Red Auerbach: Celtics Coach and Architect of a Basketball Dynasty Dies a

Red Auerbach was an American basketball coach and executive. Born Arnold Jacob Auerbach on September 20, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York, he coached the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1966.

Auerbach won nine NBA championships as a coach, including eight in a row from 1959 to 1966, and 16 titles in total as a coach and executive. In 1950 he drafted Chuck Cooper, the first Black player drafted in the NBA, and in 1966 he named Bill Russell the league's first Black head coach.

He was famous for lighting a victory cigar on the bench when a game was in hand. Auerbach was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969. He died of a heart attack in Washington, D.C., on October 28, 2006, at age 89.

Achievements: Nine NBA championships as coach, Basketball Hall of Fame (1969), NBA Coach of the Year (1965).

Birth: September 20, 1917 - Brooklyn, New York.

Profession: Basketball coach and executive.

Interesting Facts: His brother Zang Auerbach designed the Celtics' leprechaun logo.