BREAKING NEWS : Red Auerbach Dies At 89

[Pistons < Spurs]

Red Auerbach Dies At 89
Red Auerbach, perhaps the greatest coach in the history of the NBA, has died at 89. Auerbach led the Celtics to eight straight titles from 1959-66 and won nine overall.

per ESPN frontpage.

[Pistons < Spurs]

WASHINGTON -- Red Auerbach, who coached the Boston Celtics to nine NBA championships in the 1950s and 1960s, died Saturday. He was 89.

Auerbach won 938 games with the Celtics and was the winningest coach in NBA history until Lenny Wilkens overtook him in the 1994-95 season. As general manager, the straight-talking Auerbach was also the architect of Celtics teams that won seven more titles in the 1970s and 1980s.

He died of a heart attack, according to an NBA official, who didn't want to be identified.

Auerbach joined the Celtics in 1950 as the franchise's third coach and also served as general manager, president and vice chairman of the board.

Auerbach guided the Celtics to their first championship as a coach-general manager in 1957 and an unprecedented eight straight titles from 1959-66, elevating them above such sports dynasties as the New York Yankees and Montreal Canadiens for consecutive championships.

Known for lighting up a cigar on the bench after victories, Auerbach retired as coach after the eighth straight title and appointed center Bill Russell as player-coach, but remained the team's general manager through the 1983-84 season and served as president from 1970-97 and then again in 2001.

From 1957-69, the Celtics won 11 championships in 13 seasons. They added five more titles in 1974, 1976, 1981, 1984 and 1986 for an NBA-high total of 16.

Phil Jackson is the only other coach to win nine NBA titles -- six with the Chicago Bulls and three with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1969, Auerbach retired with a record of 938-479 in the regular season and 99-69 in the playoffs.

Auerbach is survived by two daughters, one granddaughter and three great-grandchildren.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2642131

[Pistons < Spurs]

RIP Red

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

:depressed The greatest coach in the history of basketball. R.I.P Red Auerbach. Farewell and thanks for the memories. :depressed

[Melmart1]

"Red is playing chess while the rest of the GM's are playing checkers...."

RIP Red.

[FromWayDowntown]

RIP Red.

[greenroom]

R.I.P Red Auerbach :grim:

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach dead at 89

Associated Press
Posted: 2 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) - Red Auerbach, who coached the Boston Celtics to nine National Basketball Association championships in the 1950s and 1960s, died Saturday. He was 89.

Auerbach won 938 games with the Celtics and was the winningest coach in NBA history until Lenny Wilkens overtook him in the 1994-95 season. As general manager, the straight-talking Auerbach was also the architect of Celtics teams that won seven more titles in the 1970s and 1980s.
He died of a heart attack, according to an NBA official, who didn't want to be identified.

[lefty]

RIP ; great basketball mind
Can't beieve he lived that long with all the cigars he smoked

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Celtics patriarch Auerbach dead at 89
Posted: Saturday October 28, 2006 9:14PM;
Updated: Saturday October 28, 2006 9:52PM


Arnold "Red" Auerbach joined the Celtics in 1950 as the franchise's third coach and also served as general manager and president.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Red Auerbach, the Hall of Fame coach who led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA championships in the 1950s and 1960s, died Saturday. He was 89.

Auerbach won 938 games with the Celtics and was the winningest coach in NBA history until Lenny Wilkens overtook him in the 1994-95 season. As general manager, the straight-talking Auerbach, who celebrated victories with a postgame cigar, was also the architect of Celtics teams that won seven more titles in the 1970s and 1980s.

He died of a heart attack near his home in Washington, according to an NBA official, who didn't want to be identified. His last public appearance was on Wednesday, when he received the U.S. Navy's Lone Sailor Award in front of family and friends in ceremonies in Washington.

"Red was a guy who always introduced new things," Steve Pagliuca, a Celtics managing partner, 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. So I think we tried to do things thoughtfully. We didn't come in here and change everything overnight."

Auerbach's death was announced by the Celtics, for whom he still served as team president. The team said the upcoming season would be dedicated in his honor.

"I never thought he'd die," said author John Feinstein, who last year collaborated on a book with Auerbach on the coach's reflections of more than 70 years in basketball. "He was a unique personality, a combination of toughness and great, great caring about people. He cared about people much more than it showed in his public face, and that's why people cared about him."

Born Arnold Auerbach in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Sept. 20, 1917, Auerbach was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1968.

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. The jersey No. 2 was retired in Auerbach's honor during the 1984-85 season.

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.

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.

When Rick Pitino became coach in 1997, he also took the president's title and Auerbach became vice chairman of the board. After Pitino resigned on Jan. 8, 2001, Auerbach regained the title of president and remained vice chairman.

The team was sold on Dec. 31, 2002, to a group headed by Wyc Grousbeck and Auerbach stayed on as president.

Through all those 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."

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[Budkin]

RIP Mr. Auerbach. The NBA and the Celtics will miss you.

[ShoogarBear]

I actually saw Red one time on the streets of Boston's Chinatown back in the late 80s or early 90s.

I'm a charter member of the Celtic Haters Club, but Red is the reason they have what they accomplished. Maybe he didn't invent the fast break, but he was its first perfector.

[MrChug]

R.I.P. Red Aurbach. I'm burning a stogie in your honor as we speak.

[alamo50]

The greatest coach of all time has left our world.
Give 'em hell upstairs Mr. Aurbach!

R.I.P.

[themvp]

Rip.

[Texas_Ranger]

R.i.p.

[Duncan21]

RIP Red

[samikeyp]

Right now Red is talking to Dr. Naismith about how he improved his game.

RIP Coach.

[cherylsteele]

Never was a big fan of his because he was the cletics for a long time...I do respect what he did though.
R.I.P. :depressed

[PAWW]

RIP Red, you did a lot for this game.

[trueD]

When people of this mans caliber pass on, I always wonder if they understood the legacy they would be leaving behind.

RIP, Mr. Auerbach.

[slayermin]

Rest in peace, Red.

Every basketball fan should read John Feinstein's book, "Let Me Tell You a Story" about the stories Red Auerbach told at his famous luncheons.

[sa_butta]

The Boston Celtics (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=bos) will wear a black clover leaf on their uniforms for the upcoming season as a tribute to former coach and general manager Red Auerbach, who died Saturday of a heart attack at age 89.

The clover will appear on the right side of the jersey and will be inscribed with the word "Red" in green lettering.

The Celtics begin the season at home Wednesday against the New Orleans Hornets and are still formulating plans to honor Auerbach at the opener.

Auerbach's family announced Monday that his funeral will be Tuesday in Falls Church, Va.

Auerbach's 938 victories made him the winningest coach in NBA history until Lenny Wilkens overtook him during the 1994-95 season.

Auerbach's 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.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2643735