William Charles Fitch (May 19, 1932 – February 2, 2022) 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 (appr ...

coach in the

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

(NBA). He developed multiple teams into playoff contenders and won an

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

with the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

in 1981. Before entering the professional ranks, he coached

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

, the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of N ...

, and his alma mater,

Coe College Coe College is a private liberal arts college in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It was founded in 1851 and is historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The college is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and the Associatio ...

. Fitch's teams twice qualified for the NCAA tournament. He won the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013, and was elected to 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 pres ...

in 2019.

College coaching career

Fitch coached at four universities: the

, the

, and his alma mater,

. He led North Dakota to three NCAA Division II men's basketball tournaments, including a Final Four appearance in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...

. At his only season with Bowling Green, the

Falcons Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

reached the 1968 NCAA University Division basketball tournament after winning the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the t ...

title with an 18–7 record and 10–2 in conference play. At his two seasons at Minnesota, Fitch coached the Golden Gophers to 12–12 and 13–11.

Pro coaching career

During his 25-year pro coaching career, Fitch was often hired in an attempt to improve failing teams. Although Fitch currently ranks tenth among NBA coaches in all-time number of victories (with 944), he is also ranked second in all-time losses (with 1,106) behind

Lenny Wilkens Leonard Randolph Wilkens (born October 28, 1937) is an American former basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been inducted three times into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, first in 1989 as ...

. In 1996, Fitch was named one of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History. In 2016, Fitch was honored with an honorary bench by the Hall of Fame, which surrounds a statue of

James Naismith James Naismith (; November 6, 1861November 28, 1939) was a Canadian-American physical educator, physician, Christian chaplain, and sports coach, best known as the inventor of the game of basketball. After moving to the United States, he wrote ...

along with other granite benches in honor of great coaches, all made possible through a $150,000 donation by Rick Carlisle.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Fitch was the first head coach hired by the expansion

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central ...

on March 19, 1970, for their inaugural 1970–71 season. In that season, the Cavaliers went 15–67. The Cavaliers did not have a season as bad as that one until the 1981–82 season, which also garnered 15 wins. The team gradually rose in wins for the next two years, winning 32 in his third season, although they slipped slightly the following year. In his first four years, they finished last each time in the Central Division. His fifth season ( 1974–75) resulted in marked improvement as the Cavs won 40 games while finishing third, their first season without a last-place finish. By this point, the team had a clear leader in its #1 draft pick from 1971,

Austin Carr Austin George Carr (born March 10, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, and Washington Bullets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is known by Cleveland ...

. He had become the leading scorer for the team, but a serious knee injury curtailed Cleveland's hopes for a playoff berth. The following season of 1975–76 was the pinnacle of his career with Cleveland. The team, now fabled as "The Miracle of Richfield", was led by team captain Carr, scoring small forward

Campy Russell Michael Campanella "Campy" Russell (born January 12, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player. He played the forward position in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks for ni ...

, shooting guard Bobby "Bingo" Smith, and a supporting cast of largely unknown players such as starting center Jim Chones, and an aging

Nate Thurmond Nathaniel Thurmond (July 25, 1941 – July 16, 2016) was an American basketball player who spent the majority of his 14-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Golden State Warriors franchise. He played the center and ...

. The team won 49 games (a team record for 13 seasons) and the Central Division title. They defeated the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

in seven games to advance to the Conference Finals, where they were defeated in six games by the

, with Chones being sidelined by a broken foot in practice two days before the conference finals. The Cavaliers did not win another playoff series until

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

. Fitch was awarded the

NBA Coach of the Year Award 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 le ...

at the end of the season. Fitch led the team to two more playoff berths, although they did not win either series. After a 30–52 record for the 1978–79 season, he resigned on May 21, 1979.

Boston Celtics

On May 23, 1979, Fitch was hired by the

, taking over for

Dave Cowens David William Cowens ( ; born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and NBA head coach. At , he played the center position and occasionally played power forward. Cowens spent most of his playing career with the B ...

, who had coached them to a 29–53 record as a player-coach the previous season. His first season in 1979–80 was also the first for

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...

. A former

drill instructor A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces, fire department, or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. Foot drill, military step, and marching are typically taught by drill instructors. Australia Aust ...

in the

U. S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

, the coach was lauded by Bird for his intense practices and discipline. Fitch helped lead the Celtics to 61 wins along with an Atlantic Division title. In the playoffs that year, the Celtics were defeated in the Conference Finals to the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

in five games. Fitch won his second Coach of the Year Award after the season. In his second

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

, the Celtics drafted Kevin McHale and acquired

Robert Parish Robert Lee Parish (born August 30, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player who played 21 seasons as a center in the National Basketball Association (NBA), tied for second most in league history. He played an NBA-record 1,6 ...

, both through a trade with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. Fitch's team won 62 games along with a second Atlantic title. They went on to beat the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

in six games to win the

1981 NBA Finals The 1981 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1980–81 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. It pitted the 62–20 Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics a ...

, Boston's first title since 1976. Fitch led the Celtics to a third consecutive Atlantic Division title in 1981–82 while winning 63 games, although the team lost in the Conference Finals to the 76ers in seven games. The 1982–83 team dropped in wins (from 63 to 56) while finishing second in the Atlantic Division, and were defeated by the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 196 ...

in four games. On May 27, 1983, he resigned from the Celtics. Fitch cited Harry T. Mangurian Jr.'s announcement that he was selling the team due to difficulties with

Delaware North Delaware North is a global food service and hospitality company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. The company also operates in the lodging, sporting, airport, gambling, and entertainment industries. The company employs over 55,000 people worl ...

(the owners of the

Boston Garden The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (la ...

) as the last straw, despite Fitch having three years left on his contract.

Houston Rockets

On June 1, 1983, Fitch was hired by the

, taking over for

Del Harris Delmer William Harris (born June 18, 1937) is an American basketball coach who is currently the vice president of the Texas Legends, the NBA G League affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks. He served as a head coach for the NBA's Houston Rockets, Mi ...

, who had managed the team to 14 wins the previous season. The

1983–84 Houston Rockets season The 1983–84 Houston Rockets season featured the NBA debut of Ralph Sampson, whom the Rockets had selected as the first pick of the 1983 NBA draft. Under head coach Bill Fitch, the team finished with a 29–53 record, although Sampson won the ...

also happened to be the first season with

Ralph Sampson Ralph Lee Sampson Jr. (born July 7, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. A phenom, three-time college national player of the year, and first overall selec ...

on the team. The team won 29 games that season. The next season was the season in which the Rockets drafted

Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston Rockets a ...

, and the team responded with 48 wins and a playoff berth, although they were beaten in five games by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

. His third season was his best season with the team as they won the Midwest Division title along with the Western Conference title after beating the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

in five games. They met Fitch's old team, the Celtics. Boston beat the team in six games to win the

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. Fitch's following two seasons led to playoff berths, although they did not advance past the Conference Semi-finals. Fitch was fired on June 6, 1988.

New Jersey Nets

On August 21, 1989, Fitch was hired by the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

, replacing

Willis Reed Willis Reed Jr. (born June 25, 1942) is an American retired basketball player, coach and general manager. He spent his entire professional playing career (1964–1974) with the New York Knicks. In 1982, Reed was inducted into the Naismith Me ...

, who had gone 26–56 the previous season. The team acquired

Sam Bowie Samuel Paul Bowie (born March 17, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. A national sensation in high school and outstanding collegian and Olympic team member, Bowie's professional promise was undermined by repeated injuries ...

on draft day in order to try and start a rebuilding process, although the team went 17–65 for the season, the fewest wins for the Nets since joining the NBA. Fitch gradually raised the team up, acquiring

Derrick Coleman Derrick Demetrius Coleman (born June 21, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. Coleman was born in Mobile, Alabama, but grew up and attended high school in Detroit, and attended college at Syracuse University. He was select ...

Dražen Petrović Dražen Petrović (; 22 October 1964 – 7 June 1993) was a Yugoslav and Croatian professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he initially achieved success playing professional basketball in Europe in the 1980s, before joining the Nati ...

, and Terry Mills helping the team qualify for a playoff berth in the

1991–92 New Jersey Nets season The 1991–92 NBA season was the Nets' 25th season in the National Basketball Association, and 16th season in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Nets selected point guard Kenny Anderson out of Georgia Tech with the second overall pick in the 1 ...

. The team went to the playoffs with a losing record of 40–42, sixth-best in the 14 team Eastern Conference. They lost in the First Round to Fitch's old team, the Cavaliers in four games. On May 12, 1992, he resigned as coach of the team.

Los Angeles Clippers

On July 28, 1994, Fitch was hired by the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

, replacing

Bob Weiss Robert William Weiss (born May 7, 1942) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. College career Weiss played college basketball at Penn State University from 1963 to 1965 and averaged 16.3 points per game during his senior ...

, who had gone 27–55 the previous year. In four seasons with the team, he could not reverse the tide of a franchise that had gone on a downward spiral since making the playoffs in consecutive seasons in 1992 and 1993. However, he led them to a playoff berth once, doing so in the 1996–97 season (the last playoff berth for the team until 2006), although they were swept in the First Round by the Jazz. They made the playoffs despite going 36–46, qualifying by just two games. The following season was a disaster, with the team finishing 17–65, the worst season since finishing with that same record in the 1994–95 season. Two days after the season ended, Fitch was fired on April 20, 1998. Fitch's most losses record in NBA history with 1,106 losses a record stood for five years until

broke his mark during the 2002–03 season while coaching for the Toronto Raptors. Wilkens' NBA coaching career finished with 1,155 losses after he announced his retirement from coaching on January 22, 2005.

Personal life and death

Fitch was born in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and ...

, on May 19, 1932. Prior to his NBA coaching career, Fitch was a drill instructor in the U.S. Marine Corps. He attended

, where he played basketball and baseball and graduated in 1954 with a degree in physical education. Fitch died in

Lake Conroe Lake Conroe is a lake in Montgomery County, Texas, United States. Even though it is named Lake Conroe, only a small portion of the lake is in Conroe, Texas. Most of the lake is in unincorporated Montgomery County. The lake lies on the West For ...

, Texas, on February 2, 2022, at the age of 89.

Head coaching record

NBA

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Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

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

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 49, , 33, , .598, , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Central, , 13, , 6, , 7, , .462 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conf. Finals , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 43, , 39, , .524, , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Central, , 3, , 1, , 2, , .333 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

First round First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

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, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 30, , 52, , .366, , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Central, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed Playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 61, , 21, , .744, , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Atlantic, , 9, , 5, , 4, , .556 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conf. Finals , - ! style="background:#FDE910;" , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 62, , 20, , .756, , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Atlantic, , 17, , 12, , 5, , .706 , style="text-align:center;", Won

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

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, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 63, , 19, , .768, , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Atlantic, , 12, , 7, , 5, , .583 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conf. Finals , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 56, , 26, , .683, , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Atlantic, , 7, , 2, , 5, , .286 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conf. Semi-finals , - , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

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, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 48, , 34, , .585, , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Midwest, , 5, , 2, , 3, , .400 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

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, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 46, , 36, , .561, , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Midwest, , 4, , 1, , 3, , .250 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

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, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 26, , 56, , .317, , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Atlantic, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed Playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 40, , 42, , .488, , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Atlantic, , 4, , 1, , 3, , .250 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

, - , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 17, , 65, , .207, , style="text-align:center;", 7th in Pacific, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed Playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 29, , 53, , .354, , style="text-align:center;", 7th in Pacific, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed Playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 36, , 46, , .439, , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Pacific, , 3, , 0, , 3, , .000 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

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References

External links

BasketballReference.com: Bill Fitch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitch, Bill 1932 births 2022 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Iowa Basketball players from Iowa Boston Celtics head coaches Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball coaches Cleveland Cavaliers head coaches Coe Kohawks baseball players Coe Kohawks men's basketball coaches Coe Kohawks men's basketball players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Creighton Bluejays baseball coaches Creighton Bluejays men's basketball coaches Houston Rockets head coaches Los Angeles Clippers head coaches Military personnel from Iowa Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball coaches Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Basketball Association championship-winning head coaches New Jersey Nets head coaches North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Cedar Rapids, Iowa Sportspeople from Davenport, Iowa United States Marines