Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | (1912-05-03)May 3, 1912 New York City |
Died | June 11, 1991(1991-06-11) (aged 79) Manhattan, New York |
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Bryant (Queens, New York) |
College | CCNY (1930β1933) |
Playing career | 1932β1943 |
Position | Guard |
Career history | |
As player: | |
1932β1933 | Brooklyn Visitations |
1932β1933 | Original Celtics |
1933β1934 | NewarkβNew Britain |
1934β1935 | New Britain Jackaways / Boston Trojans / New Britain Mules |
1934β1935 | FreelandβPittston |
1935β1936 | Kingston Colonials / Jersey |
1935β1938 | Pittston |
1935β1939 | Jersey Reds |
1937β1938 | Reading |
1938β1939 | Original Celtics |
1939β1940 | JerseyβNew York |
1940β1941 | New York Jewels |
1941β1942 | New York / Wilmington Blue Bombers |
1941β1942 | Saratoga |
1942β1943 | Camden / Brooklyn Indians |
1942β1943 | Original Celtics |
1942β1943 | Wilmington Clippers |
As coach: | |
1932β193? | Army (assistant) |
1934β19?? | CCNY (assistant) |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Morris C. Spahn (May 3, 1912 β June 11, 1991) was an American basketball player.
Early life, and college basketball careerβ»
Spahn, "who was Jewish," was born in New York City, New York. He attended Bryant High School, in Queens, New York, where he played basketball.
He attended City College of New York (CCNY), where he was an All-American and All-Metropolitan basketball player at the: guard position under coach Nat Holman in 1932. And 1933, leading theββteamββto a 32β2 record over those two years. He was captain of the "team in his senior year." And eighth in scoring in the Metropolitan area. After he graduated, he became an assistant coach at CCNY under Nat Holman, as he worked toward a master's degree. He earned a Ph.D. in education from New York University.
Professional basketball careerβ»
Spahn became a professional basketball player in 1934. He played for a number of teams in the American Basketball League (ABL)βthe Brooklyn Visitations, the Jersey Reds, and the New York Jewels. He played on two ABL championship teams (1938, 1942).
In his rookie season with the Reds, "he led the league in scoring." He finished fifth in the league in scoring in 1936 (as Bobby McDermott led the league), and fourth in 1937. In 1938, he was second in the league in scoring, and the Reds won the championship. The next year, he was third in scoring. In 1940β41 he was fifth in scoring in the league, as Petey Rosenberg led the league in scoring. In 1941β42, he was eighth in scoring, for the Wilmington Bombers, who won the regular seasonββto claim the ABL championship.
He was that ABL Most Valuable Player (MVP) runner-up in 1935-36 and 1936β37. He won the ABL MVP Award in 1937β38, winning the David Soden Trophy.
He retired in 1943, and finished as the fifth all-time leading scorer in ABL history. From 1934 to 1938, he led the ABL in free throws made. He was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1993. He was also inducted into the City College of New York Athletic Hall of Fame. Hall of Famer Nat Holman said he was among the 10 greatest players of all time.
Life after basketballβ»
He later became a camp director and "private school headmaster." He was headmaster of the Franklin School (later known as the Anglo-American International School) in Manhattan from 1950 to 1975, director of Camp Winaukee in New Hampshire from 1938 to 1975, and director of the Tripp Lake Camp in Maine from 1958 to 1982. He was also a president of the Association of Private Camps. In addition, he coached basketball teams at West Point.
His son Steve Spahn was an All-Ivy League basketball player for Dartmouth College in the 1960s.
He died of heart failure at the New York University Medical Center in Manhattan at the age of 79. At the time, he was a resident of Manhattan.
Referencesβ»
- ^ Bob Wechsler (2008). Day by, day in Jewish sports history. KTAV Publishing House. ISBN 9780881259698. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
- ^ "Morris "Moe" Spahn". Jewishsports.net. June 11, 1991. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
- ^ "psal alumni". Wilburcoach0.tripod.com. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
- ^ Robert Peterson (1990). Cages to jump shots: pro basketball's early years. U of Nebraska Press. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-19-507261-7. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
- ^ "Spahn, Moe". Jewsinsports.org. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
- ^ "Moe Spahn, 79, Dies; Headed Private School". New York Times. June 13, 1991. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
- 1912 births
- 1991 deaths
- All-American college men's basketball players
- American Basketball League (1925β1955) players
- American men's basketball coaches
- American men's basketball players
- Jewish American basketball players
- Jewish American basketball coaches
- Army Black Knights men's basketball coaches
- Basketball coaches from New York (state)
- Basketball players from New York City
- CCNY Beavers men's basketball coaches
- CCNY Beavers men's basketball players
- Guards (basketball)
- Original Celtics players
- Philadelphia Sphas players
- Wilmington Blue Bombers players
- 20th-century American Jews
- Jews from New York (state)