[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 134 (Thursday, December 7, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S11546]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        ARNOLD ``RED'' AUERBACH

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, today, we pay special tribute to a giant 
of sports in Massachusetts we are proud to call our own. I was honored 
to speak at his memorial service in Boston, and I am honored today to 
offer this resolution on the one and only Arnold ``Red'' Auerbach, who 
died in October at the age of 89.
  Red was a pioneer in sports and in civil rights as well. He has been 
widely praised as one of the architects of the new Boston. He will 
never be forgotten--and there will never be another like him.
  Basketball was his sport, and the Celtics he led with the legendary 
Bob Cousy and incomparable Bill Russell set the gold standard for the 
NBA for many years and transformed his city as well as his sport.
  The stories of his competitive drive have become legendary. Red had a 
deep and abiding passion for life and for living each day as if it was 
a gift from above. Whenever you were in his presence, you could sense 
the powerful joy that comes to the rare few like Red Auerbach, who know 
they have done everything possible in every way on every day to achieve 
their dream.
  Red Auerbach was a great coach and also a great man. He believed in 
winning, but he also believed that every individual should have the 
chance to be a winner. In the 1950s, before every Celtics game Red 
would invite a few children to play a brief game of basketball, 
complete with uniforms, official referees, and all the rest on the 
famous Boston Garden parquet floor. One player would be from the CYO, 
one from Chinatown, one from Roxbury, and one from the Young Men's 
Hebrew Association.
  Long before anyone ever dreamed of it, Red had created his own 
``Rainbow Coalition,'' and he continued to champion civil rights all 
his life. He was the first to go overseas with American players to 
teach basketball to children in Europe and Asia, and he deserves 
immense credit for making it the international game it is today.
  But his heart was in Boston, where he single-handedly put basketball 
on the map. He created the famous Celtic ``magic & mystique,'' and 
renewed it year after year with exciting basketball. In the end, he led 
the Celtics to 9 world championships as coach--8 in a row and 16 world 
championships altogether. He was voted greatest coach of all time by 
the Professional Basketball Writers of America.
  Few giants in the world are known by one name--Cher, Madonna, Elvis, 
Bono, and our very own ``Red.'' He will be greatly missed and never 
forgotten, and his record of success will probably never be matched 
anywhere.
  It is an honor to urge my colleagues in the Senate to support this 
resolution. Even if you rooted against the Celtics, Red Auerbach made 
your home team great, too.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I want to express my thanks to all of my 
colleagues for adopting this resolution to honor the memory of Boston's 
greatest sports champion and legend, Arnold ``Red'' Auerbach. Plain and 
simple, Red Auerbach was basketball. He was more than just the greatest 
NBA coach of all time; he was the creator of the modern professional 
game.
  Through the selection of the likes of Cousy, Russell, Havlicek, and 
Bird, Red built the greatest basketball dynasty in history. During two 
decades of coaching, Red Auerbach won 938 games and led the Boston 
Celtics to a record 9 National Basketball Association, NBA, 
championship titles. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame 
twice, once for his coaching and once for his contributions to the 
game. In 1980, Red was voted the greatest coach in NBA history by the 
Professional Basketball Writers Association of America. Fourteen of 
Red's players have been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. 
After moving to the Celtics front office in 1966, Red's knowledge of 
basketball was instrumental in helping the Celtics win seven additional 
NBA titles.
  In 1985, a life-size sculpture of Red Auerbach was placed in Boston's 
historic Faneuil Hall Marketplace to honor Red's contributions to the 
Boston Celtics and the city of Boston.
  Most importantly, Red was known as a visionary and for his fierce 
loyalty to the people who worked for the Boston Celtics. From the 
players, to the coaches, to the ball boys, Red recognized the goodness 
in people and brought out the greatness in everyone he touched. He was 
an agent of change, hiring the first African-American coach in all of 
pro sports and drafting the league's first African-American player.
  Red will be forever remembered as Boston's greatest winner on the 
court, but through the Red Auerbach Youth Foundation, he made a 
difference in thousands of young lives throughout Massachusetts. Red's 
foundation focuses on getting children, who would not otherwise 
participate, involved in sports and to bring children of all racial and 
ethnic backgrounds together through sports.
  Red was also a proud Navy man. The values of honor, commitment, and 
integrity that Red brought to his coaching were also taught in the Navy 
where he served so proudly. The Navy's ``Lone Sailor Award,'' which he 
recently received, will sit in a special place of honor in this giant's 
trophy case along with an awe inspiring number of championship 
trophies.
  My thoughts and prayers go out to his children, Randy and Nancy, and 
his granddaughter Julie during this very difficult time. We take 
comfort knowing he is once again in the arms of his beloved Dot. While 
we may never again catch a whiff of that unforgettable cigar smoke or 
see him shake his rolled up program at a bad call by an official again, 
we will never forget the man who taught us how to win again and 
inspired a city to be champions. Boston--indeed America--lost one of 
its finest with Red's passing. And I am so pleased that the U.S. Senate 
is honoring his life today by passing this resolution
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
concurrent resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the 
motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements 
relating thereto be printed in the Record without intervening action or 
debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 497) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.

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