Thursday, 4:30 PM
Boston honors Arnold 'Red' Auerbach, the 'heart' of the Celtics
(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)
Boston Celtic great Bob Cousy choked today up as he remembered his "old coach and friend" Arnold "Red" Auerbach.
By Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent
They came because Arnold "Red" Auerbach won 16 NBA titles with the Boston Celtics; because he taught his people to play as a team; because he helped integrate profession basketball; and because he brought integrity to the game.
Beau Birmingham, wearing a green golf shirt, came to a tribute today City Hall Plaza "to give back to the legend that gave so much to this town."
Auerbach, who died Saturday at 89, was buried Monday in Virginia. Today in Boston aging former players, friends and public officials spoke under a green banner showing a silhouette of Auerbach holding his trademark cigar. On the dais below sat Robert Parish, M.L. Carr, Bob Cousy, Tommy Heinsohn, and Danny Ainge among others Celtic greats.
"He brought character and integrity to the game." said Ainge, an executive with the Celtics and longtime player, before the ceremony.
Cousy, the Hall of Fame guard, chocked up in front of the crowd as he recalled a final conversation with his "old coach and friend."
"He was indefatigable. He was totally committed. He was relentless in the pursuit of his goals," Cousy said.
Senator Edward Kennedy hailed Auerbach for breaking racial barriers, by drafting first black player, Chuck Cooper; hiring the first black head coach, Bill Russell; and fielding the first all-black starting five.
"He'll never be forgotten and there will never be another like him," he said. "The teams he led with the legendary Bob Cousy and the incomparable Bill Russell set the gold standard for professionalism and transformed his sport and this city."
Governor Mitt Romney spoke of the "Celtics spirit" that Auerbach defined, which he said was about more than physical ability, but qualities that aren't as easy to measure, such as determination.
"He saw the heart of the Celtics," he said.
In the crowd at City Hall Plaza, Tom and Dora Foley took the train from their home in Beverly today to pay their respects.
"When I think about Red, especially in the early days, he had everyone on the team playing team basketball," said Tom Foley, who was captain of the Beverly High School basketball team in 1954.
But Tip Thiboutot, who came to City Hall Plaza today from the North End in a wheel chair, said Auerbach did more than break down the color barrier.
Auerbach was the man who first allowed the handicapped to play their own sport on the floor of the Boston Garden, said Thiboutot, a former vice president of the International Wheel Chair Basketball Federation.
"He was a symbol of integration for African American and he can be viewed as a symbol of integration for wheel chair basketball as well," Thiboutot said.
Material from the Associated Press was included in this report.
