On February 4, 1943, in an American Basketball League game at the Madrid Palestra in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,  Arnold “Red” Auerbach scored 1 point for the home team in a 45-38 loss to the Philadelphia Sphas. It would be the only point in the only professional basketball game he would appear in as a player. As a professional basketball coach, however,  he would be on  the sidelines for 1,417 regular season and 168 playoff games over a twenty year period.

Auerbach’s basketball career started at Eastern High School in Brooklyn were he was an outstanding  scholastic player. He received  an athletic scholarship to George Washington University where he was a standout player under famed coach Bill Reinhart. Auerbach was deeply influenced by Reinhart’s fast break style of play. Auerbach served in the Navy for three years during World Ward II. While stationed in Norfolk, Virginia he coached  the base team. In 1946, Auerbach was hired to coach the Washington Capitols in the newly founded Basketball Association of America. Featuring ex Navy players, Auerbach’s first-year Caps posted a league-best 49-11 record, but were ousted in the first round of the playoffs. It was a pattern that would haunt Auerbach throughout the early years of his career. Auerbach spent two more years in Washington, then coached Tri-Cities for one season, before he landed the job that would make him famous. In 1950, Auerbach was hired to coach the Boston Celtics. Over the next six seasons, Auerbach always produced winning  teams, but then failed miserably in the playoffs. Everything changed in 1956 with the arrival of All-American center Bill Russell, a shot blocking defensive wizard, who was the final piece needed to transform the Celtics into the most storied team in the history of professional basketball. Over the next ten seasons, the Celtics won nine NBA Championships. Auerbach resigned as coach after the 1966 Championship finals. He remained active in the affairs of the team as general manager and later as president and vice-chairman until his death in 2006.

 

RED AUERBACHSeth Low JC’37		Height:	5:10		Weight:	170			College:		Seth Low JV’37 / George Washington’40
Arnold J. Auerbach		Born: Sept 20, 1917			Died: Oct 28, 2006				Hometown:		Brooklyn, NY
					REGULAR SEASON RECORD
Year	Team	League	GA	FGM	FTM	FTA	PCT.	AST	PTS	AVG
1936-37	Seth Low J.VC.	College
1937-38	George Washington	College	17	22	8	12	.667		52	3.1
1938-39	George Washington	College	20	54	12	19	.632		120	6.0
1939-40	George Washington	College	19	69	24	39	.615		162	8.5
1942-43	Harrisburg	ABL	1	0	1				1	1.0
1943-45	U.S. Navy	Military Service
1945-46	Auerbach’s All-Stars	Indep
	Major League Totals		1	0	1				1	1.0

 

 

 

BEN AUERBACH		Height:	6:01		Weight:		190		College:		N.Y.U.’41
Benjamin Auerbach		Born:   March 1, 1919			Died: Jun 18, 1993				Hometown:		Bronx, NY
					REGULAR SEASON RECORD
Year	Team	League	GA	FGM	FTM	FTA	PCT.	AST	PTS	AVG
1937-38	N.YU.	College
1938-39	N.YU.	College
1939-40	N.YU.	College
1940-41	N.YU.	College
1940-41	Brooklyn	ABL	3	0	1				1	0.3
1941-42	Brooklyn Dodgers	Indep
1941-42	Saratoga	NYSL	7	9	4				22	3.1
1942-43	U.S.Army	Military Service
1943-44	Trenton–Wilmington	ABL	20	34	18				86	4.3
1944-45	Wilmington	ABL	28	32	24				88	3.1
1945-46	Paterson	ABL	22	34	22				90	4.1
1946-47	Paterson	ABL	29	53	30				136	4.7
1948-49	Cohoes	NYSL	3						2	0.7
	Major League Totals		73	100	65				265	3.6
					PLAYOFF RECORD
Year	Team	League	GA	FGM	FTM	FTA	PCT.	AST	PTS	AVG
1943-44	Wilmington	ABL	6	9	3				21	3.5
1944-45	Wilmington	ABL	3	2	2				6	2.0
	Major League Totals		9	11	5				27	3.0

 

ALEX ATHAS		Height:	6:02		Weight:	`175			College:		Tulane’48
Alexander T. Athas		Born:     Oct 6, 1922			Died:  Apr 29, 2009				Hometown:		New Orleans, La.
					REGULAR SEASON RECORD
Year	Team	League	GA	FGM	FTM	FTA	PCT.	AST	PTS	AVG
1942-43	Tulane (Frosh)	College
1942-43	Tulane	College
1943-46	U.S. Navy	Military Service
1946-47	Tulane	College
1947-48	Tulane	College
1948-49	New Orleans	SPBL	31	237	150	206	.728		624	20.1
1949-50	Wilkes-Barre	ABL	5	3	13	17	.765	1	19	3.8
1950-51	Kansas City	NPBL	15	27	53	80	.663		107	7.1
1950-51	Utica	ABL	23	107	111	171	.649	37	325	14.1
1951-52	Elmira	ABL	33	114	115				343	10.4
	Major League Totals		15	27	53	80	.663		107	7.1

Joe Ashmead was a baseball and basketball star at Richmond Hills High School in Queens, New York. Ashmead  was a standout collegiate  during his four years at Cornell University in Ithica, New York. Ashmead never acheived stardom in the professional game, but enjoyed a decade-long pro career because he was a good shooter and a strong defender.  Ashmead was an intergal part of the the Brooklyn Crescents, a post-World War I independent powerhouse and the Syracuse All-Syrcause  squad,  a dominate upstate New York team in the early 1920’s .

 

JOE ASHMEAD		Height:	6:01		Weight:		175		College:		Cornell(NY)’16
Joseph Crandell Ashmead		Born: Aug 7, 1893			Died:  Feb 5, 1974				Hometown:		Queens, NY
					REGULAR SEASON RECORD
Year	Team	League	GA	FGM	FTM	FTA	PCT.	AST	PTS	AVG
1912-13	Cornell (NYY)	College
1913-14	Cornell (NYY)	College
1914-15	Cornell (NYY)	College
1p15-16	Cornell (NYY)	College
1916-17	Hoboken	IBL	9	18	26				62	6.9
1916-17	Richmond Hill A.C.	Indep
1917-18	Bridgeport	CSL	2	2	2				6	3.0
1917-28	Richmond Hill A.C.	Indep
1917-18	Brooklyn Crescent AC	Indep
1918-19	Brooklyn Crescent AC	Indep
1918-19	Richmond Hill Big Five	Indep
1919-20	Brooklyn Crescent AC	Indep
1919-20	Bridgeport	IBL	4	5	9				19	4.8
1919-20	Bridgeport	EL	8	4	9	21	.429		17	2.1
1919-20	Richmond Hill Big Five	Indep
1919-20	Waterbury Independents	Indep
1919-20	Jersey City Pros	Indep
1919-20	Brooklyn American Legion Five	Indep
1920-21	Brooklyn Kispet Temple Five	Indep
1920-21	Bridgeport Blue Ribbons	Indep
1920-21	Utica	NYSL	18	26	22				74	4.1
1921-22	Utica	NYSL	4	2	4				8	2.0
1921-22	Binghamton Centrals	Indep
1921-22	Richmond Hill Big Five	Indep
1921-22	Syracuse All-Syracuse	Indep
1922-23	Syracuse All-Syracuse	Indep
1922-23	Binghamton Centrals	Indep
1922-23	Elmira Arms Company Five	Indep
1923-24	Joe Ashmead’s All-Stars	Indep
1925-26	Jamiaca Cardinals	Indep
1926-27	Ridgewood*Orange	NYN	1	1	0				2	2.0
	Major League Totals		46	58	72				188	4.1