Washington D.C. lost one of its favorite adopted sons over the weekend as Arnold “Red” Auerbach passed away at the age of 89. Best known as the patriarch of the Boston Celtics, Auerbach had close ties to D.C., the city he called home for much of his life.

Auerbach attended George Washington University from 1937-1940, starring on the basketball team as the team’s top scorer. In 1946, after stints in the Navy and as coach of a few local high school teams, Auerbach was named as the head coach of the Washington Capitols in the NBA’s inaugural season. He compiled a 115-53 record over three years before leaving to take over the head coaching job at Duke University.

In 1950 he becomes the third head coach in Boston Celtics history, taking the job for a reported $10,000. The rest, as they say, is history. Among Red’s many accomplishments: 16 world titles, nine as a coach and another seven as general manager. Along the way he drafts the NBA’s first African American, becomes the first coach to start five African Americans and names Bill Russell as the NBA’s first African American head coach when he steps down as Celtics coach in 1966. He stays on as Celtics general manager, drafting Larry Bird as an eligible junior in 1978 and trading the first and 13th picks in the 1981 NBA draft to Golden State in return for Robert Parish and the third pick, which becomes Kevin McHale. In 1986 he drafts the late Len Bias with the second overall pick.

Throughout all his success in Boston, Red never forgot Foggy Bottom. He was inducted into the GW Athletic Hall of Fame in 1959. In 1993, GW presented him with an honorary Doctorate of Public Service Degree. In 1998 the university unveiled a plaque and bust of Auerbach on the outside of the Smith Center. Auerbach also hosted weekly lunches at the recently closed China Doll each Tuesday at 11 a.m., and regaled his guests with stories from his younger days. Understandably, invitations were hard to come by. He was a legend, the best coach and front office executive to ever grace the game of basketball. He will be sorely missed.

Filed Under: African American, African Americans, africanamericans, basketball, boston, Boston Celtics, bostonceltics, Celtics, china, Duke University, foggy bottom, general manager, george washington, george washington university, Golden State, high school, history, Larry Bird, Len Bias, nba, Public Service, Smith Center, sports, the city, the game, The Smith, university, washington, Washington D, Washington University, washingtond,