Red Auerbach

Born September 20, 1917 in Brooklyn, NY

Died 2006

Considered the greatest basketball coach of all time, he coached the Boston Celtics to 9 NBA championships (and won 7 more as an executive).

A fierce, determined competitor who endured prejudice as a Jew growing up, he broke down color barriers by drafting the 1st African-American player.

He pioneered many facets of the game (i.e. leveraging the fast break, bringing a top player off the bench as the 6th man, etc) and was a great mentor to many players including Hall of Famers Bill Russell and Bob Cousy.

The cigar chomping champion also wrote 7 books about life, business, success and winning.