American basketball coach and executive (1917–2006)
Red Auerbach
Auerbach in front of collage created by his brother, Zang Auerbach
Personal information
Born
(1917-09-20)September 20, 1917 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died
October 28, 2006(2006-10-28) (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
Seth Low JC (1936–1937)
George Washington (1937–1940)
Position
Guard
Coaching career
1940–1966
Career history
As 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 and awards
As head coach:
9× NBA champion (1957, 1959–1966)
NBA Coach of the Year (1965)
11× NBA All-Star Game head coach (1957–1967)
NBA anniversary team (25th, 35th)
Top 10 Coaches in NBA History
Top 15 Coaches in NBA History
No. 2 retired by Boston Celtics
As executive:
7× NBA champion (1968, 1969, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1986)
NBA Executive of the Year (1980)
Career coaching record
NBA
938–479 (.662)
Basketball Hall of Fame as coach
Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. He served as a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Boston Celtics. Auerbach was also the head coach of the Washington Capitols and Tri-Cities Blackhawks. As a coach, Auerbach set NBA records with 938 wins and nine championships.[a][1] After his coaching retirement in 1966, he served as president and front office executive of the Celtics until his death. As general manager and team president of the Celtics, he won an additional seven NBA titles for a grand total of 16 in a span of 29 years, the most of any individual in NBA history, making him one of the most successful team officials in the history of North American professional sports.[2]
Auerbach is remembered for being a pioneer of modern basketball, redefining basketball as a game dominated by team play and defense and introducing the fast break as a potent offensive weapon.[2] He coached many players who went on to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Auerbach was vital in breaking down color barriers in the NBA. He made history by drafting the first African-American NBA player, Chuck Cooper in 1950, introducing the first African-American starting five in 1964,[3] and hiring Bill Russell as the first African-American head coach in North American sports in 1966.[4] Famous for his polarizing nature, he was also well known for smoking a cigar when he thought a victory was assured, a habit that became, for many, "the ultimate symbol of victory" during his Boston tenure.[2]
In 1967, the NBA Coach of the Year award, which he had won in 1965, was named the "Red Auerbach Trophy", and Auerbach was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969.[1] In 1970, Auerbach was named President of the Boston Celtics, and first held the presidency from 1970 to 1997. In 2001, after having spent four years as the team's vice-chairman, he returned to the role of team president and served in that capacity until his death in 2006.[5] In 1980, he was named the greatest coach in the history of the NBA by the Professional Basketball Writers Association of America,[6] and was NBA Executive of the Year in 1980.[1] In addition, 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 in the TD Garden, the home of the Boston Celtics.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^ abcMay, Peter (October 29, 2006). "Auerbach, pride of the Celtics, dies". Boston.com. Retrieved July 10, 2007.
^ abc"Red Auerbach biography". JockBio.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2007.
^Ryan, Bob (October 30, 2006). "Red was just full of color". Boston.com. Retrieved July 10, 2007.
^"NBA Legend Bill Russell Became First Black Coach in Pro Sports 46 Years Ago Today". April 18, 2012.
^"Boston Celtics Management and Captains". NBA.com. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
^Goldstein, Richard (October 29, 2006). "Red Auerbach, Who Built Basketball Dynasty, Dies at 89". The New York Times. Retrieved July 10, 2007.
Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. He served as a head coach...
during their early years, until the hiring of coach RedAuerbach. In the franchise's early days, Auerbach had no assistants, ran all the practices, did all...
of long-time Boston Celtics coach RedAuerbach by Lloyd Lillie (sometimes called Arnold "Red" Auerbach or RedAuerbach) is installed outside Quincy Market...
(NBA) award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the RedAuerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who led the Boston...
Archived from the original on August 17, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2008. "Red Lights Cigar to Close Coaching Career". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive...
Arnold Auerbach may refer to: RedAuerbach (Arnold Jacob Auerbach, 1917–2006), American basketball coach Arnold M. Auerbach (1912–1998), American comedy...
and head coach Arnold "Red" Auerbach, the basketball practice facility is spread across the top two floors of The Auerbach Center and will include two...
coaching of RedAuerbach. Auerbach is the franchise's all-time leader in the number of regular-season and playoff wins as a coach. Auerbach and Bill Fitch...
eligible for the 1956 NBA draft. In the draft, Boston Celtics coach RedAuerbach set his sights on Russell, thinking his defensive toughness and rebounding...
NBL and the Basketball Association of America (BAA), and briefly had RedAuerbach as coach. In 1951, Kerner moved the team to Milwaukee, where they changed...
Doc Rivers, and Erik Spoelstra—were active. Six have died: Red Holzman in 1998, RedAuerbach in 2006, Chuck Daly in 2009, Jack Ramsay in 2014, and K. C...
playoff run in 48 years. On April 21, he was named the recipient of the RedAuerbach Trophy as the 2014–15 NBA Coach of the Year. On June 30, 2015, Budenholzer...
Game 2, after the Los Angeles Lakers' comeback overtime win in Game 1, RedAuerbach, who had challenged the entire league to topple the Celtics from their...
with more than one team (Pat Riley and Alex Hannum are the others). RedAuerbach won nine championships with the Boston Celtics and won eight consecutive...
11 NBA titles as a coach surpassed the previous record of nine set by RedAuerbach. He holds numerous other records as a coach, such as most postseason...
both teams competing were making their first appearances since 1951. RedAuerbach became the first head coach to have taken two separate teams to the NBA...
coach in RedAuerbach would do so several times over the next two decades, and this represented his only loss in a Final until 1958 (Auerbach would win...
Lakers would win the third and final BAA championship in 1949 over the RedAuerbach-coached Washington Capitals. The BAA would merge with the NBL to become...
won the award in 2013. Larry Bird, Frank Layden and Pat Riley join RedAuerbach as the only recipients to have also received NBA Coach of the Year. Bird...
Sharman 23 Ramsey 24 S. Jones 25 K. Jones 29 Tsioropoulos Head coach: Auerbach 14 Foust 16 Garmaker 19 Mikkelsen 21 Leonard 22 Baylor 23 Ellis 30 Hamilton...
to 1951. The team was coached from 1946 to 1949 by NBA Hall of Famer RedAuerbach. The team was founded in 1946 as a charter BAA team; it became a charter...
and Lenny Wilkens—were then active. Six have since died: Red Holzman in 1998, RedAuerbach in 2006, Chuck Daly in 2009, Jack Ramsay in 2014, John Kundla...
"Paramount Network greenlights production on Coyote". Michael Chiklis To Play RedAuerbach In HBO’s 1980s L.A. Lakers Series Library resources about Michael Chiklis...
manager RedAuerbach publicly stated that he would not pay Bird more than any Celtic on the current roster, but Bird's agent Bob Woolf told Auerbach that...
2023 NBA Coach of the Year RedAuerbach – 1965 Tom Heinsohn – 1973 Bill Fitch – 1980 NBA Executive of the Year RedAuerbach – 1980 Danny Ainge – 2008 Brad...
President of the Celtics. The position had been vacant since team patriarch RedAuerbach died in October 2006. List of National Basketball Association team presidents...
coaches (Rick Adelman, RedAuerbach, Larry Brown, John Calipari, Chuck Daly, Bill Fitch, Cotton Fitzsimmons, Alex Hannum, Tom Heinsohn, Red Holzman, Phil Jackson...
with a dynasty led by center Bill Russell and coach/general manager RedAuerbach. The Celtics won two more titles in the 1970s under coach Tom Heinsohn...
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