Atlanta Hawks
Series Flow
0
Wins
0
Losses
Regular Season
41–31
Win–Loss
Playoff Record
8–4
Win–Loss
Finals
0–0
vs Boston Celtics
Finals MVP
Pettit
Bob
Atlanta Hawks
41–31Boston Celtics
49–23 (Regular Season)The 1957-58 Boston Celtics were the reigning NBA champions, having won the title the previous season. With Bill Russell in the middle, Bob Cousy at point guard, and Bill Sharman as one of the premier shooters of the era, the Celtics entered the 1958 Finals as heavy favorites to defend their title. But Russell was injured during the series and played at diminished capacity in Games 3 through 6 — a development that proved decisive. Without Russell operating at full capacity in the paint, the Celtics interior defense could not neutralize Bob Pettit and Cliff Hagan the way it had neutralized other opponents all season. Boston would go on to win 11 championships in 13 years. The 1958 season was their one interruption.
Finals MVP
Bob Pettit
#9 · Forward
29.3
PPG
17.0
RPG
50
G6 PTS
Bob Pettit delivered one of the defining individual performances in NBA Finals history in Game 6, scoring 50 points to clinch the St. Louis Hawks only championship. Averaging 29.3 points and 17.0 rebounds across the series, Pettit was the reason the Hawks could defeat the Boston Celtics dynasty at the height of its power. His 50-point Game 6 remains one of the most celebrated individual Finals performances in basketball history — the night one man willed a franchise to its only title.
Scored 50 points in the championship-clinching Game 6 — one of the greatest individual performances in NBA Finals history
Averaged 29.3 PPG and 17.0 RPG across the series — dominance on both ends of the floor against the defending champions
Became the first player in league history to win Finals MVP while denying Bill Russell his first championship ring
His performance remains the gold standard for individual Finals excellence in the pre-modern era of professional basketball
Cliff Hagan
#16 · Forward
24.3
PPG
8.2
RPG
Cliff Hagan was Bob Pettit's co-star on the St. Louis Hawks — the second superstar who made the team impossible to defend with a single scheme. A six-time All-Star and one of the most dangerous hook-shot artists in NBA history, Hagan averaged 24.3 points and 8.2 rebounds in the 1958 Finals. Where Pettit attacked with relentless physicality and mid-range precision, Hagan operated closer to the basket with footwork and touch that defenders of the era had no answer for. Together, they formed one of the great inside-scoring duos in the sport's early history — a partnership that is remembered in St. Louis and Atlanta as the foundation of the only championship the franchise has ever won.
Averaged 24.3 PPG alongside Pettit — the twin-tower interior scoring that gave the Celtics no clean defensive solution
Six-time NBA All-Star whose hook shot remains one of the most studied offensive weapons of the pre-modern era
His partnership with Bob Pettit created the foundational blueprint for the power forward duo that coaches have sought to replicate ever since
Ed Macauley
#22 · Center
15.2
PPG
8.8
RPG
Ed Macauley provided the center presence that allowed Pettit and Hagan to operate at forward without the defensive burden of anchoring the paint alone. A seven-time All-Star who had previously played for the Boston Celtics before being traded to St. Louis for the draft rights to Bill Russell, Macauley brought championship-level professionalism and interior skill to a Hawks team building toward its peak. His 15.2 points and 8.8 rebounds in the Finals contributed the foundational big-man production that complemented his more celebrated frontcourt partners.
A former Boston Celtic traded to St. Louis in exchange for the draft pick that became Bill Russell — one of basketball history most consequential roster moves
Seven-time All-Star who provided championship experience and interior stability at the center position for the 1958 title run
His trade from Boston to St. Louis directly enabled both the Celtics Russell dynasty and the Hawks only championship — a transaction that shaped the entire early NBA landscape
Slater Martin
#22 · Guard
9.1
PPG
4.8
APG
Slater Martin was the defensive specialist and floor general who allowed Pettit and Hagan to focus entirely on scoring. A five-time All-Star and one of the premier defensive guards of the early NBA, Martin directed the Hawks offense with efficiency and controlled the pace of games against the Celtics. His experience — including four championships with the Minneapolis Lakers — gave the St. Louis Hawks a championship-proven leader at point guard when the pressure of the Finals demanded composure above all else.
Five-time NBA All-Star who brought championship experience from four Minneapolis Lakers titles to the St. Louis Hawks
His defensive pressure on Bob Cousy — the greatest point guard of the era — was the tactical counterpart to Pettit offensive dominance
Averaged 4.8 assists in the Finals as the orchestrator of a Hawks offense that required precision to beat the defending champions
Jack Coleman
#8 · Forward
9.6
PPG
7.2
RPG
Jack Coleman provided the depth scoring and rebounding that kept the Hawks competitive across all six games. Not a primary star, but a professional whose contributions to the frontcourt depth — alongside Pettit and Hagan — prevented the Celtics from ever fully recovering their breath between possessions. Coleman's role in the 1958 championship is the kind that rarely earns historical attention but that every coaching staff understands as essential to winning at the highest level.
Provided frontcourt depth that complemented Pettit and Hagan and prevented the Celtics from rest-ing their primary defenders
His rebounding on both ends contributed to the possession battles that decided the series at the margins
A professional contributor whose steady performance across six Finals games reflected the depth of the 1958 Hawks roster
The 1957-58 Boston Celtics were the reigning NBA champions, having won the title the previous season. With Bill Russell in the middle, Bob Cousy at point guard, and Bill Sharman as one of the premier shooters of the era, the Celtics entered the 1958 Finals as heavy favorites to defend their title. But Russell was injured during the series and played at diminished capacity in Games 3 through 6 — a development that proved decisive. Without Russell operating at full capacity in the paint, the Celtics interior defense could not neutralize Bob Pettit and Cliff Hagan the way it had neutralized other opponents all season. Boston would go on to win 11 championships in 13 years. The 1958 season was their one interruption.
Bill Russell
#6 · Center
11.4
PPG
19.2
RPG
Injured (G3-G6)
STATUS
Russell injured his ankle in Game 3 and played at significantly reduced capacity for the remainder of the series — a development that changed the defensive calculus for Boston and opened the interior that Bob Pettit exploited for 50 points in the clinching Game 6.
Bob Cousy
#14 · Guard
14.0
PPG
5.6
APG
The greatest point guard of his era, Cousy orchestrated the Celtics offense against St. Louis with the creativity and efficiency that made him the defining player of the position in the early NBA. His 14 points and 5.6 assists per game kept Boston competitive but could not compensate for the diminished Russell in the interior.
Bill Sharman
#21 · Guard
17.8
PPG
6.2
3PA
One of the premier shooters of the early NBA era, Sharman led Boston in scoring during the series and was the offensive force that kept the Celtics competitive when Russell could not anchor the defense at full strength.
Bob Pettit
Scored 50 points in the championship-clinching Game 6 — still considered one of the greatest individual performances in NBA Finals history over 65 years later.
St. Louis Hawks
The 1958 championship remains the only NBA title in the franchise history that spans Tri-Cities, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Atlanta — one title in nearly 80 years of professional basketball.
Bob Pettit
Became the first player to win Finals MVP while defeating a Bill Russell-led Boston Celtics team — the only championship interruption in an 11-title, 13-year Celtics dynasty.
Alex Hannum
Coach Alex Hannum became one of a small group of coaches to win championships with two different franchises — adding this 1958 title to his previous success and later the 1967 Philadelphia 76ers championship.
St. Louis Hawks
The 1957 and 1958 Finals were both contested between the Hawks and Celtics — back-to-back championship series that represent the greatest rivalry of the early NBA era.
Bob Pettit
His 17.0 rebounds per game average in the 1958 Finals remains one of the highest rebounding averages ever recorded in a championship series.
The St. Louis Hawks of the late 1950s were built around one of the most dominant frontcourt duos in basketball history: Bob Pettit and Cliff Hagan. Pettit was the foundation — a two-time MVP and relentless competitor who understood that basketball was ultimately won in the dirty work of rebounding, positioning, and refusing to accept that any shot was uncontestable. Hagan was the complement — a scorer of equal danger but different style, whose hook shot and footwork made him virtually impossible to guard once he caught the ball in a comfortable position. Together, they made the St. Louis Hawks the most dangerous offensive team in the NBA.
The 1958 Finals was a rematch of the previous year, when the Celtics had defeated the Hawks in seven games to claim their first championship with Bill Russell. St. Louis had come closer than any team in the league to stopping the Boston dynasty in its cradle. The 1958 matchup gave them the chance to finish what they had started. And this time, circumstances aligned in their favor: Russell, the defensive anchor who had denied Pettit in the 1957 series, injured his ankle in Game 3 and was never the same physical force for the remainder of the series.
Game 6 in St. Louis is the reason this championship lives in basketball history. The Hawks led three games to two, and Bob Pettit simply refused to let the opportunity pass. He scored 50 points — 19 of the Hawks' final 21 points — in one of the most extraordinary individual clutch performances the sport has ever produced. With the championship at stake, in front of his home crowd, with the defending champions exhausted and depleted, Pettit delivered a performance that transcended the game and entered the category of legendary moments that define what basketball can be when greatness aligns with opportunity.
The aftermath of the 1958 championship shaped the subsequent decade of NBA basketball. The Celtics, humbled and motivated, returned the following year and won eight consecutive championships. Pettit and the Hawks remained competitive — reaching the Finals again in 1960 and 1961 — but never recaptured the title. The franchise relocated from St. Louis to Atlanta in 1968, taking with them the memory of that single perfect season when the greatest player in franchise history delivered the greatest performance on the game's biggest stage. The 1958 championship banner has traveled from St. Louis to Atlanta, but what it represents has never diminished: the proof that for one season, the St. Louis Hawks were the best team in professional basketball.
There is a number that defines everything about the Atlanta Hawks only championship — and that number is 50. Fifty points. Bob Pettit. Game 6. April 12, 1958. Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri.
The franchise had been building toward this moment for four years. Bob Pettit, selected second overall in 1954, had transformed the Hawks from an afterthought into a legitimate championship contender. The 1957 Finals had ended in defeat — seven games, Boston, the cruelest possible margin — and the lessons of that loss had been absorbed over an entire offseason. When the 1958 Finals brought the same two teams back together, the St. Louis Hawks understood exactly what was required.
The series pivoted in Game 3 when Bill Russell — Boston's defensive foundation, the player who made the Celtics dynasty possible — injured his ankle and never fully recovered. In the 1957 Finals, Russell had been the answer to every question the Hawks asked. In 1958, with Russell compromised, the interior that Pettit attacked with such precision became vulnerable in ways that Red Auerbach could not fully compensate for through scheme alone.
But the championship still had to be won. And in Game 6, with the Hawks one victory away, Bob Pettit made sure there would be no Game 7. Fifty points — 19 of St. Louis' final 21 — against the best defensive organization in basketball, on the most important night of the franchise's history. His teammates watched from the bench in the final minutes, understanding they were witnessing something that transcended the ordinary category of great performance. This was different. This was the kind of night that people would still be talking about sixty years later.
The Boston Celtics went on to win eight consecutive championships. The 1958 season was their one interruption — proof that the dynasty was not inevitable, that it had to be earned against real opponents, and that for one season, one team was simply better. The Atlanta Hawks have been chasing that feeling ever since. The banner still hangs. The memory still holds.
Send this page to a fellow Atlanta Hawks fan. Let them relive every moment — game by game, play by play.
