Bill Fitch
William Fitch (born May 19 1934 in Davenport, Iowa) is a former NBA coach who has been successful in making teams playoff contenders throughout his coaching career. Before entering the professional ranks he coached college ball at the University of Minnesota, Bowling Green State University, the University of North Dakota, and his alma mater, Coe College. Fitch's teams twice qualified for the NCAA tournament.
Fitch was a former U.S. Marine Corps drill instructor,[1] a fact that Larry Bird credited in his book as an important reason for Bird's own strong work ethic.
During his 25-year pro coaching career Fitch repeatedly was hired in an attempt to improve failing teams. As of 2004 Fitch
ranked fifth among all NBA coaches in all-time number of victories (with 944) but also ranked second in all-time losses (with
1,106) behind Lenny Wilkens. He was awarded as the NBA's Coach of the Year Award twice and he guided Bird, Kevin
McHale, Robert Parish and the rest of the Boston
Celtics to the 1981 NBA championship, defeating the
Houston Rockets 4 games to 2 in the finals. From Boston, Fitch went on to coach the
Rockets where he led a team featuring
Fitch also coached the Cleveland Cavaliers, New Jersey Nets and Los Angeles Clippers. During his first year with the Cavaliers, the team lost its first 15 games. In the midst of that streak a security guard once refused to let Fitch into the arena because he did not have any identification. He told the guard, "Who else would admit to coaching that team?" and was then promptly allowed into the arena.
Notes
- ^ Charley Rosen. True tales from the camp fires. ESPN.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-22.
External links
| Preceded by Bob Shulz |
Coe College Men's Basketball Head
Coach 1958–1961 |
Succeeded by Don King |
| Preceded by Louis D. Bogan |
University of
North Dakota Men's Basketball Head Coach 1962–1966 |
Succeeded by Jimmy Rodgers |
| Preceded by Warren Scholler |
Bowling Green State
University Men's Basketball Head Coach 1967 |
Succeeded by Bob Contbear |
| Preceded by John Kundla |
University of Minnesota Head
Basketball Coaches 1968–1970 |
Succeeded by George Hanson |
| Preceded by initial coach |
Cleveland Cavaliers Head
Coach 1970–1979 |
Succeeded by Stan Albeck |
| Preceded by Dave Cowens |
Boston Celtics Head
Coach 1979–1983 |
Succeeded by K. C. Jones |
| Preceded by Del Harris |
Houston Rockets Head
Coach 1983–1988 |
Succeeded by Don Chaney |
| Preceded by Willis Reed |
New Jersey Nets Head
Coach 1989–1992 |
Succeeded by Chuck Daly |
| Preceded by Bob Weiss |
Los Angeles Clippers
Head Coach 1994–1998 |
Succeeded by Chris Ford |
| Boston Celtics 1980-81 NBA Champions |
|---|
| North Dakota Fighting Sioux Basketball Coaches |
|---|
| Sweetland • Dunlap • Armstrong • Archer • Gill • Caldwell • Davis • Houser • Letich • West • Jarrett • Cunningham • Jarrett • Bogan • Fitch • Rodgers • Gunther • Glas • Jones |
| Bowling Green Falcons Head Basketball Coaches |
|---|
| Beyerman • Krieger • Snyder • McCandless • Steller • Landis • Anderson • Scholler • Fitch • Contbear • Haley • Weinert • Larranaga • Dakich • Orr |
| Minnesota Golden Gophers Head Basketball Coaches |
|---|
| Cooke • Taylor • McMillan • Nordly • Mitchell • McMillan • Cowles • Kundla • Fitch • Hanson • Musselman • Dutcher • Williams • Haskins • Monson • Molinari • Smith |
| Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coaches |
|---|
| Fitch • Albeck • Musselman • Delaney • Kloppenburg • Daly • Musselman • Nissalke • Karl • Littles • Wilkens • Fratello • Wittman • Lucas • Smart • Silas • Malone • Brown |
| Boston Celtics Head Coaches |
|---|
| J. Russell • Julian • Auerbach • B. Russell • Heinsohn • Sanders • Cowens • Fitch • Jones • Rodgers • Ford • Carr • Pitino • O'Brien • Carroll • Rivers |
| San Diego/Houston Rockets Head Coaches |
|---|
| McMahon • Hannum • Winter • Egan • Nissalke • Harris • Fitch • Chaney • Tomjanovich • Van Gundy • Adelman |
| New Jersey Americans-New York/New Jersey Nets Head Coaches |
|---|
| Zaslofsky • Larese • Carnesecca • Loughery • MacKinnon • Brown • Blair • Albeck • Wohl • MacKinnon • Reed • Fitch • Daly • Beard • Calipari • Casey • Scott • Frank |
| Buffalo Braves/San Diego Clippers/Los Angeles Clippers Head Coaches |
|---|
| Schayes • McCarthy • Ramsay • Locke • MacKinnon • Mullaney • Fitzsimmons • Shue • Silas • Lynam • Chaney • Shue • Casey • Schuler • Brown • Weiss • Fitch • Ford • Todd • Gentry • Johnson • Dunleavy |
| Top Ten Coaches in NBA History |
|---|
| Red Auerbach • Chuck Daly • Bill Fitch • Red Holzman • Phil Jackson • John Kundla • Don Nelson • Jack Ramsay • Pat Riley • Lenny Wilkens |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
