Early life, and college basketball career

Spahn, who was Jewish, was born in New York, New York. He attended Bryant High School

William Cullen Bryant High School

William Cullen Bryant High School, or William C. Bryant High School, and Bryant High School for short, is a secondary school located in Queens, New York City, New York, United States serving grades 9 through 12.-Name:...

, in Queens, New York, where he played basketball.

He attended City College of New York

City College of New York

The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...

 (CCNY), where he was an All-American and All-Metropolitan basketball player at the guard position under coach Nat Holman

Nat Holman

Nat Holman was one of the early pro basketball players and one of the game's most important innovators.-Career:...

 in 1932 and 1933, leading the team to a 32–2 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

Nat Holman

Nat Holman was one of the early pro basketball players and one of the game's most important innovators.-Career:...

, as he worked toward a masters degree. He earned a Ph.D. in education from New York University

New York University

New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

.

Professional basketball career

Spahn became a professional basketball player in 1934. He played for a number of teams in the American Basketball League (ABL)—the Brooklyn Visitations

Brooklyn Visitations

The Brooklyn Visitations were an American basketball team based in Brooklyn, New York City that was a member of the Metropolitan Basketball League and the American Basketball League....

, the Jersey Reds

Jersey Reds

The Jersey Reds were an American basketball team based in North Bergen, New Jersey that was a member of the American Basketball League.The team was previously known as the Union City Reds. During the 1939/40 season, the team was merged into the New York Jewels on January 26, 1940.-Year-by-year:...

, the New York Jewels

New York Jewels

The New York Jewels were an American basketball team based in New York, New York that was a member of the American Basketball League.The team was previously known as the Brooklyn Jewels. For the 2nd half of the 1936/37, the team was renamed the Brooklyn Jewels. Before the 1937/38 season, the...

, and the Philadel­phia SPHAs

Philadelphia Sphas

The Philadelphia Sphas, also written SPHAs and SPHAS, were a team that competed in the Eastern Basketball League and then the American Basketball League 1925-55. They played their home games in social halls and, from 1938, in the ballroom of the Broadwood Hotel...

. He played on five ABL championship teams during the 1930s.

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

Bobby McDermott

Robert "Bobby" McDermott was an American professional basketball player, in the 1930s and 1940s....

 led the league), and fourth in 1937 as Jersey won the championship. 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 1940–41 he was fifth in scoring in the league, as Petey Rosenberg

Petey Rosenberg

Alexander "Petey" Rosenberg was an American professional basketball player.A 5'10" guard from Saint Joseph's University, Rosenberg played one season in the Basketball Association of America as a member of the Philadelphia Warriors. He averaged 2.9 points per game and won a league...

 led the league in scoring. In 1941–42, he was eighth in scoring, for the Wilmington Bombers

Wilmington Bombers

-Wilmington Blue Bombers:The Wilmington Blue Bombers were an American basketball team based in Wilmington, Delaware that was a member of the American Basketball League.-Year-by-year:-Wilmington Bombers:...

, who won the regular season to claim the ABL championship.

He was that ABL Most Valuable Player (MVP) runner-up in 1936-36, and in 1936–37. He was the ABL's MVP in 1937–38, 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 throw

Free throw

In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points from a restricted area on the court , and are generally awarded after a foul on the shooter by the opposing team...

s made.

He was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame was opened July 7, 1981, in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around the world....

 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 basketball

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

Ivy League

The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...

 basketball player for Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...

 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.