William "Red" Holzman (August 10, 1920 – November 13, 1998) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and coach. He is best known as the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) from 1967 to 1977, and again from 1978 to 1982. Holzman helped lead the Knicks to two

NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

s in 1970 and 1973, and was inducted into the

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

in 1986. In 1996, Holzman was named one of the

Top 10 Coaches in NBA History The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, also referred to as NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, were chosen in 1996 to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the third anniversary team ...

Early life

William "Red" Holzman was born on August 10, 1920, on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, to Jewish immigrant parents, as the son of a Romanian mother and Russian father. He grew up in Brooklyn's Ocean Hill– Brownsville neighborhood and played basketball for Franklin K. Lane High School in the mid-1930s.

College career

Holzman attended the

University of Baltimore The University of Baltimore (UBalt, UB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is part of the University System of Maryland. UBalt consists of four colleges in applied arts and sciences, Robert G. Merrick School of Bu ...

and later the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

, where he played for two years until graduation in 1942. Holzman joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

in the same year, and played on the

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

Naval Base team till he was discharged from the Navy in 1945.

Professional career

Rochester Royals (1945–1953)

After the Navy, Holzman joined the NBL

Rochester Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

, which won the NBL championship in Holzman's first season, and he was named

Rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

of the Year in 1944–45. 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 The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at S ...

as a player-coach, eventually retiring as a player in 1954 but continuing as the team's head coach.

Coaching career

Milwaukee / St. Louis Hawks (1953–1957)

During the 1956–1957 season, the Hawks (then in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

) lost 19 of their first 33 games, and Holzman was fired.

Leones de Ponce (1963–1967)

Holzman coached Leones de Ponce from 1963 to 1967, winning three consecutive championships from 1964 to 1966.

New York Knicks (1967–1977, 1978–1982)

After being fired by the Hawks, Holzman then became a scout for the

for the next ten years, till 1967, whereupon he became the team's head coach for the most part until 1982. Holzman's former player, Willis Reed, replaced him as Knicks head coach in 1977, but Holzman returned near the start of the 1978–1979 season. During this 15-year span as Knicks' coach, Holzman won a total of 613 games, including two NBA championships in 1970 and 1973. In 1969, Holzman coached the Knicks to a then single-season NBA record 18-game win streak, breaking the 17-game record first set back in 1946. For his efforts leading up to the Knicks' 1970 championship win, Holzman was named the

NBA Coach of the Year The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who l ...

for that year. He won his second NBA championship as the Knicks won the 1973 NBA Finals against the Lakers. 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 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

. The

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 Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

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

Playoffs

*Source:
Basketball Reference
'

College

*''Source

'

Head coaching record

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 26, , 10, , 16, , .385, , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Western, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 72, , 26, , 46, , .361, , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Western, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

St. Louis Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at S ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 72, , 33, , 39, , .458, , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Western, , 8, , 4, , 4, , .500 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Western Division finals , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 33, , 14, , 19, , .424, , style="text-align:center;", —, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", — , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 45, , 28, , 17, , .622, , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Eastern, , 6, , 2, , 4, , .333 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Eastern Division semifinals , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 54, , 28, , .659, , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Eastern, , 10, , 6, , 4, , .600 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Eastern Division finals , - ! style="background:#FDE910;" , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 60, , 22, , .732, , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Eastern, , 19, , 12, , 7, , .632 , style="text-align:center;", Won

NBA Championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 52, , 30, , .634, , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Eastern, , 12, , 7, , 5, , .583 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conference semifinals , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 48, , 34, , .585, , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Eastern, , 16, , 9, , 7, , .563 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

, - ! style="background:#FDE910;" , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 57, , 25, , .695, , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Eastern, , 17, , 12, , 5, , .706 , style="text-align:center;", Won

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 49, , 33, , .598, , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Eastern, , 12, , 5, , 7, , .417 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conference finals , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 40, , 42, , .488, , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Eastern, , 3, , 1, , 2, , .333 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in First round , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 38, , 44, , .463, , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Eastern, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 40, , 42, , .488, , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Eastern, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 68, , 25, , 43, , .368, , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Eastern, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 39, , 43, , .476, , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Eastern, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 50, , 32, , .610, , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Eastern, , 2, , 0, , 2, , .000 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in First round , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 33, , 49, , .402, , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Eastern, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , , , 1300, , 696, , 604, , .535, , , , 105, , 58, , 47, , .552 *''Source
Basketball Reference
'

Publications

* * * * * * * *

References

External links

*
Biography of Red Holzman

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holzman, Red 1920 births 1998 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent Baltimore Bees men's basketball players Basketball coaches from New York (state) Baloncesto Superior Nacional coaches Deaths from leukemia in New York (state) CCNY Beavers men's basketball players International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductees Jewish American basketball players Milwaukee Hawks players Milwaukee Hawks head coaches Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees NBA championship–winning head coaches New York Knicks assistant coaches New York Knicks head coaches People from Cedarhurst, New York Basketball player-coaches Rochester Royals players Basketball players from Brooklyn Basketball players from Nassau County, New York St. Louis Hawks head coaches Point guards United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century American Jews Jewish American basketball coaches Jews from New York (state) City College of New York alumni

Early life

College career

Professional career

Rochester Royals (1945–1953)

Milwaukee Hawks (1953–1954)

Coaching career

Milwaukee / St. Louis Hawks (1953–1957)

Leones de Ponce (1963–1967)

New York Knicks (1967–1977, 1978–1982)

Post-playing career

Personal life

Career statistics

BAA/NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

College

Head coaching record

Publications

See also

References

Further reading

External links