One of a kind

Arnold (Red) Auerbach is gone and the entire basketball world mourns his passing.

He was one of a kind. Fans loved him in Boston where he turned the Celtics franchise into a dynasty in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Auerbach coached the Celtics to nine NBA titles, including eight in a row, from 1950 to 1966. Then, he moved to the front office and guided the team to seven more titles, the last in 1986 with K. C. Jones at the helm.

More than his coaching ability, what made Auerbach such a legendary figure in the NBA was his astute backroom wheeling and dealing. Auerbach did the unthinkable in 1956 when he traded two popular All-Stars, "Easy" Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan, for an untested first round pick who turned out to be Bill Russell. He did it again in 1978 when he chose Larry Bird in the draft even if the Celtics had to wait a year before the Indiana State star could play. Five other teams had a shot at Bird but none took the chance that Auerbach did.

Auerbach worked his magic once more in 1981 when he dealt the first and 13th picks for Robert Parish and the third overall choice who wound up to be Kevin McHale.

Auerbach wasn’t the conventional, back-slapping general manager of a professional basketball team. He was merciless in pouncing on the enemy. He relished the thought of the Celtics opponents biting the dust and squirming in despair. He lit a cigar when victory was imminent as if to rub salt on the Celtics victims’ wounds. It was easy to understand why he was hated as much as he was loved.

Auerbach wasn’t only shrewd. He was gruff and often rumbustious. He loved to win by outsmarting his foes and made sure they knew it.

I watched Auerbach coach his last game during the All-Star Weekend in Cleveland in 1997. He was tapped to coach the East team against Red Holzman’s West in the rookies game. Since the league celebrated its 50th anniversary that season, Auerbach and Holzman were "reactivated" from retirement as a tribute to their contributions as legendary coaches.

Auerbach wore a red sweater and chomped on his cigar during a team practice that I covered. He was clearly hands-on as he personally walked the players through patterns. That was nine years ago and it was my first and most memorable All-Star Weekend experience. I snapped a lot of photos of Auerbach up close and I will treasure those forever.

Of course, Auerbach wasn’t let down by his players. The East won, 96-91, as Allen Iverson took MVP honors with 19 points and nine assists. Antoine Walker and Marcus Camby also shone for the East. Kobe Bryant led the West with 31 points and eight assists.

The first of Auerbach’s trade coups involved Russell. Rochester had the first overall pick in the 1956 draft and Boston, the sixth. Auerbach was determined to pick Russell, no matter what. Rochester didn’t like Russell’s price tag of $25,000 a year and went for Sihugo Green. St. Louis had the second pick and Minneapolis, the third.

Auerbach knew Minneapolis was interested in Russell so he deftly worked out a deal with St. Louis. He offered Macauley, who was born in St. Louis, and agreed to include Hagan in the deal. St. Louis owner Ben Kerner liked the two-for-one proposition and signed on the dotted line. That season, the Celtics faced St. Louis in the finals and Boston clinched its first-ever title via a 125-123 double overtime win in Game 7 where Russell compiled 19 points and 32 rebounds.

The rivalry between Auerbach and Kerner was so intense that after a close game during the finals, they came to blows. Auerbach ironically punched the man who paved the way for the Celtics dynasty. That was just how Auerbach was.

On the bench, Auerbach used every trick in the book to gain an advantage. He was the first to use the gimmick of baiting the referee to eject him on two technicals as a way to fire up his players.

"Red’s greatest talent was knowing how to motivate men in a game situation," said Lee Iacocca. "He would curse, coddle, enrage or do anything he thought would make his team perform better. Red would do anything within the rules to win. And if that wasn’t enough, he was perfectly willing to bend those rules to give himself that little competitive edge that spells the difference between winning and losing."

Harvey Araton and Filip Bondy, in their book "The Selling of the Green," said Auerbach was "always looking for an edge, obsessed with the idea of influencing the outcome of the game (as) the pioneer in the ref-baiting business."

As the promoter of Celtics pride, Auerbach was perceived as the walking embodiment of the poor sportsman, wrote Araton and Bondy. But his arrogance was just a psychological ploy to throw off the opposition’s mental balance and make it easier for the Celtics to win.

Former Celtics player Tom Heinsohn said Auerbach’s strength was in management, being in control. He created the Boston mystique and parlayed it into a Celtics dynasty.

Auerbach was also a man of vision. In one of the seven books he authored, "MBA — Management by Auerbach," he predicted the foreign invasion of the NBA in 1991 and even cited the Philippines as a future source of player talent. Today, the NBA employs 83 international players from 37 countries — more than twice as many as 10 years ago. As for his prediction about the Philippines producing an NBA player, that still has to happen — maybe, sooner than anyone thinks.

Once the leading varsity basketball scorer of George Washington University, Auerbach earned a master’s degree in education from the school. His wife Dorothy died in 2000 after 59 years of marriage.

Auerbach died at the age of 89 in Washington last Oct. 28. He is survived by two daughters, a granddaughter, a great grandson and two great granddaughters. The Celtics are dedicating this season to him.