OT: Red Auerbach dead at 89

[taltos]

In honor of Red, after the SC football game I will go out on my porch and smoke a good stogie(thank God it stopped raining) and then come inside and eat some Chinese food (his real adiction). Tomorrow at Mass I will light a candle for him. Paul

 

[Pats726]

And he even made it into the TV booth...one year he was in the booth as a color commentator..it was interesting to gear his words..and hear him go after the officials..."Walking..walking"..."Bend you knees..that's it"...Hrw as one of a kind..totally!! I even remember in the 60s..Red on Roundball..

 

[Pats Fanatic]

R.I.P. Red and thanks for the memories. Here's to the greatest coach and GM in NBA history.

 

[IndyKen]

Thank you Red for all the great years, tremendous games, and
championships. I just bought his book "Let Me Tell You a Story", I think I'll
be finishing it this weekend now for sure.

RIP Red.

 

[pats1]

ESPNews reports it was a heart attack.

R.I.P., Red.

 

[shmessy]

ESPNews reports it was a heart attack.

R.I.P., Red.

Any Red Auerbach fan will tell you that, given the legend of the man's automobile driving, dying of natural causes at the age of 89 may have been one of his great accomplishments!

A true original. The man did it his way.

 

[pats1]

Any Red Auerbach fan will tell you that, given the legend of the man's automobile driving, dying of natural causes at the age of 89 may have been one of his great accomplishments!

A true original. The man did it his way.

Looks like it was pretty unexpected, too (what heart attack isn't?)

ESPNews also says he was planning on coming to Boston on Wednesday for the home opener.

 

[Aldogg]

R.I.P. to possibly the greatest sports legend in this area. Words can not summerize what this man has not only meant to the sport of basketball, but the area of Boston.

 

[scout]

Rest in Peace, Red.
The greatest coach in the history of sports.
One of my all time favorite books, Let Me Tell You a Story. If you haven't read his last book, its a great read told by many people.
Long live Red.

 

[bobgeorge]

My tribute to Auerbach:

http://www.bossports.net/celtics/story.php?filename=061029

I do make some mention of Belichick, so it does have some Patriotic content.

I do hope that we all understand and recognize the impact of Auerbach's passing, and what he meant to this region.

Bob G

 

[patsfan13]

He was a real ground breaker off the court as well as on the court. The first coach to play 5 black players at a time, becuase they gave the team the best chance to win. It seems amazing now that race enetered into who would/wouldn't play.

When the Celtics played games down south in the 50's thae team ate together. There was an incident where the team went into a restaurant in a Hotel, they were informed that the Black players couldn't eat in the Dining room, Red took the team and left. Believe it or not that was a big deal 50 years ago.

Made Russell the first Black man to coach a professional team.

Great Man, Great Coach, Great GM.

RIP Red

 

[bobgeorge]

They usually have these things written, primed and ready to go when a sports legend and icon is nearly 90 years old

That was obvious. All Peter May (or staff editors) had to do was add the first and last paragraph. This was obviously written a long time ago.

Bob G

 

[Fanfrom1960]

That was obvious. All Peter May (or staff editors) had to do was add the first and last paragraph. This was obviously written a long time ago.

Bob G

He was the first NBA coach to recognize the importance of defense and rebounding, leading him to pull off a brilliant "trade" to get the rights to Bill Russell. He also "invented" the fast break, which revolutionized basketball. The best multi-title team before the Celtics was the Minneapolis Lakers, a nice team which dribbled the ball up the floor to feed a great center who, specialized in hook shots and barely left his feet. Red brought in racehorse basketball and there was no looking back. Red was the greatest innovator in the history of basketball, nobody even close. Thank's, Red, for architecting the first great title teams in Boston in my lifetime.

 

[kolbitr]

My tribute to Auerbach:

http://www.bossports.net/celtics/story.php?filename=061029

I do make some mention of Belichick, so it does have some Patriotic content.

I do hope that we all understand and recognize the impact of Auerbach's passing, and what he meant to this region.

Bob G

Thank you for this tribute.

As to the rather personal and unstated question as to what Red Auerbach meant to me, as a Boston sports fan but as a sports fan more than anything, I will add this as well...growing up watching the Celtics in the seventies and eighties, the legend of Red Auerbach meant that one had a sense of history. And unlike the passing star sense that knowing Bobby Orr or Ted Williams and Yaz gave us, Red was a constant link to a tradition of winning...a sense that the 'franchise' mattered, and was a source of pride...the glory of the Russell years survived, and was touched, by the brilliance of the Bird years...one felt that fathers, grandfathers, and the sons and daughters of these same could connect over the games, and through the constant presence and championship force that was Red Auerbach.

I can only hope that the Belichick genius and personality will someday, after several more championship banners, become such an Auerbachian force of history and continuity for our beloved New England Patriots; and that in ten and twenty years BB will, in some capacity, watch over successive generations of winners, each sharing a sense that their own origin, their fountainhead, was with a true champion, a man who represented selfless play, dedication to the team, and the ecstatic spirit of victory.

 

[patchick]

Thank you for this tribute.

As to the rather personal and unstated question as to what Red Auerbach meant to me, as a Boston sports fan but as a sports fan more than anything, I will add this as well...growing up watching the Celtics in the seventies and eighties, the legend of Red Auerbach meant that one had a sense of history. And unlike the passing star sense that knowing Bobby Orr or Ted Williams and Yaz gave us, Red was a constant link to a tradition of winning...a sense that the 'franchise' mattered, and was a source of pride...the glory of the Russell years survived, and was touched, by the brilliance of the Bird years...one felt that fathers, grandfathers, and the sons and daughters of these same could connect over the games, and through the constant presence and championship force that was Red Auerbach.

I can only hope that the Belichick genius and personality will someday, after several more championship banners, become such an Auerbachian force of history and continuity for our beloved New England Patriots; and that in ten and twenty years BB will, in some capacity, watch over successive generations of winners, each sharing a sense that their own origin, their fountainhead, was with a true champion, a man who represented selfless play, dedication to the team, and the ecstatic spirit of victory.

Beautifully put. That deep sense that "the franchise matters" can only come from decades of consistency in coaching, management, and/or ownership. E.g., the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise matters because of the Rooneys. You see that kind of long-term franchise identity more in college sports where coaches can establish dynasties...or at least they used to. (John Calipari never should have left UMass, he was the King of the World there. Ditto Steve Spurrier at Florida, etc.)

 

[Lansdowne]

God Speed Mr. Auerbach.

 

[R_T26]

the only guy who had balls to smoke a stogie during the game. Also had 16 rings. What a brilliant mind.

 

[PatsRI]

Proabably the best article I've read today by Jackie Mac:
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2006/10/29/tough_man_had_a_tender_side/?page=1

 

[desi-patsfan]

My best to Red's family, RIP Coach.

 

[sdaniels7114]

I'm at a loss.