On this day in Boston Celtics history, Arnold “Red” Auerbach — former head coach of the Washington Capitals and Tri-Cities Blackhawks — was hired as head coach of the Boston Celtics in 1950.
Auerbach would go on to coach the Celtics for 16 seasons. He amassed nine championships over that run with a 795-397 record in the regular season and a 90-58 postseason record, good for .667 and .608 respective winning percentages — the winningest coach in NBA history. Red would step down as head coach in 1966 in favor of player-coach Bill Russell but would remain general manager of the team well into the 1980s.
He would be awarded the Coach of the Year award for the 1964-65 NBA season, was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 1969, and was named a top-10 coach in league history in the 1996-97 season.