Former Celtics Coach Red Auerbach Dies

Former Celtics Coach Red Auerbach Dies

By JOSEPH WHITE, AP Sports Writer
15 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Red Auerbach, who had a genius for building Boston Celtic championship teams, a gift for straight talk, and a cigar at the ready for every victory, died Saturday, eight days after his 89th birthday.

Auerbach's death was announced by the Celtics, who still employed him as team president. Next season will be dedicated to him, they said.

The Hall of Fame coach died of a heart attack near his home in Washington, according to an NBA official, who declined to be identified because the family had not officially spoken. His last public appearance was on Wednesday, when he received the Navy's Lone Sailor Award at a ceremony in the nation's capital.

"Red Auerbach was the consummate teacher, leader, and a true pioneer of the sport of basketball," commissioner David Stern said on NBA.com. "The NBA wouldn't be what it is today without him."

Auerbach's 938 victories made him the winningest coach in NBA history until Lenny Wilkens overtook him during the 1994-95 season. His nine titles as a coach came in the 1950s and 1960s _ including eight straight from 1959 through 1966 _ and then through shrewd deals and foresight he became the architect of Celtics teams that won seven more championships in the 1970s and 1980s.

Auerbach was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969. The jersey No. 2 was retired by the Celtics in his honor during the 1984-85 season.

"He was a unique personality, a combination of toughness and great, great caring about people," said author John Feinstein, who last year collaborated on a book with Auerbach on the coach's reflections of seven decades in basketball. "He cared about people much more than it showed in his public face, and that's why people cared about him."

With the Celtics, he made deals that brought Bill Russell, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale to Boston. He drafted Larry Bird a year early when the Indiana State star was a junior to make sure Bird would come to Boston.

He coached championship teams that featured players such as Russell, Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, Bill Sharman, K.C. Jones and Sam Jones, all inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Phil Jackson matched Auerbach's record nine championships when the Los Angeles Lakers won the title in 2001-02.

After stepping down as general manager in 1984, Auerbach served as president of the Celtics and occasionally attended team practices into the mid-1990s, although his role in the draft and personnel decisions had diminished.

"Red was a guy who always introduced new things," Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca told The Associated Press in an interview this month. "He had some of the first black players in the league and some people didn't like that, but you've got to do what's right for the fans."

When Rick Pitino took the president's title when he became coach in 1997, and Auerbach became vice chairman of the board. After Pitino resigned in 2001, Auerbach regained the title of president and remained vice chairman. When the team was sold in 2002 to a group headed by Grousbeck, Auerbach stayed on as president.

Through all those changes and titles, Auerbach didn't lose his direct manner of speaking, such as when he discussed the parquet floor of the Boston Garden shortly before the Celtics' longtime home closed in September 1995.

"The whole thing was a myth," Auerbach said. "People thought not only that there were dead spots, but that we knew where every one was and we could play accordingly.

"Now, did you ever watch a ballplayer go up and down the court at that speed and pick out a dead spot?" he asked. "If our players worried about that, thinking that's going to help them win, they're out of their cotton-picking mind. But if the other team thought that: Hey, good for us."

As Celtics president, Auerbach shuttled between Boston and his home in the nation's capital, where he led an active lifestyle that included playing racquetball and tennis into his mid-70s.

Auerbach underwent two procedures in May 1993 to clear blocked arteries. He had been bothered by chest discomfort at various times beginning in 1986.

Auerbach was also hospitalized a year ago, but he was soon active again and attended the Celtics' home opener. Asked that night what his thoughts were, he replied in his usual blunt manner: "What goes through your mind is, 'When the hell are we going to win another one? I mean, it's as simple as that."

Auerbach had planned to be at the Celtics' opener this season, in Boston next Wednesday against the New Orleans Hornets.

In his 16 seasons as the Celtics' coach, Auerbach berated referees and paced the sideline with a rolled-up program in his clenched fist. The cigar came out when he was sure of another Celtic triumph.

He had a 938-479 regular-season coaching record and a 99-69 playoff mark. On Jan. 12, 1966, he got victory No. 1,000 in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Auerbach had a reputation as a keen judge of talent, seemingly always getting the best of trades with fellow coaches and general managers.

In 1956, he traded Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan to St. Louis for the Hawks' first-round pick and ended up with Russell _ probably the greatest defensive center of all time and the heart of 11 championship teams.

In 1978, he drafted Bird in the first round even though he would have to wait a year before Bird could become a professional.

Before the 1980 draft, the Celtics traded the No. 1 overall selection to Golden State for Parish and the No. 3 pick. The Warriors took Joe Barry Carroll. The Celtics chose McHale.

In 1981, Boston chose Brigham Young guard Danny Ainge in the second round. Ainge was playing baseball in the Toronto Blue Jays organization at the time, but was freed after a court battle to play for the Celtics.

In June 1983, another one-sided deal brought guard Dennis Johnson from Phoenix for seldom-used backup center Rick Robey.

Born Arnold Auerbach in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Sept. 20, 1917, Auerbach attended Seth Low Junior College in New York and George Washington University. His playing career was undistinguished. In three seasons at George Washington he scored 334 points in 56 games. He would often attend games at GW's Smith Center, where the court is named in his honor.

As a coach, he was an instant success, posting the best record of his career in his first season. He led the Washington Capitols to a 49-11 mark in 1946-47, the NBA's debut season, and took them to the playoff semifinals.

The Capitols had winning records the next two seasons under Auerbach, who moved on to the Tri-Cities Blackhawks for one season in 1949-50. They had a 28-29 mark, Auerbach's only losing record in 20 years as an NBA coach.

In the NBA's first four seasons, the Celtics never had a winning record. But Auerbach changed that dramatically when he succeeded Alvin "Doggy" Julian as Boston's coach for the 1950-51 campaign.

They went 39-30 that year, and the Celtics never had a losing record in his 16 seasons on the bench. Boston's lowest winning percentage was .611 in his last 10 seasons.

His last game as coach was on April 28, 1966, when Boston edged the Lakers 95-93 in the seventh game of the finals to win the NBA title. He was just 48 years old, but ready to move on.

On Feb. 13 of that season, Auerbach was honored at halftime of a loss to Los Angeles at Boston Garden.

"They say that losing comes easier as you grow older," he said after the game. "But losing keeps getting harder for me. I just can't take it like I used to. It's time for me to step out."

Russell became player-coach the next season, while Auerbach concentrated on his job as general manager. Russell was the first of five Boston coaches who had played for Auerbach.

Auerbach fostered the image of the Celtics as a family and took pride in the fact that many ex-players remained close to the team. And although he cultivated a cantankerous public image, his former players testified to his basic good nature.

"He'd help me wherever he could," K.C. Jones said after the 1983-84 season, his first as Boston's coach. "He's done that from day one, so nothing's really changed. He's still the same grouchy guy, but he takes care of his people."

Auerbach worked under 11 ownership groups with the Celtics. When Grousbeck took over, Auerbach told the new owner why always had his players wear black sneakers.

"They stay cleaner. They don't have be changed," Grousbeck said. "There are a number of things we've learned directly from Red, and meeting him has been the highlight of this whole experience."

Auerbach is survived by his two daughters, Nancy Auerbach Collins and Randy Auerbach; his granddaughter, Julie Auerbach Flieger, and three great-grandchildren.

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AP Sports Writers Howard Ulman and Jimmy Golen in Boston contributed to this report.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.