Red Holzman

William "Red" Holzman (August 10, 1920 – November 13, 1998) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is best known as the head coach of the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1967 to 1977, and again from 1978 to 1982. Holzman helped lead the Knicks to two NBA championships in 1970 and 1973, and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1986.

In 1996, Holzman was named one of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History.

Early life William "Red" Holzman was born on August 10, 1920, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City, to Jewish immigrant parents, as the son of a Romanian mother and Russian father. He grew up in Brooklyn's Ocean Hill–Brownsville neighborhood In 1945–46 and 1947–48 he was on the NBL's first All League team; in the interim year he was on its second team. Holzman stayed with the team through their move to the NBA and subsequent NBA championship in 1951.

Milwaukee Hawks (1953–1954) In 1953, Holzman left the Royals and joined the Milwaukee Hawks as a player-coach, eventually retiring as a player in 1954 but continuing as the team's head coach. He was one of very few individuals to have won an NBA championship as both player and coach. As a coach, his final record was 696 wins and 604 losses. At the time of his retirement in 1982, he had the second most career victories as a head coach in NBA history.

Post-playing career In 1985, Holzman was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The New York Knicks have retired the number 613 in his honor, equaling the number of wins he accumulated as their head coach. He is also a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame.

Personal life Holzman lived with his wife in a home they bought in Cedarhurst, New York in the 1950s. Following his lengthy NBA coaching career, Holzman was diagnosed with leukemia and died at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York in 1998. In 2000, a clock tower was erected in his honor at the intersection of Central Avenue and Cedarhurst Avenue in Cedarhurst as part of “Operation Downtown,” a project started by Nassau County presiding officer Bruce Blakeman and mayor Andy Parise.

Career statistics BAA/NBA

Regular season Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG 1948–49 Rochester 60 – .326 .611 – 2.5 9.1 Rochester 68 – .330 .686 – 2.9 8.2 † Rochester 68 – .326 .726 2.2 2.2 7.3 Rochester 65 16.4 .280 .718 1.6 1.8 4.1 Rochester 46 8.5 .255 .711 .9 .8 2.2 Milwaukee 51 12.7 .330 .658 .9 1.5 3.8Career 358 13.0 .317 .682 1.5 2.0 6.1

Playoffs Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG 1949 Rochester 4 – .450 .833 – 3.3 10.3 1950 Rochester 2 – .333 .500 – .0 3.5 1951† Rochester 14 – .408 .676 1.4 1.4 6.1 1952 Rochester 6 10.8 .200 .167 1.0 .3 1.2 1953 Rochester 2 7.0 .200 .250 .5 .5 1.5Career 28 9.9 .386 .596 1.2 1.3 5.1 Source: Basketball Reference

College Year Team GP PPG 1940–41 CCNY 21 10.9 1941–42 CCNY 18 12.5Career 39 11.6 Source: Basketball-Reference.com

Head coaching record

Source: Basketball Reference

Publications