On this day in Boston Celtics history, legendary Boston Celtics head coach and manager Arnold Jacob “Red” Auerbach was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York in 1917. The winningest front office executive in the history of North American professional sports with 16 titles to his name as a coach or general manager, Auerbach was also a socially conscious ally to Black players.
He drafted the first Black player (Chuck Cooper, 1950), fielded the first all-Black starting five (1964), and hired the first Black Head coach (Bill Russell, 1968) in modern North American sports history.
A child of Russian Jewish immigrants, Auerbach was awarded an athletic scholarship to George Washington University. While there, he became a disciple of the fast break while earning an M.A.