Mar. 24, 1963 - The St. Louis Hawks have never been noted for their shyness under the boards, but they lost a playoff game in Detroit tonight because the Pistons pushed them around like so many carts at the supermarket. St. Louis coach Harry Gallatin, angry that his club couldn't end the best-of-five NBA series in the minimum number of games, said, "They out-muscled us. This was the kind of brawl in which you had to shove and grab just as much as the other guy, and we didn't do it." The Pistons pulled down 19 more rebounds than the gentlemanly Hawks and won, 107-103. St. Louis has a 2-1 edge in the series and can qualify to meet the Lakers in the Western division final series by winning either Tuesday's contest at Cobo Hall or the Wednesday final (if necessary) at Kiel Auditorium. Several Detroit players stood out in the rebounding department, including rookie Dave DeBusschere with 26, but it was former St. Louis University star Bob Ferry (pictured) who drew grudging admiration from Gallatin. The 6-foot-8 Ferry, who spent his rookie season as a sub with the Hawks, had 11 rebounds and tied DeBusschere for the team scoring lead with 23 points. "Ferry killed us," Said Gallatin.
