Red and Me

Red Auerbach, one of the greatest coaches in sports history, died on October 28, 2006. Bill Russell, the five-time MVP and star center on the Auerbach teams that won eleven championships in thirteen years, said little in public at the time. His relationship with his coach had been so deeply personal that he could not express it with a brief comment.In fact, little known to the public, Auerbach and Russell—;one a short, brash Jew from Brooklyn, the other a tall, intense African-American from Louisiana and Oakland—;were far more than just coach and player. Through thirteen years of building a…