54 years ago today, Boston Celtics legendary big man Bill Russell accepted the position offered him by the man who’d been the only coach he’d ever had as a pro — Red Auerbach — to become the first African American coach in modern sports history.
The offer, which was made midway through the season, seemed too good to be true to the Celtics center luminary despite nearly a decade of friendship between Auerbach and Russell.
The two conferred privately about having the Louisiana native succeed Red in the role, with Russell putting his initial skepticism on the table at the outset.
In an article by Russell in the Record-American Sunday Advertiser chronicling the eventful changing of the guard, the San Francisco product asked Auerbach, “Do you really want me [as head coach of the Celtics], Red, or is this a token gesture?”
I haven't been doing threads on Boston sports history on the weekends, but April 18 is a biggie.
Starting with April 18, 1966, when Red Auerbach and @celtics name captain @RealBillRussell as Red's replacement — the first African-American head coach in major American pro sports. pic.twitter.com/4zCM9NITY1
— Jon Couture (@JonCouture) April 18, 2020
The larger-than-life basketball figure responded bluntly as he was known to do, “I never made a token gesture in my life. I asked you, didn’t I?”
“I’ll think about it,” came Russell’s reply.
But the truth was that there was trepidation among the team about what might next; whether the franchise would be successful under a new mind with new plans and new ideas. When word got out that there might not, in fact, be a new mind at the helm after all, his teammates began to pressure Russell to take the position.
But the Monroe native bided his time, carefully considering the offer.
It was, after all, a different time — segregation was still a hot-button issue, and the tumult of the civil rights era in full swing. Would he be used as — or turned into — a scapegoat if things went wrong?
The architect of the Celtics 1960s dynasty must have gotten a sense his friend and player would not take the job, and began scheduling a search, even while preferring Russell for the job.
The Hall-of-Fame center was having lunch with a popular sportswriter of that era, Bill McSweeny, and the topic of Red’s successor as coach came up.
On this day, Red names Bill Russell head coach; Sam Jones drafted https://t.co/jcc6F3hOsF
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) April 17, 2020
“Are you sure you don’t want to coach?” McSweeny asked him.
“I don’t think they need me, to tell you the truth,” he answered. “I think they have a good coach coming in [Alex] Hannum. So, I’ve dropped the whole idea. I’d have to really be wanted to take this job, and you know me — I don’t go anywhere I’m not wanted.”
Taken aback, McSweeny replied to Russell, “Listen — they want you. They think you don’t want the job, and they’re taking Hannum as a second choice.”
The rest, of course, is history — and some of the most important of the franchise. Russell’s acceptance would be announced after a Game 1 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, and while the deal had already been ironed out, helped catalyze Boston to come back and win the series.
Auerbach would stay on as general manager, but did not meddle much in the day-to-day affairs of Russell’s tenure, and the trust that built the second act of the Celtics 1960s dynasty was built on the bedrock of their relationship.
Two more championships would come to the team under Russell’s tenure before his abrupt departure from the team and the wider Celtics community for some years, cementing Russell’s — and Red’s — legacies as all-time greats in multiple roles.
[lawrence-related id=32790,31765,29744,28443]