The NYC Basketball History Project

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Converse All-Stars -1910

issuu.com/fineartmagazine/do… 𝗠𝗜𝗞𝗘 𝗦𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗭𝗘𝗥 A story of Mike Switzer, captain of the undefeated 1966 PSAL Champion, DeWitt Clinton High School. Sent exclusively to the NYC Basketball History Project by Sportswriter Victor Forbes! Thanks Victor!

𝗚𝗘𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗘 𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗘𝗦 Georgie Torres was born on September 21, 1957 in Manhattan, New York but also lived in The Bronx. He grew and acquired his basketball skills in the playgrounds and night centers around the Mithchell Housing Projects in the South Bronx. He did make the baskeball team at powerhouse DeWitt Clinton, but was eventually cut by coach John Wyles for reasons unknown. He transferred to Adlai Stephenson HS also in The Bronx and even though he was not an All-City selection, he earned a scholarship to Southern Nazarene University and was chosen in the 4th round of the 1981 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz but never played. Instead he returned to his ancestral home in Puerto Rico and became a legendary player in the BSN professionl basketball league, which is one of the oldest basketball leagues in the world (1923). Torres was a rookie in 1975, with the "Cariduros de Fajardo". He led the league in scoring from 1984 to 1987 but the Cariduros failed to win a championship. Torres went on to play with the "Mets de Guaynabo" After his stay with the Mets, then the Vaqueros de Bayamon, winning two championships in 1995 and 1996, then the "Gallitos de Isabela", before signing with the "Cangrejeros de Santurce" to win the league championship in 1999. He retired as the league's all-time leading scorer with 15,863 points. He was BSN MVP three conscutive years from 1984 to 1986. In addition, the 6'4" 200 lb. shooting guard led the league in scoring 7 times during his remarkable 26 year career, from 1977–1979 and again from 1984–1987! He was a member of the Puerto Rican National Basketball Team, but for uknown reasons, only participated in 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Georgie Torres: undoubtedly one of New York's finest basketball players. He still lives in Puerto Rico and is honored and regarded as basketball royalty!

𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝗣𝘂𝘁 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘀 Edited from an article by: A. G. Sulzberger May 29, 2010 The New York Times Even the rims and backboards on the New York City outdoor basketball courts have an historical tale to tell. "The old steel rim that presides over this public basketball court absorbs missed shots with an angry clank, sending the ball careening upward and the wood and metal backboard into a rickety seizure. Like generations before them, the young men who play at the court in St. Nicholas Park in Harlem, know the rim is so troublesome that they tend to avoid perimeter jump shots in favor of aggressive drives to the basket. These unforgiving, practically unbreakable orange rims built so simply that there are no hooks to accommodate a net are longstanding fixtures of the public basketball courts throughout New York City, where they play a minor, if usually overlooked, role in countless pick-up games. Largely unknown to even the most devoted players of the city game, is that most of the basketball rims on these courts have been individually crafted by a team of expert blacksmiths who cut, weld and paint each one by hand! Using a century-old method that has long since vanished in other cities. The small team of Parks Department employees, all former basketball players themselves, have forged thousands of rims. Working from a hand-drawn blueprint, the blacksmiths use hammers and the horn of an anvil to shape the steel ring that serves as the hoop, welding it to several slabs of metal that form a support bolted to the backboard. The finished product is a remnant of an earlier era of the sport, somewhere on the evolutionary chain between the original wooden peach baskets and the modern spring-loaded breakaway rims used by the National Basketball Association. Other cities, including those with their own share of contributions to basketball lore like Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Newark, buy modern, factory-made rims. New York is among the few places, and possibly the only one, where municipal rims used at more than 700 public parks are still made by hand. Jason Curry, president of Big Apple Basketball, which runs clinics and tournaments around the city, suggested that they might be one reason many of the best players who honed their games outside have historically been skilled at driving close to the hoop, rather than shooting from distance. “There are so many different variables that it makes it difficult to become a really good outside shooter on New York City playgrounds,” he said. But even in New York, the forging of rims may become an endangered art. Some of the city’s most celebrated courts, like Rucker Park in Harlem and the West Fourth Street Cage in the West Village, have made the switch to prefabricated rims, in part because the players there expect modern equipment. And when a new park is built or an existing one receives a full rehabilitation, a prefabricated rim is installed. The prefabricated rims are not only more up to date, but they are also less expensive typically costing other cities less than $60, compared with about $90 for the handmade rims, which includes about $65 for labor. But officials from the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation say the handmade rims stand up better to the demands of New York players, so they will continue to be produced at least to replace those that have been stolen or, in rare cases, damaged. The original design, which parks officials said was of unknown origin, has been kept in a dusty composition notebook in the center of the cavernous workshop on Randalls Island, underneath the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, where 92 rims were made last year. The blacksmiths are in the process of vacating the 80-year-old building, so production of the rims has been temporarily suspended. The machinery and tools, including the old anvil, will be moved to a new location. Left behind will be the old hoop that hangs over an oil-stained section of the shop, used for years of lunchtime games. “These are the strongest hoops you’ll ever find,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. “They last forever. You could hand them down to your grandkids.”

𝗗𝗲 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗧 𝗖𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗟 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗫 19 New York City PSAL Basketball Championships by John Raia

𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗬 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗗𝗔𝗬! 80 years ago last Sunday November 1, 1946. The first-ever NBA regular season game was played! The New York Knickerbockers defeated the Toronto Huskies, 68-66, with Ossie Schectman scoring the first basket in league history. Most of that original Knicks team were born and bred New Yorkers! 𝗟𝗲𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗯: Guard, New York, NY, DeWitt Clinton High School, CCNY (City College) 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘇𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗴: Guard, Brooklyn NY, Samuel J. Tilden High School CCNY (City College) 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘆 𝗕𝘆𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘀: Forward/Guard Bronx NY DeWitt Clinton High School, Seton Hall University 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗶𝗻: Forward Brooklyn NY, Boys High School (Brooklyn) CCNY (City College) 𝗥𝗮𝗹𝗽𝗵 𝗞𝗮𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝘁𝘇: Guard/Forward, DeWitt Clinton High School, The Bronx NY, New York University (NYU) 𝗡𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘇𝗼𝗸: Forward, The Bronx, Stuyvesant High School Manhattan, Cornell University 𝗢𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗺𝗮𝗻: Guard, Brooklyn NY Tilden High School, Brooklyn NY, LIU Brooklyn. facebook.com/reel/1442080294…

𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 Three members of the great 1970 and 1971 Milbank Community Center basketball team coached by Buster Bryant that lost in the finals each of the years above to The Westsiders, coached by journalist Pete Vecsey. It was a great moment in time for New York City basketball. The Knicks had won an NBA Championship in '70, but many believed that those summers at Rucker Park produced some of the most exciting and electrifying basketball ever played, indoors or outdoors! At times the sound of cheers from Rucker Park, competed with the cheers comig from Yankee Stadium across the Harlem River! 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝟭𝟵𝟳𝟬 While the exact final score is not available at this time, the game will alway be remembered as Milbank’s Joe Hammond scored 50 points to outplay Julius "Dr. J" Erving who scored 39. Joe led Milbank to the championship. 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟵𝟳𝟭 Millbank and the Westsiders both reached the finals again. This time the Westsiders defeated Milbank. While the exact score of the 1971 final itself remains lost to history, the two teams did play a regular season game that year and the Westsiders beat Milbank 117-108 in overtime. Below are Vincent White, Pee Wee Kirkland and Carl Crump of the Milbank team. Unfortunately there is no available photo of this historic basketball team, but we won't stop trying to find one!

𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 Three memers of the great 1970 and 1971 Milbank Community Center basketball team coached by Buster Bryant. They lost in the finals each of the years above to The Westsiders, coached by journalist Pete Vecsey. It was a great moment in time for New York City basketball. The Knicks had won an NBA Championship in '70, but many believed that those summers at Rucker Park produced some of the most exciting and electrifying basketball ever played, indoors or outdoors! At times the sound of cheers from Rucker Park, competed with the cheers comig from Yankee Stadium across the Harlem River! Pictured below are Larry Cheatham, Ulric Cobb and Joe Hammond, rebounding. (see remaining story below)

𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗛𝗜𝗧𝗘 1932 - 1990 He made such an impact on his community that some local residents say, his deep baritone voice can still be heard faintly echoing across the playground where he coached, and his muscular, 6-foot-3 frame can be seen for a split second from the corner of the eye, walking up and down the sideline where he once coached! Here on a small concrete playground near the intersection of East 163rd Street and Cauldwell Avenue, the renowned community leader and coach taught some of New York City’s greatest 1960s and 1970s basketball players (such as former N.B.A. star Nate Archibald) how to become both outstanding basketball players and responsible adults. It was also where White, who died at the age of 57 in 1990, put together one of the most successful recreational basketball teams in NYC history: the famed Bronx Falcons, who became legends by winning well-known amateur tournaments, like The Rucker in Harlem. Three of White’s many protege’s, Willie Worsley, Nevil Shed and Willie Cager, Bronx youngsters who became starters on the 1966 Texas Western College team that lead an all-black starting lineup to an astonishing upset victory against coach Adolph Rupp’s all-white Kentucky team to win the N.C.A.A. championship. White's coaching and leadership abilities caught the attention of American International College and he accepted a head coaching position there, taking Bronx standouts like Mike White and Alan Bush with him to the Springfield, Massachusetts campus. As Nevil Shed remembers, Hilton White was present at that national championship game and came to him afterwards to congratulate him and hug him, both of them overwhelmed with emotion. Then, tears started coming to his eyes”, said Shed. He was so proud! “I would say that I’m a child of God, I’m the son of Lillie Mae and James Shed, and I’m a product of Hilton White. He helped me become a man.” We honor Hilton White as one of the greatest, most dedicated mentors, NYC has ever had! May he Rest In Peace!

𝗚𝗘𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗘 𝗞𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗔𝗡 was born February 22, 1928 and grew up learning the game of basketball on the tough streets of lower Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. George was of Greek heritage and his family's original name was Kaftagouras. By the time he arrived at Xavier High School, at 30 West 16th Street, he passed through basketball tryouts, hands down and became a star on the team. He was an All-City selection in 1945. Founded in 1847, the school continues to operate as an active, private Catholic and Jesuit college-prep school for boys. He earned a scholarship to Holy Cross in Worcester Massachussettes, and although just 6'3" playing center, Kaftan led his team to the 1947 NCAA National Championship. He also won the Most Outstanding Player award of the championship series averaging 21 points a game at Madison Square Garden! George Kaftan was selected in the second round of the 1949 BAA Draft. (forerunner of the NBA) and later played professionally for the Boston Celtics from 1949 to 1950, the New York Knicks from 1950 to 1952 and the Baltimore Bullets from 1952 to1953. He averaged 7.5 points per game during his BAA/NBA career. After basketball he practiced dentistryAir Force Coached basketball at Air Force, at C.W. Post College over 15 seasons and leading the program to two NCAA tournament appearances. He served as an associate professor teaching Anatomy and Physiology at C.W. Post College, a profession he often cited as his most rewarding career. Kaftan was elected into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame and the Holy Cross Varsity Club Hall of Fame. He passed away on October 6, 2018, at the age of 90.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗞𝗘𝗧𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗜𝗡 𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 On February 28, 1940, a small group of 400 families in the NYC area gathered around bulky, wooden-framed cabinets, small, glass screens called televisions! It was a college basketball double-header at Madison Square Garden, but specifically a matchup between Fordham University and the University of Pittsburgh. In 1940, television was not yet a commercial industry. It was a risky, expensive experiment by David Sarnoff and the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). The broadcast originated from W2XBS, an experimental station that operated out of the Empire State Building. The signal could only reach from the transmitter, as far as the horizon, about a 50-mile radius around Manhattan. The equipment used at Madison Square Garden that evening was enormous and needed massive amounts of light, to achieve a good image. Even though the medium of TV was new, the Fordham vs. Pittsburgh basketball rivalry was already classic! College basketball in the late 1930s and early 1940s was even more popular than the pro game game, which was still a disorganized collection of regional leagues. Madison Square Garden was true center of the college basketball universe, and the games on February 28 showcased the best teams in the East. When the final whistle blew and Pittsburgh walked off the court with their 50-37 victory, no one at MSG or the 400 people watching at home realized they had participated in a revolution. The first televised basketball game was a tiny embryo, containing the DNA that transformed sports from a localized physical activity, into a globally shared experience, turning 400 viewers into millions and athletes into icons! Every time we check a score on our smartphones or stream a game in 4K, we are reaping the benefits of the seeds planted at Madison Square Garden on February 28, 1940. The Panthers and the Rams didn’t just play a game that night; they walked into a new dimension of human connection. And it could have only happened in New York City! Visit our website: nycbasketballhistory.org

𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗟 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗦 Edited from the Queens College Journal Gail Marquis, was born Novermber 18, 1954 in New York NY. When she was a power forward on the USA Olympic Team that won a silver medal in Montreal in 1976, it was the first time women’s basketball had been included as an Olympic sport! In 1980, Marquis played for the New York Stars, the first women’s professional basketball team to call Madison Square Garden home. The same year, the team won the Women’s Basketball League (WBL) Championship. In 2004, the 1972-73 her Queens College women’s basketball team, made history as the first women’s team inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. On September 24, 2009, Marquis became the first African-American woman inducted as a player into the same hall of fame. She was honored alongside other legendary basketball players including Armond Hill, John Salley, Billy Schaefer and Sam Schoenfeld. After the Montreal Olympics, Marquis played for four years on a French team, Olympique d’Antibes, winning championships and leading the league n scoring. She has also served as a sports broadcaster and analyst for the NBA and WNBA. In addition to her vibrant sports career, Marquis has maintained a successful track record in brokerage, finance and banking.  Her more than 25 years of experience in financial services span five major brokerage firms in positions ranging from management, sales, and finance to information technology. For the past two years she has served as a vice president at Element Financial Group, a boutique financial services firm in Manhattan. Marquis has received several awards in recognition of her lifetime achievements and business vision from the Sports Foundation, Pro-Am National Cities Leagues, Adelphi University, Bob Douglas Hall of Fame and Women’s Institute of Sports, among others. A sought-after lecturer and speaker who now makes her home in Jersey City, NJ, she enjoys sharing her career milestones and viewpoints at business symposia in support of women’s causes. Congratulations to pioneer Gail Marquis on a stellar career and a exepmplary journey through life! See the attached interview done in 2023 for the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame.