February 6, 1956- Red Auerbach speaks at Keith Academy's Men Club part 1

Red Auerbach spoke to 100 people at the Keith Academy Men Club in Lowell, Massachussetts on February 6, 1956 to discuss basketball and it was not without controversy. Red spoke about a wide range of topics from the rumors of him leaving the Celtics to talking about Wilt Chamberlain, Tommy Heinsohn, Bill Sharman, and the rigors of being an NBA coach. Here's part of an article by Gil Wood originally printed in the Lowell Sun on February 7, 1956.

Red's An All Right Guy
"Red" Auerbach, the colorful Boston Celtics coach, might be a pain in the neck to NBA referees, but he's an all right guy as far as some 100 members of the Keith Academy Men's club are concerned. Due to fly out of Boston early this morning for New York where the Celts play tonight; Auerbach nevertheless braved last night's storm to keep his speaking engagement at Keith auditorium. And, while doing so, "Red" enjoyed his assignment so much he talked three-quarters of an hour longer than he planned. His listeners ate it up in attentice silence during the interesting hour and a quarter devoted to Auerbach's and the Celtics' exploits in the fast pro loop.

The writer, who got to know Auerbach well when he used to bring the Celtics up to Burlington, Vt., for preseason exhibition games had heard some of the stories before, but the informal way Auerbach has of relating experiences makes just as interesting the second time. As "Red" hurriedly left the hall, we managed a question on the run which hadn't been asked him at the end of his talk. "How much longer do you think Bob Cousy will be able to play with the Celtics?" Without giving the query much thought, Auerbach replied "I'll give him three years." This endorsement from his coach should silence Cousy needlers, here or elsewhere.

Ideal Setting
The setting in the auditorium was ideal. Auerbach stood under the stage-end basket as he spoke and used the position several times to illustrate his points about players like Bill Sharman and the sensational Wilt "The Stilt" Chamberlain who he says should be the next big name in basketball for the next 10-and possibly 20-years. A freshman now at the U. of Kansas, Auerbach estimates the brilliant colored star will add half a million dollars to the university's treasury. And he also offers the opinion that when Chamberlain was only a junior in high school in Philadelphia he not only could have made any team in the NBA but he would have played in the league's All-Star game.

November 28, 1955 Wilt Chamberlain to Philadelphia in 1959

Knicks Coach Joe Lapchick revealed to the press that the NBA had granted draft rights to University of Kansas freshman Wilt Chamberlain to the Philadelphia Warriors 4 years in advance. A spokesman for league president Maurice Podoloff said that the decision was made in the league's spring meeting. The spokesman stated, "I don't recall Chamberlain's name was mentioned, but the rule dealt with all high school players who might be regarded as potential professional stars who leave their home cities to go to college in a district where their is no pro team. The club must announce when the player starts his college career that it intends to exercise its territorial rights privilege and must take the player even if he doesn't develop and the player must go to a college outside the territory of any club in the league." The vote was 7-1 in favor of the rule and the only dissenter was Knicks boss Ned Irish.

Joe Lapchick was not happy with the decision as he called Chamberlain, "the greatest player in the game today." He stated, "Everybody but my boss let him go to Gottleib." Lapchick said, "the Warriors already have one of the best groups of young players. The league created a monster when it let Chamberlain go to Philadelphia. It was a grave error. The Warriors already featured young stars such as Paul Arizin, Tom Gola, and Neil Johnston on the roster. Lapchick feared the Warriors would have a huge advantage over other teams and result in a lack of fan interest in the league.

Wilt Chamberlain scored 2,252 points in 3 years at Overbrook High in Philadelphia and moved on to Big 7 basketball power Kansas coached by legendary Phog Allen. On November 18 in a game between the Kansas freshmen and varsity in what he called an off-night, Chamberlain scored 42 points and grabbed 24 rebounds in an 81-71 win over the varsity team. Phog Allen who up until this time was advocating for 12 foot high baskets but became strangely silent on the issue called Chamberlain, "the greatest player in the world".

It would be a very interesting time indeed to see how the predicted Philadelphia Warriors "dynasty" would turn out by adding Wilt Chamberlain.