Quick Facts
Biography
Louis Arthur Raymond Pieri (February 23, 1897 – June 1967) was an American basketball and ice hockey executive and coach.
Ice hockey
In 1929 he was named general manager of the Providence Reds. The team became a charter member of the American Hockey League in 1936. Under his leadership, the Reds won eight AHL division titles and four Calder Cup championships (1938, 1940, 1949, 1956).
The American Hockey League presents the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award annually to its outstanding coach.
Basketball
During the 1918–1919 season, Pieri was the head coach of the Brown Bears men's basketball team.
Pieri was the owner of the Providence Steamrollers, a Basketball Association of America team that operated from 1946 to 1949.
From 1950 to 1964 he was a minority owner of the Boston Celtics. Following the death of owner Walter A. Brown on September 7, 1964, Pieri became co-owner of the team with Brown's widow, Marjorie Brown. They sold the club to the Ruppert Knickerbocker Brewing Company, a subsidiary of Marvin Kratter's National Equities.
Other ventures
Pieri was the longtime owner and manager of the Rhode Island Auditorium. In 1940 he and eight other arena managers founded the Ice Capades. In June 1967, he died of a heart attack.