Players & Legends Series: The Boston Strangler <div align="center"><font face="GEORGIA"><font size="7">The Boston Strangler</font></font></div> <div align="center"></div> <div align="center">#22 Andrew Toney Position: Shooting Guard Height: 6'3" Weight: 180 lbs School: Southwest Louisiana 80' Drafted: 8th Overall (1980) by the 76ers Years W/ 76ers: 1980-1988 Nickname: The Boston Strangler</div> The Eastern Conference of the early '80's was dominated by the rivalry of Philly vs. the Celts. It seemed every year one of the other was going to the Finals. But with the arrival of Larry Legend the advantage shifted to Beantown and the Philly faithful wouldn't stand for it,but they needed help to get past the dreaded Leprechaun. During the 1980 season the Sixers needed some added scoring punch. Doc's near 28 ppg was 13 or more points higher than the teams other leading scorers,Chocolate Thunder and Doug Collins. Because of the lack of adequate scoring the Sixers faultered and stumbled often before being put out of the playoffs. The Celtics swept Chicago, defeated Philadelphia in seven games after trailing 3-1, and overmatched Houston in six games to win their first title of the Bird-Parish-McHale Era. Boston overmatched the Sixers and finally put out a Sixers squad led by an exhausted Dr.J to end the season for the Sixers squad. The 1981 season opened with the rivalry more intense than ever. Battling all the way down to the wire before Larry and Company prevailed in 7 games in the ECF (91-90). But there was a glimmer of hope,Andrew Toney. A true under the radar type player drafted out of SW Louisiana State with little fanfare. But this rook,was the only player on the team not named Erving to top 30 points in any single game. Coach Billy Cunningham knew that he had an answer for the curse of the Leprechaun in No. 22. He knew he had an assassin capable of giving him that extra firepower to overcome Boston. He just had to make Andrew Toney realize it as well. Andrew Toney would end up being a crucial weapon in the struggle for Eastern Conference dominance. The rivalry between the Sixers had raged since the days of Wilt and Russell..Greer and Cousy just to name a few,but the coming year would ratchet the vaunted rivalry up another notch. When Toney came in he had the distinction of being the NCAA's 13th all-time leading scorer,pretty good for a kid coming out of the SWAC. And had the experts taken a closer look Toney's past exploits would have provided a glimpse at what his legacy in the L would be. The true birth of "The Boston Strangler" is hard to pinpoint exactly. But alot of people point to game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals as the Genesis of The Assassin named Toney. The Sixers had blown a 3-1 series lead and now had do something very few had ever done. Beat the Celtics,in the Finals,in Boston. Overcome all the ghosts of Celtics past. Needless to say it was now or never. Win it or go on summer vacation. Few would have guess what would be. In games 5 and 6 Toney was 7 for 31 so it stands to reason that when he came off the pine for game 7 few expected anything significant and for awhile they were right. But a pivotal turning point in the game came when ML Carr,while trying to block his shot,slapped The Strangler in the face. It was a wake up call,as ML Carr would later say because Toney gave him a look as if to say Thanks,I needed a wake up call. The Celts had no answer for Toney who had dropped 16 points by half and had 34 at the end to put Philly past the Celtics to face the Lakers. The Sixers ended up losing to the Lakers in 6 but knew they had cleared the first part of the hurdle. After the loss,Toney returned home and became more dangerous,adding the other two dimensions to his game. A stifling D and an underrated passing game. Even though Coach Cunningham knew Toney was a key piece,a dangerous weapon in the Philly-Boston struggle. He continued to press Andrew to work on his game so he wasn't just a scorer. The offseason proved to be bad news for the Celtic faithful,not only did the Boston Strangler become more lethal the Sixers added,Moses Malone to the mix. That year Philly and Toney were unconscious. Winning an NBA best 65 games and destroying the vaunted Celtics in the regular season. Toney came off the bench to average 38.3 ppg against Boston that year. The Sixer attack was so potent that some speculated that the floggings put to them by the Sixers during the regular season led to Boston's exit in round one of the Playoffs. During these playoffs,Philly only lost one game to Milwaukee. Not having to face Boston in another emotional series probably helped in the potent attack the Sixers had the rest of the way. After all Moses made the famous prediction for the Finals "Fo',Fo' and Fo'" when asked how Philly would do in the playoffs. Some people might think that with the arrival of Mo' it lessened the impact that the Strangler had but they would be mistaken. He averaged more in the playoffs that year,coming off the bench (18.8),than the other three starters not named Erving and Malone. With Doc and Mo averaging 60 ppg between them,Toney came off the bench to help spark the sweep of the Lakers with his own 25 ppg. The next season Boston went out and got itself an Equalizer. DJ,Dennis Johnson. Toney and DJ had some classic battles during the season,but even DJ's much vaunted defense couldn't contain the Strangler as the Sixers beat Boston 4 out of 6 during the season with Toney dropping in 33.2ppg against them. Toney was unconscious again,coming off the bench to add 20.4ppg and 4.8 apg. But it all went for naught come Playoff time. Call it complacence or overconfidence,but the Sixers stumbled thru the first round and took an early exit thanks to the Nets. During his three year reign of terror in the NBA most of the naysayers would say well "All he can do is shoot." and the Sixers would reply "Isn't that the point?". As long as Toney was victimizing Danny Ainge or Larry Bird,Sixer fans were content to let "Toney shoot the bitch"as much as he wanted. Because as long "As he's puttin' the bitch in the basket against the Celts" Nothing else mattered. Andrew Toney's significance was never as great as those first three "unconscious" seasons. But his place in Sixers lore is forever secure as The Boston Strangler. The Hired Gun. #22 With a Bullet. His legacy will always be as the greatest weapon in a 30 year war of attrition bewteen 2 of the L's most storied franchises. Without Toney its doubtful if Doc would have gotten his NBA ring. "If he hits one,you know he's going to hit another and another and another." - Darryl Dawkins "When Toney gets unconscious it really doesn't matter what anyone does." - Mo Cheeks "I thought he was the best player on the team when I got here. We had Bobby Jones, Moses Malone, and Julius Erving but the only one I was in awe of was Andrew." - Charles Barkley Here's a link so you guys can have a look at Andrew Toney's Career stats Andrew Toney's Stats (Thanks to SLAM and the NBA Encylopedia for the stat info and the three player quotes.)
I've never heard of this guy before, his shooting average %'s are uncanny....he truly is a pure SG. I wouldn't be surprised since most of the Sixers era only did what their position was, except maybe with the exception of say, Dr. J. Darryl Dawkins was pure power I wouldn't have expected any different. Thanks for introducing this player to me, I'm gonna go read up more about him. I'm surprised he, Skywalker and Chocolate Thunder aren't on the NBA History website. Chocolate Thunder was a druggie though and proud of it so I guess there's some reason.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Magic Johnson:</div><div class="quote_post">I've never heard of this guy before, his shooting average %'s are uncanny....he truly is a pure SG. I wouldn't be surprised since most of the Sixers era only did what their position was, except maybe with the exception of say, Dr. J. Darryl Dawkins was pure power I wouldn't have expected any different. Thanks for introducing this player to me, I'm gonna go read up more about him. I'm surprised he, Skywalker and Chocolate Thunder aren't on the NBA History website. Chocolate Thunder was a druggie though and proud of it so I guess there's some reason.</div> The NBA has a very rich history.. there are dozens and dozens and dozens of good ballers from the past that get forgotten as time goes by..Toney is just one of those...as time permits I'll try to post some more retrospectives on some of the forgotten stars of the past.
What was the saying that went along with those 76er teams? Something like: Big Mo, Little Mo, The Docter, Andrew Toney, and Iavaroni, no baloney, 6ers all the way. Some people like to argue that Toney should be in the Hall of Fame, but I don't see it. He was a great shooter, one of the better bench players the game has seen, but I don't think he warrants a hall of fame spot. I think the point is pretty clear though that the 76ers probably wouldn't have won a championship if it weren't for some of Toney's heroics.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting sunsfan1357:</div><div class="quote_post">What was the saying that went along with those 76er teams? Something like: Big Mo, Little Mo, The Docter, Andrew Toney, and Iavaroni, no baloney, 6ers all the way. Some people like to argue that Toney should be in the Hall of Fame, but I don't see it. He was a great shooter, one of the better bench players the game has seen, but I don't think he warrants a hall of fame spot. I think the point is pretty clear though that the 76ers probably wouldn't have won a championship if it weren't for some of Toney's heroics.</div> For sure,his career isn't Hall caliber..however I think he does deserve a chapter in NBA history and there should be an asteric next to the Sixers 80's title to denote his importance to that team...but thats just my opinion. :mrgreen:
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting The Black Widow:</div><div class="quote_post">For sure,his career isn't Hall caliber..however I think he does deserve a chapter in NBA history and there should be an asteric next to the Sixers 80's title to denote his importance to that team...but thats just my opinion. :mrgreen:</div> Maybe not an asterisk, after all, he was just as important to the team as Mo Cheeks and Bobby Jones. But the Sixers should retire his number. He and Moses are the two major pieces from that team who have yet to have thier jersey's retired with Philly. I think Toney would have had a more noteworthy career if it hadn't been hampered by injuries toward the end. If he had stayed healthy after the trading of Malone and the retirement of Jones and Erving, there's a good chance Cheeks might've been kept as well, and Toney would have been a prominent part of a Barkley-led Sixers squad.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Magic Johnson:</div><div class="quote_post">I've never heard of this guy before....</div> I'm stunned by this response, a different generation I suppose...... Toney was a great scorer, very mercurial. Those old Sixer teams never really got their due, they had some really great talent and were fun to watch It was a different game back then it was based on team success and individual brilliance was always based within that context. That's why you don't see guys like Bobby Jones or Mo Cheeks celebrated in this era and it is to the detriment of the game in my opinion Shoe Deals, Highlight Reels and Max Contracts are what's celebrated and respected. It used to be more about the game......
Hey sunsfan, did you watch that NBA Greatest Finals moment tape??? That phrase "Big Mo, Little Mo, The Docter, Andrew Toney, and Iavaroni, no baloney, 6ers all the way" was on it when they showed the early 80s finals between the Sixers and Lakers
lol, I thought you meant the actual Gerontophilia killer, Boston Strangler. I just read about him in a new book I got... "the serial killer files"
I didn't relieze how good Toney was until I was creating the All Time Teams on NBA2K for one of my previous websites. And I was reading up on him, how he would kill the Celtics and the main reasons the C's Dennis Johnson was to stop Toney. Toney isn't HOF, but he was a great player none the less.
