It is with tears in my eyes that I say goodbye to the man responsible for the greatest sports franchise this world has ever seen.  Arnold “Red” Auerbach passed away today at the age of 89.  As the authors of a site that used his name to signify our love for the Boston Celtics and the game of basketball, we owe Red a special debt of gratitude.  Our memorial to Red will remain on the front page today, but will last all season long in its own special section.

Goodbye Red… We already miss you.

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It’s impossible to properly pay tribute to Red Auerbach right now.  The only thing we can do is share his greatness with the rest of you.  Here, in 5 parts, is an interview he did with Jim Rome back in the early ESPN2 days.

Perhaps the best way we can honor Red’s memory is by contributing to the causes he held so dear to his heart. The Red Auerbach Youth Foundation uses sports and athletics to promote healthy development in children.  If you would like to donate to the Red Auerbach Youth Foundation, follow the link below:

Red Auerbach’s death comes as no surprise, yet that does little to ease the sense of loss.  Beyond the Celtics, basketball and sports as a whole have all lost one of the most important figures of our lifetimes.  CBS 4’s Bob Lobel has a terrific look back at who Red Auerbach was, and what he did to make the Celtics the greatest basketball team ever.  The local newspapers also have a number of touching pieces today on Red and his passing.  This section is dedicated to the local coverage of the loss of Red Auerbach.

The Boston Herald:

The Boston Globe:

Other Local Newspapers:

Consider this our tribute wall to Red Auerbach.  Everything Red will be posted here.  If you have something you’d like to say about Red, please do so in our forums.  If you have a photo or link you’d like to see posted, please email it to us.

And our favorite quote from Red Auerbach is among the smartest things anyone has ever said.  It is only fitting that our tribute ends with this:

“The only correct actions in life are those that demand no explanation and no apology”

Arnold “Red” Auerbach Quotes:

“An acre of performance is worth a whole world of promise.”

“Basketball is like war in that offensive weapons are developed first, and it always takes a while for defense to catch up.”

“He who believes in nobody knows that he himself is not to be trusted”

“Just do what you do best”

“Natural abilities are like natural plants; they need pruning by study”

“The best way to forget ones self is to look at the world with attention and love.”

“To a father, when a child dies, the future dies.  To a child, when a parent dies, the past dies”

Thanks for making us love basketball. Thanks for making us love the Celtics.

Thanks for being who you were, Red.

My Eulogy For Red Auerbach - By John Karalis

             I love basketball.  I have for quite some time.  And to borrow a famous quote from another sport, basketball has been very, very good to me.

             I’ll never forget the first time I saw basketball on TV.  It was the Celtics… on the road.  I don’t know who they were playing, but I’ll always remember curiously thinking to myself “How does anybody win this game… they’re always making baskets?”   There was a good reason they were making baskets.  They were the Celtics.  And they were awesome.  I was instantly hooked.

             That is where Red Auerbach, a man I never had the honor of meeting, changed my life forever.  Had he not been who he was… had he not done what he had done… maybe that team I was watching wouldn’t have been making baskets.  Maybe that team wouldn’t have been so easy to root for.  Maybe I wouldn’t have become addicted to watching that celebration as the team I had grown to love hoisted another trophy over their heads, and banner into the rafters.  If I never fell in love with Red Auerbach’s Boston Celtics, I would be a completely different person.

             When I was in high school, basketball bonded me with my father.  One of my most cherished photographs is one of me, in my road blues, with only one person in the stands:  My Dad.  Basketball brought us together because it showed me how much he cared about what I did.  Basketball made me tougher by teaching me how to learn from failure.

             When I was in college, basketball gave me another family.  It gave me my best friend.  And as a testament to how great this game really is, that friend was a Lakers fan.  But basketball bridged that gap.  And even though he too is no longer with us, basketball still keeps us together in my heart.  My former coaches are mentors who shaped me and gave me direction in life.  My teammates are friends forever.  Even the current players are like younger brothers to me… even though the only thing we have in common is that we’ve worn the same colors, for the same school, playing the same sport.

             When I was in Greece, basketball made my dreams come true.  Even though my professional career was brief, it showed me the world.  Basketball took me to places I’ve never thought I’d see.  It made me whole, and sent me off into the real world with round, orange, leather security blanket.  I am almost everything I am because of basketball.  And I only know basketball because Red Auerbach, a man I never had the honor of meeting, made the game so easy to accept, and love as deeply as I’ve ever loved anything.

             I don’t just owe Red Auerbach a “thank you.”  I owe him something that even I can’t figure out.  But thanks will have to do.

             Red Auerbach… Thanks for everything… even though I never had the honor of meeting you.