RED AUERBACH CELTICS CHAMPION A rnold Red Auerbach was best known for two cigar on the bench things He won a lot of basketball games And he celebrated those wins by lighting up a Smoking is banned in arenas today of course But Auerbach was a symbol of a different era in sports The sight of his cigar meant the Boston Celtics had won again Auerbach coached the Celtics from 1950 51 to 1965 66 In 16 years his teams won 795 regular-season games Plus they won nine National Basketball Association NBA titles The Celtics never had a losing season under Auerbach Celtics coach Red Auerbach was known as a feisty and successful leader successful leader successful leader 1 5
His teams were built on strong defense and rebounding They were led by center Bill Russell He was one of the greatest defensive players in basketball history Auerbach and Russell led Boston to a record eight straight NBA championships In many ways Auerbach’s worldview differed from that of his opponents That helped make him successful as well For example Auerbach coached during a time when much of the country was segregated But he was the first NBA coach to start five black players in his lineup When he retired from coaching in 1966 he named Russell as his replacement That made Russell the league’s first black head coach Auerbach had a great eye for talent The St Louis Hawks had drafted Russell Auerbach traded two future Hall of Fame players to get him The move paid off for Boston As general manager of the Celtics he also traded for Robert Parish and drafted Larry Bird and Kevin McHale All three players are in the Basketball Hall of Fame 6
One of Red Auerbach’s best moves was drafting and signing future Hall of Famer Larry Bird Auerbach lost his red hair long before he became a famous coach But that is about all he lost He joined the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969 7
