Red Auerbach

Sanders: Auerbach was Auerbach. Once, we were in Philadelphia and we had to get to Boston during a snowstorm, an incredible snowstorm. We had to get there to play against Syracuse. Syracuse was already there waiting for us. They had not played the night before and we were sort of stuck in Philadelphia. Auerbach called all of us together, and while he was talking to us the train was loading right behind us. He brought us all to one side and he started going into this long speech and he kept looking over his shoulder. He said, "You guys better make sure you're there on time. We've got an afternoon game and you better get your asses in gear." As he backed away, he yelled out, "Every man for himself!" And he leaped onto the train. The train couldn't take any more passengers and he had already spoken to the conductor, who knew who Auerbach was. So Auerbach had a spot on the train. We asked if we could get on the train. They said, "No, there's no room on the train." And Auerbach was smiling as he was leaving. We had to rent cars. A couple guys had friends that would drive with them to Boston or to New York and they would get a bus or rent a car from New York. But we had to find a way to get there for the afternoon game against Syracuse.

Another time, we were coming in to land and we were in crosswinds. The pilot was trying to get into wherever we were. He said, "Look, we've got a real problem. There are 45 mph crosswinds and it's going to force us to come in very hard. I'm not going to be in full control of the plane, but we think we can make it." He tells us this over the system. And he says for everybody to get into the crash position. All of a sudden, you hear Auerbach yelling. He yells, "Help me, somebody. I can't bend that low in a crash position." Yelling and we're trying to make jokes about it. But of course no one can get up and move to help him. He's yelling. Just screaming at the top of his lungs. The plane is all over the place. You know [the pilot is] descending. We obviously made it. But we had Auerbach screaming to laugh about for a long time.

Cousy: As I'm sure you heard, (Red) could be a bit of a pain in the ass at times. It used to be funny because four of us would jump in a cab together — you had to go three or four to a cab. And if you had a rookie, you'd try to get a rookie to go in the cab with you, because when the cab got to the airport or the hotel, the minute the cab driver stopped, all of us would pile out. We'd try to get the rookie in the middle and pile out of both doors. We'd pop the hood of the truck, grab our bags, and sprint into the hotel. We'd leave the rookie to pay for the taxi because Auerbach was such a pain in the tail about giving you back expenses. He'd always give you a hard time about it. Cab drivers must have thought we were out of our minds, these four adults in a cab, he gets to the destination and we all run like banshees out of the cab with one poor guy there left to pay. We'd always pay, but normally you'd try to stick the rookie because Arnold was so difficult to get reimbursement back.

Barnett: We always flew in from Boston when we played New York or Baltimore and we always flew the day of the game. We did not fly the day before if it was an off day, because it saved on the hotel bill and we would get day rates. We'd get in at noon and we stayed in the hotel room for about three hours, then we'd go to the game. So we got a day rate like a prostitute would at a hotel. I remember coming into LaGuardia, New York, it used to cost about $6 for the cab. It used to be John Havlicek, Satch Sanders, and myself. I was a rookie. I had to pay the cab and it was like six bucks and one time I gave the cabby a dollar tip. Red Auerbach bit my head off for tipping too much. I had to get the money back. So the next time in, I remember the ride was $5.50 or something. I gave him 50 cents and the cabbie took the two quarters and threw them out on the sidewalk of New York. He said, "A 50-cent tip for four guys?" But Auerbach had intimidated me.

Heinsohn: Nobody wanted to pay expenses going from the airport to the hotel or train station to the hotel. So, if there was a rookie on the team and he was in the cab, he would pay and in the lobby, you would go see Red as soon as you got to the hotel and be reimbursed. If one person's cab fare was $3.50 and somebody else's was $4, everyone would get $3.50. So, nobody wanted to pay the cab. I ended up in a cab once with no rookies. When that happened, it was usually the guy whose suitcase was in the bottom of the trunk who would end up paying the cab. We're in Philadelphia and I get in the cab and my bag is on the top. So I don't think I'm going to pay the cab and badger Red to get paid for the expenses. They open the trunk to get the suitcases and Frank Ramsey's bag was on the bottom. Ramsey ripped his out while I'm bending down to get mine, and the corner of his suitcase hit me right between the eyes, knocked me out, and everybody walked to the hotel. The cab driver said, "Who's paying for the ride?" They looked at me and said, "When he wakes up, he'll pay."