Former Celtics HC Bill Fitch Has Passed Away

[Ed Monix]

Hall of Famer Bill Fitch, twice Coach of the Year and a champion with Boston in 1981 as Larry Bird’s first NBA coach, has died at age 89.

Fitch’s passing was confirmed by daughter Marcy Ann Coville via Indiana's Rick Carlisle, who broke into coaching under Fitch in New Jersey.

Marc Stein

Bill Fitch arrived in the NBA in 1970 as the first coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, turning an expansion franchise into a playoff contender. He came to Boston in 1979 to coach the Celtics in Larry Bird’s first NBA season. Fitch revived the Boston franchise, leading the Celtics to an NBA championship in 1981. His basketball achievements earned him Coach of the Year in 1976 and 1980.

Fitch was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.

[radiohead]

RIP

[liam]

REST IN PEACE. Great coach!

[droopdog7]

I don't say this often, but I had no idea he was still alive.  RIP.

[liam]

Didn't see this, RIP.

[footey]

Larry Bird called him the best coach he ever had.  That 1981 championship, Bird's first, was special.

[Redz]

He was quite the character.  Had a solid coaching career and ushered in a new era of domincance for the Celts.  RIP.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

RIP, coach.

I didn't realize, until reading a story about Fitch's death, that he's a Hall of Fame coach, or that he was named one of the 10 best coaches in league history for the NBA's 50^th anniversary in 1996.

Hopefully it's okay to bring this up here (if not, I totally get it), but I'm puzzled that he's a HOFer and a top-10 coach. He was a two-time Coach of the Year and won one title, which is good but not great, and he had a losing career record (944-1,106 in the regular season, though he went 55-54 in the postseason).

Of course, he started coaching in the NBA before I was born, and finished up by the time I was in high school, so I didn't really get to "see him in action." For those long-time Celtics fans/NBA followers here who are older than my 45, can you tell me why he's a HOFer and top-10 coach (at least as of '96)?