[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE LIFE OF ARNOLD ``RED'' AUERBACH

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. TIMOTHY V. JOHNSON

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 6, 2006

  Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Arnold 
``Red'' Auerbach, the legendary coach, general manager, and president 
of the Boston Celtics. Red was the architect and mastermind of one of 
the most dominant franchises in professional sports history.
  He coached the Celtics from 1950 to 1966, and during his tenure the 
franchise won nine NBA titles, including eight straight from 1959 to 
1966--the longest string of championships in the history of North 
American professional sports. His historic coaching career ended in 
1966 with 938 regular season victories, a record that stood until Lenny 
Wilkins broke it in the 1994-95 season and 9 championship rings, an 
amount only matched by the current Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil 
Jackson.
  Auerbach was revered for his unique ability to scout and recognize 
talent. Throughout his time as a coach and in the front office he 
engineered some of the most historic trades and draft selections in NBA 
history. One of the most notable was in the 1956 NBA Draft when the 
franchise traded up to the second pick in the draft and selected Future 
Hall of Famer Bill Russell from the University of San Francisco. Also, 
while in the Celtic's front office, Auerbach assembled arguably the 
greatest front line in NBA history when he drafted Larry Bird in 1978 
as a ``junior eligible'' selection and then in 1980 worked out a deal 
that brought Robert Parish to the team and allowed the franchise to 
draft Kevin McHale out of the University of Minnesota. All three 
players are now members of the NBA Hall of Fame and became the nucleus 
that led the Celtics to 3 world Championships in the 1980's.
  Auerbach's influence on the game went beyond the numerous victories 
and championships; he also was a pioneer in advancing race equality 
within the NBA. In 1950, the Celtics franchise selected Chuck Cooper of 
Duquesne University in the second round as the first black player to 
ever be selected in the NBA Draft. In addition during the 1963-64 
season, Auerbach's starting line up of Bill Russell, K.C. Jones, Sam 
Jones, Tom Sanders, and Willie Naulls became the first all black 
starting line up in NBA history. And finally upon his retirement in 
1966, Auerbach chose Bill Russell to succeed him as the coach of the 
Boston Celtics becoming the first African American to coach an American 
professional sports team.
  Please join me in recognizing this American legend, his contributions 
to both the game of basketball and the nation will be forever 
remembered.

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