Red Holzman
The Life and Legacy of a Hall of Fame Basketball Coach
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- USD 16.99
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- USD 16.99
Publisher Description
The Definitive Biography of a Coaching Legend
Hanging high atop the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, is the name “Holzman” and the number “613.” That is the total number of wins by former New York Knicks head coach Red Holzman, which is the most in franchise history. While he spent six years as a player and another six as an executive, he’s most famous for his time at the helm of the Knickerbockers, where he led the team to their only two championships: the first in 1969–70 and the second in 1972–73. He coached the team for fourteen seasons during his illustrious career, was named one of the top ten coaches in NBA history, and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1986. Former MSG president Dave Checketts once said, “Red was the finest human being I’ve ever known.”
But not much is known about the soft-spoken and private Holzman, as he was the type of person to downplay his own accomplishments.
In Red Holzman: The Life and Legacy of a Hall of Fame Basketball Coach, author Mort Zachter has taken on the challenge of sharing this coach’s incredible story. From humble beginnings as the son of immigrant parents growing up in Brooklyn, Holzman paved a path of excellence at every level. From his time in the Navy to breaking into the NBA and his rise through the coaching channels, author Zachter leaves no stone unturned.
With interviews with those who played with, against, and for Red, including Bill Bradley, Phil Jackson, Bob Cousy, and Walt "Clyde" Frazier to name a few, the life of a basketball pioneer—one that has since been held quiet—is shared for the first time.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Zachter (Gil Hodges: A Hall of Fame Life) offers a comprehensive, if workmanlike, look at the life of New York Knicks coach Red Holzman (1920 1998), who guided the team to its only two NBA championships. The book benefits from Zachter's interviews with many of Holzman's players and his extensive reliance on the transcript of a four-hour interview Holzman gave in 1978 on condition that its use be extremely restricted (Zachter found the transcript, part of a series of interviews with Jewish notables, in the New York Public Library); Zachter believes that, when he "stumbled upon it in 2018," the transcript had not been previously read. Holzman was born in 1920 in New York City to European Jewish immigrants, and by the end of junior high school was devoted to playing basketball. His skills landed him a spot on the City College team, and, eventually, in the professional league that preceded the NBA. His coaching career began in 1953, with the then Milwaukee Hawks, but his reputation for emphasizing selfless play, hard work, and the fundamentals was established when he took over coaching the Knicks in 1967. While Zachter makes clear how important Holzman's wife, Selma, was to him, Holzman's personal life is given much less attention than his basketball career. NBA fans curious about the league in its earlier decades are most likely to find this solid biography of interest.