[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 117 (Friday, August 2, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S9624]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            COACH DON CASEY

   Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I rise today concerning one of the 
most beloved sports figures in Boston, Mr. Don Casey, assistant coach 
of the Boston Celtics. Coach, as he is known to the thousands whose 
lives he has touched, is leaving the Celtics to take on new challenges 
with the New Jersey Nets.
  Since arriving in Boston, Coach has had an inspiring influence on the 
fans of the Boston Celtics. Through various charitable endeavors, Coach 
has affected the lives of thousands of people across the Nation. Most 
recently, Coach was selected to the Committee of Friends of the Secret 
Service, an organization dedicated to raising funds for the surviving 
family members of those Federal agents killed in the tragic Oklahoma 
City bombing. Even the White House has recognized Coach Casey's 
contributions to the world of sports by selecting him to serve on the 
President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
  Coach Casey has a long and storied career shaping the minds of 
basketball players of all ages and talent levels. At the age of 20, 
Coach landed his first coaching post at Bishop Eustace High in 
Pennsauken, NJ. He led his team to two State championships and was 
selected South Jersey Coach of the Year at age 24. Many of the players 
he coached at Bishop Eustace went on to successful college careers. 
Soon after achieving remarkable success at the high school level, Coach 
started his own impressive college career by being appointed to the 
head coach slot at Temple University. He led the Owls to several 
postseason tournament berths, including an NIT Championship over Boston 
College in 1966. Coach participated in the first NCAA college 
basketball game played outside of the United States when his Owls 
traveled to Tokyo, Japan, to take on the UCLA Bruins.
  Coach broke into the National Basketball Association in 1982 as an 
assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls. The next year, he move to the 
Los Angeles Clippers in the same post. In 1984, Coach became head coach 
for an Italian league team. He returned to the NBA and the Los Angeles 
Clippers as an assistant coach, and in 1989 he was promoted to the head 
coach slot. He soon traveled to Boston where he has been the assistant 
coach for six seasons.
  As Coach prepares to leave the city of Boston, his friends prepare 
for everyday life without him. Many joggers will be left to find new 
running mates, the Boston Celtics' employees will be listening for, but 
not hearing, the familiar vibrant, bellowing voice that shakes the 
hallways every morning with warm greetings, and the wait staff at his 
favorite restaurant, Ciao Bella on Newbury Street, will miss the 
energetic presence that so often electrified the ambience there.
  Coach Casey is leaving our beloved Boston Celtics to start a new 
chapter in his basketball story. The players, the fans, and the staff 
of the New Jersey Nets are lucky to get him. I wish him the best of 
luck and the greatest success with his new team, unless, of course, the 
Nets ever meet the Celtics in the playoffs.

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