AUERBACH, RED

born Sept. 20, 1917, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S. byname of Arnold Jacob Auerbach American professional basketball coach whose National Basketball Association (NBA) Boston Celtics won nine NBA championships and 1,037 games against 548 losses. Auerbach began coaching at St. Alban's Preparatory School (1940) and Roosevelt High School (194043), both in Washington, D.C. He served during World War II in the U.S. Navy (194346) and after the war coached the Basketball Association of America Washington Capitals and Tri-City teams before becoming coach of the Celtics in 1950. His trademark as a Celtics coach was that when he thought his team had the game in hand, he lit up a cigar, an act that delighted Celtic fans and infuriated the fans of their opponents. He retired in 1966 as coach and became president and general manager of the Celtics; he retired as general manager in 1984. Auerbach was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1968.