Boston mourns basketball coach 'Red' Auerbach

BOSTON, Oct 29 (Reuters) Boston remembered legendary basketball coach Arnold ''Red'' Auerbach today for his competitive fire and for helping black players and coaches break the sport's color barrier.

Auerbach, who died at 89 yesterday near his home in Washington, coached the Boston Celtics basketball team during a period in the 1950s and 1960s when it racked up a record eight-straight National Basketball Association championships.

At a time when his team dominated the league, Auerbach would often fire up a cigar to celebrate a victory even while a few minutes of play remained.

''Red's victory cigar was the original in-your-face taunt,'' wrote Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy in the paper's Sunday edition. ''Celtic rivals despised the gesture and even Red's players dreaded the ceremonial stogie. It just made the other team mad.'' Bob Cousy, who played for the Celtics under Auerbach in the 1950s and 1960s, said of his former coach: ''He was relentless and produced the greatest basketball dynasty so far that this country has ever seen and certainly that the NBA has ever seen.'' Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said: ''Boston lost a legend yesterday with the passing of Red Auerbach. Red was a tremendous leader both on and off the court.'' BREAKING THE COLOR BARRIER While Auerbach was white, several people said he contributed greatly toward breaking the color barrier in a sport that had been a whites-only affair in the United States through the first half of the 20th century.

''He was an agent of change, hiring the first African-American coach in all of pro sports, and drafting the league's first African-American player,'' Massachusetts Democratic Sen John Kerry said in a statement.

In 1950, Auerbach drafted Chuck Cooper, one of the first black players in the NBA, and in 1966 hired Bill Russell as the NBA's first black coach.

''He could look beyond the color of the skin, which was something at that time,'' said Tom Naughton, 50, of Long Beach, New York.

Naughton was one of a handful of tourists and locals who stopped by a bronze statue of Auerbach that stands outside Boston's Faneuil Hall, which mourners had decorated with flowers.

Visitors said that Auerbach's reputation had extended far beyond the Bay State.

''You couldn't miss him. Even in Texas, it seemed the Celtics games were on every weekend,'' said Kent Roach, 54, of San Antonio, Texas. ''They were the original dynasty.'' REUTERS PB RK2345