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Born Arnold Auerbach in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Sept. 20, 1917, he attended Seth Low Junior College in New York and George Washington University. His playing career was undistinguished. In three seasons at George Washington he scored 334 points in 56 games. He would often attend games at GW’s Smith Center, where the court is named in his honor.
As a coach, he was an instant success, posting the best record of his career in his first season. He led the Washington Capitols to a 49-11 mark in 1946-47, the NBA’s debut season, and took them to the playoff semifinals.
The Capitols had winning records the next two seasons under Auerbach, who moved on to the Tri-Cities Blackhawks for one season in 1949-50. They had a 28-29 mark, Auerbach’s only losing record in 20 years as an NBA coach.
In the NBA’s first four seasons, the Celtics never had a winning record. But Auerbach changed that dramatically when he succeeded Alvin “Doggy” Julian as Boston’s coach for the 1950-51 campaign.
They went 39-30 that year, and the Celtics never had a losing record in his 16 seasons on the bench. Boston’s lowest winning percentage was .611 in his last 10 seasons.
His last game as coach was on April 28, 1966, when Boston edged the Lakers 95-93 in Game 7 of the finals to win the NBA title. He was just 48 years old, but ready to move on.
On Feb. 13 of that season, Auerbach was honored at halftime of a loss to Los Angeles at Boston Garden.
“They say that losing comes easier as you grow older,” he said after the game. “But losing keeps getting harder for me. I just can’t take it like I used to. It’s time for me to step out.”
Russell became player-coach the next season, while Auerbach concentrated on his job as general manager. Russell was the first of five Boston coaches who had played for Auerbach.
Auerbach is survived by his two daughters, Nancy Auerbach Collins and Randy Auerbach; his granddaughter, Julie Auerbach Flieger, and three great-grandchildren.
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