CHICAGO, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Johnny "Red" Kerr, an NBA legend with the Chicago Bulls and the team's first head coach, died Thursday night at his home in suburban Chicago. He was 76.
Kerr passed away after a year-long bout with prostate cancer.
His death came hours after the unexpected death of former All-Star Bulls point guard and fellow broadcast analyst Norm Van Lier at age 61, the Chicago Sun-Times said.
In addition to being the first Bulls head coach in 1966-68, Kerr was an enduring presence as an executive, broadcaster and ambassador for all things Bulls.
He had been honored on Feb. 10 during halftime of a Bulls-Pistons game at the United Center. The moving tribute included remarks by such luminaries as Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and broadcaster Jim Durham. The ceremony culminated with a video tribute from President Barack Obama, a long-time Bulls fan.
Older Chicago basketball followers remember a gangly young man of Swedish-Scotch descent who came off the soccer fields of the South Side to lead Tilden Tech to a city basketball championship in 1950 and later the University of Illinois to the Final Four.
Kerr played 12 years in the NBA, almost all with the Syracuse Nationals (1954-65). A three-time All-Star center, he played in 844 consecutive games in the same division as Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.
In the spring of 1966, Kerr and Jerry Sloan were the two selectees of the Bulls in the an expansion draft to stock their fledgling roster. He was signed as head coach by original Bulls managing partner Dick Klein.
With a cast including Sloan, Guy Rodgers, Bob Boozer and Don Kojis, Kerr led the Bulls to a 33-48 finish and a playoff appearance, the only time a first-year NBA team has made the playoffs.
Kerr and his wife Betsy, who died in 2000, had six children, five of whom survive him.
