35 Facts About Red Auerbach

Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach was an American professional basketball coach and executive.

Red Auerbach served as a head coach in the National Basketball Association, most notably with the Boston Celtics.

Red Auerbach coached many players who went on to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Additionally, Red Auerbach was vital in breaking down color barriers in the NBA.

Red Auerbach made history by drafting the first African-American NBA player, Chuck Cooper in 1950, introducing the first African-American starting five in 1964, and hiring Bill Russell as the first African-American head coach in North American sports in 1966.

Arnold Jacob Red Auerbach was one of the four children of Marie and Hyman Red Auerbach.

Red Auerbach spent his whole childhood in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, playing basketball.

Amid the Great Depression, Red Auerbach played basketball as a guard at PS 122 and in the Eastern District High School, where he was named "Second Team All-Brooklyn" by the World-Telegram in his senior year.

In those years, Red Auerbach began to understand the importance of the fast break, appreciating how potent three charging attackers against two back-pedalling defenders could be.

In 1940, Red Auerbach began coaching basketball at the St Albans School and Roosevelt High School in Washington, DC Three years later, he joined the US Navy for three years, coaching the Navy basketball team in Norfolk.

Red Auerbach later wrote that he "felt pretty bad waiting for [Gerard] to die" and that it was "no way to get a job".

Red Auerbach left Duke after a few months when Ben Kerner, owner of the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, gave him the green light to rebuild the team from scratch.

In 1950, Red Auerbach took a position as the athletic director of Kutsher's Hotel in the Catskills, NY.

Red Auerbach argued that the flashy Cousy lacked the poise necessary to make his team, taunting him as a "local yokel".

Red Auerbach emphasised the need for role players like Frank Ramsey and John Havlicek, who became two of the first legitimate sixth men in NBA history, a role later played by Don Nelson.

Red Auerbach popularised smoking a victory cigar whenever he thought a game was already decided, a habit that became cult-like in popularity in the Boston area.

Red Auerbach traded away both Silas and Westphal because they wanted salary increases that would have made them higher earners than the best player on the Celtics, which was not acceptable to Auerbach.

Red Auerbach knew that the brilliant, hardworking Bird would be the cornerstone of a new Celtics generation.

In 1980, Red Auerbach achieved another great coup, which was dubbed "The Steal of The Century".

In 1984, after he relinquished his general managing duties to Jan Volk, Red Auerbach focused on continuing as president and later vice-chairman of the Boston Celtics.

Red Auerbach would stay on with the Celtics as president until 1997, as vice chairman until 2001, and then became president again, a position he held until his death, although in his final years, he was weakened by heart problems and often used a wheelchair.

Red Auerbach's brother Zang Auerbach, four years his junior, was a respected cartoonist and portraitist at the Washington Star.

Red Auerbach married Dorothy Lewis in the spring of 1941.

Red Auerbach recalled that on his 75th birthday party, 45 of his former players showed up; and when he turned 80, his perennial 1960s victim Wilt Chamberlain showed up, a gesture which Auerbach dearly appreciated.

Red Auerbach died of a heart attack on October 28,2006, at the age of 89.

Red Auerbach is credited with creating several generations of championship Boston Celtics teams, including the first Celtics dynasty with Bill Russell, which won an NBA record eight titles in a row.

That was not surprising; Red Auerbach went after the players of the highest intelligence and character, and then of course paid them horribly.

Two subsequent facts are perhaps most relevant in evaluating Red Auerbach's legacy: First, he was able to trade Maxwell to San Diego in exchange for former MVP Bill Walton, who was a major contributor to the team winning its 16th title in 1986, the last of Red Auerbach's career.

Red Auerbach's story is documented in The First Basket, the first and most comprehensive documentary on the history of Jews and Basketball.

Red Auerbach is featured as an interview subject for the film.

From his early days, Red Auerbach was convinced that the fast break, where a team used a quick outlet pass to fast guards who run downcourt and score before the opponent had re-established position, was a potent tactical weapon.

Further, Red Auerbach moved emphasis away from individual accolades and instilled the teamwork element into his players.

Red Auerbach was known for choosing players for talent and motivation, with disregard for skin colour or ethnicity.

Red Auerbach constantly added new black players to his squad, including Bill Russell, Satch Sanders, Sam Jones, K C Jones, and Willie Naulls.

When Red Auerbach gave up coaching to become the Celtics general manager in 1966, he appointed Bill Russell as his successor.