Longtime Andover resident Jim Loscutoff was taken aback when he heard the news of Red Auerbach's passing.
"I thought he was too stubborn to die," said the former Boston Celtic from his Florida home.
The basketball immortal died yesterday at the age of 89 in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He was supposed to make an appearance at the Boston Celtics season opener this Wednesday.
He was the face of the franchise for 56 years, first as a coach, then as general manager and then as team president, a position he held until the day he died.
The Auerbach name is synonymous with winning. He built the Celtics into arguably the greatest sports dynasty in North American sports history. He guided the club to a record nine NBA championships in the 1950s and '60s, then proved just as adept as a general manager. He pulled so many swindles that rival clubs were petrified to make trades with him.
Before the NBA was a multibillion dollar empire, Auerbach was the team's lone coach, lone executive, lone scout, lone trainer and, as he liked to joke, "chief cook and bottle-washer."
His imprint is still all over the professional game. It was a no-brainer that the NBA Coach of the Year trophy would be named after him.
He was a master motivator and referee-baiter.
When he arrogantly lit up his trademark victory cigar while the games were still going on, rival fans, coaches and players dreamed of putting the stogie out on his forehead.
He was a trailblazer in race relations, drafting the first black player, hiring the first black coach and becoming the first coach to start five black players.
