, the Celtics won five championships with Siegfried playing guard.

Siegfried was captain and most valuable player of the 1960-’61 Ohio State team and was a second-team All-American. He was drafted by the NBA’s Cincinnati Royals but played two seasons in the American Basketball Assn. with the Cleveland Pipers before joining Bill Russell and former Ohio State teammate John Havlicek with the Celtics.

In the 1968-’69 season, he averaged a career-best 14.2 points a game along with 3.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists. He finished his career playing for San Diego, Houston and Atlanta.

Siegfried scored 1,228 points at Ohio State, ranking him 27th on the school’s all-time scoring list.

As a sophomore, he led the Buckeyes in scoring, averaging 19.6 points. But one of the greatest recruiting classes ever in college basketball — including Jerry Lucas and Havlicek — joined the team the next season and Siegfried became a key supporting player.

He was born May 22, 1939, in Shelby, a small community between Cleveland and Columbus.

Siegfried is survived by his wife, Tina; three daughters; a son-in-law; and a grandson.

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