Red Auerbach
Red Auerbach in front of a collage created by his brother, Zang Auerbach | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 20, 1917 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 28, 2006 (aged 89) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Listed weight | 170 lb (77 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Eastern District (Brooklyn, New York) |
| College |
|
| Position | Guard |
| Coaching career | 1940–1966 |
| Career history | |
| As a player: | |
| 1943 | Harrisburg Senators |
| As a coach: | |
| 1940 | St. Albans School |
| 1940–1943 | Roosevelt HS |
| 1946–1949 | Washington Capitols |
| 1949 | Duke |
| 1949–1950 | Tri-Cities Blackhawks |
| 1950–1966 | Boston Celtics |
| Career highlights | |
As head coach:
As executive:
| |
| Career coaching record | |
| NBA | 938–479 (.662) |
| Record at Basketball Reference | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. As a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he led the Boston Celtics to an unprecedented championship run, winning eight consecutive NBA championships from 1959 to 1966.
Before coaching the Celtics, Auerbach was head coach of the Washington Capitols, of the Basketball Association of America, and Tri-Cities Blackhawks (now the Atlanta Hawks) of the NBA.
At retirement, Auerbach held multiple NBA coaching records, with 938 wins and 9 championships. After his retirement from coaching, he served as president and front-office executive of the Boston Celtics until his death. As general manager and team president of the Celtics, he won an additional seven NBA titles for a total of 16 in 29 years. This makes him the team official with the highest championship-winning rate in NBA history and one of the most successful team officials in the history of North American professional sports.
Auerbach introduced the fast break strategy as an offensive tool, still widely used in basketball today. Many aspects of Auerbach's fast break philosophy remain fundamental in today's game.
He coached numerous players who were inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, including Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Tommy Heinsohn, John Havlicek, and Bill Sharman.
He also played a key role in decreasing racial discrimination in the NBA. He made history by drafting the first African-American NBA player, Chuck Cooper, introducing the first African-American starting five, and hiring Bill Russell to be the first African-American head coach in North American sports in 1966. Auerbach was also famous for smoking a cigar when he thought a victory was assured, a habit that became known as "the ultimate symbol of victory" during his time in Boston.
In 1967 it was announced that recipients of the NBA Coach of the Year award would receive the "Red Auerbach Trophy." Auerbach was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969. In 1970, Auerbach was named president of the Celtics, a role he held until 1997. In 2001, after spending four years as the team's vice-chairman, he returned to the team president role and served in that capacity until he died in 2006 at age 89. In 1980, Auerbach was named the greatest coach in the history of the NBA by the Professional Basketball Writers Association of America and was NBA Executive of the Year in 1980. Furthermore, Auerbach was voted one of the NBA 10 Greatest Coaches in history, inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, and honored with a retired number 2 jersey at TD Garden, the Celtics' home.