Bill Fitch, who coached the Celtics to the NBA title in 1981, died Wednesday at 89, the NBA announced.
A two-time NBA coach of the year recipient, Fitch won 944 games in 25 years as a head coach, including 242 with the Celtics from 1979-83. He led Boston to the Eastern Conference Finals in each of his first three seasons, winning the NBA championship in his second year.
Fitch was hired by the Celtics in 1979, and, along with rookie Larry Bird, helped engineer a 32-game turnaround, with Boston going from a 29-win team in 1978-79 to 61-21 the following year.