Farewell to Bob Cousy, 1963

A couple of players were in one corner, autographing basketballs. Auerbach was sitting alone, reading mail. We shook hands, and I said, “What about Cousy?”

“What can you say when you know you’re going to lose the greatest backcourtman who ever lived?” Red said. “Nobody will ever take his place. There’s only one Cousy.”

They Laughed When Tom Heinsohn Sat Down to Coach, 1975

Heinsohn absorbed his knowledge of coaching from Red Auerbach. His insights into people, he acquired from personal, and sometimes painful, experience.

How the Boston Celtics Established a Dynasty, 1976

The guiding hand behind those brilliant personnel decisions was, of course, Auerbach, the feisty, little, self-proclaimed “dictator” of the Celtics, who is still the club’s general manager and still producing winners. There is no longer a dynasty in Boston simply because no new Bill Russell has come along—and probably never will. 

Larry Siegfried: Marching to the Beat of His Own Enigma, 1970

His demeanor has become a subject for conversation, pro and con. Just when you are about to consign him to the lower regions of Hades, he goes out on the basketball court and makes a mockery of his critics.

The Fabulous Fifth, 1976

What do you say after you’ve seen the greatest game of professional basketball ever played? That there should’ve been two winners?

Sam Jones: The Little Stool That Could, 1962

“Let’s have the fellows who want to play basketball on one side,” said Bill Russell, “and the fellows who want to fight in another place.”

Red Auerbach: An Old Friend’s Telling You to Hang ‘Em Up, 1979

Heed those words, Red. Sit back, light up a cigar and relax. You don’t need the aggravation anymore.