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Red Auerbach (Arnold Jacob Auerbach)[ou´urbak´´, –bAk´´] Pronunciation Key, 1917–, American basketball coach and executive, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. As coach of the Boston Celtics (1950–66), he built the last-place club into one of the most dominant teams in the history of professional sports with the help of players such as Bob Cousy and Bill Russell. His Celtics won nine championships, eight consecutively (1957, 1959–66). He retired as coach in 1966 with a career winning percentage of .662. His all-time record for wins as a coach (1,037, including playoff victories) was later broken by Lenny Wilkens. Auerbach also has served as the team's general manager (1950–84) and president (1970–1997, 2001–).
See his autobiography (1977).
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