Ossie Schectman
Encyclopedia
Oscar B. "Ossie" Schectman (born May 30, 1919) is a retired American professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player. He is credited with having scored the very first basket in the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 (NBA), at that time the Basketball Association of America
Basketball Association of America
The Basketball Association of America was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. The league merged with the National Basketball League in 1949, forming the National Basketball Association ...

.
He was born in Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens, Queens
Kew Gardens is a triangular-shaped neighborhood in central Queens bounded to the north by the Jackie Robinson Parkway , to the east by Van Wyck Expressway and 131st Street, to the south by Hillside Avenue, and to the west by Park Lane, Abingdon Road and 118th Street...

, Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....

, New York, United States.

Basketball career

Schectman began his playing career at Samuel J. Tilden High School
Samuel J. Tilden High School
Samuel J. Tilden High School is a New York City public high school in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn. It is named for Samuel J. Tilden, the former governor of New York State and presidential candidate who, although carrying the popular vote, lost to Rutherford B...

 in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, New York City.

He later played both guard and forward at Long Island University
Long Island University
Long Island University is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution of higher education in the U.S. state of New York.-History:...

, then a powerhouse under coach Clair Bee
Clair Bee
Clair Francis Bee was an American basketball coach, who led the team at Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York to undefeated seasons in 1936 and 1939, as well as two National Invitation Tournament titles...

. He was a member of the undefeated 1939 NIT and National Championship team. In 1941, he was named Converse first team All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...

.

After graduating LIU, Schectman joined Eddie Gottlieb's 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...

 in the American Basketball League
American Basketball League (1925-1955)
The American Basketball League was an early professional basketball league. During six seasons from 1925-26 to 1930-31, the ABL was the first attempt to create a major professional basketball league in the United States...

. The Sphas had started as a barnstorm
Barnstorm
Barnstorm is the first album by Joe Walsh following his departure from the James Gang, released in 1972 . The core band on this album – Walsh, bassist Kenny Passarelli and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Joe Vitale – was also named Barnstorm.-History:With this album, Walsh and Barnstorm moved away...

ing team (their nickname stood for the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association), but they joined the ABL in 1933 and thereafter, dominated the league. The Sphas won the league championship in his second season (1942–43), and the following year, he finished second in the league in scoring with 199 points (10.5 average).

Schectman remained with the Sphas until 1946 (they won another championship in 1944–45), and then joined a new league called the Basketball Association of America
Basketball Association of America
The Basketball Association of America was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. The league merged with the National Basketball League in 1949, forming the National Basketball Association ...

 (predecessor of the NBA).

On November 1, 1946, in the opening game of the fledgling Basketball Association of America (BAA), Ossie Schectman scored the opening basket for the New York Knickerbockers against the Toronto Huskies. Schectman and his teammates Sonny Hertzberg, Stan Stutz, Hank Rosenstein, Ralph Kaplowitz, Jake Weber, and Leo "Ace" Gottlieb went on to win the opening game 68–66 and finish the season with a 33–27 record. In 1949, the BAA became the National Basketball Association (NBA), and Schectman's shot is considered the first basket in the NBA.

He was a member of the original New York Knickerbockers
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

 in their inaugural Basketball Association of America
Basketball Association of America
The Basketball Association of America was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. The league merged with the National Basketball League in 1949, forming the National Basketball Association ...

 season in 1946–47.

He scored the first points in league history when the Knickerbockers played the first game in NBA history, against the Toronto Huskies
Toronto Huskies
The Toronto Huskies were a team in the Basketball Association of America during the 1946–47 season, based in Toronto, Ontario...

.

In 1946–47 (his only year in the NBA), Schectman played in 54 games for the Knicks and was third in the league with 2.0 assists per game.

After that season, Schectman decided to abandon the NBA. He returned to the ABL, and in the 1947–48 season, he was named All-ABL first team while leading the Paterson Cresecents to the championship series.

Halls of Fame

Schectman is prominently featured in the documentary film The First Basket
The First Basket
The First Basket is a 2008 documentary film on professional basketball's influence on Jewish culture.It is narrated by Peter Riegert. The film includes interviews and narratives provided by, and footage of, well known Jewish basketball personalities including Ossie Schectman, Red Auerbach, Sidney...

, about Jewish basketball history. He was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Long Island University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. He is also a member of the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame.

See also

  • List of select Jewish basketball players
  • The First Basket
    The First Basket
    The First Basket is a 2008 documentary film on professional basketball's influence on Jewish culture.It is narrated by Peter Riegert. The film includes interviews and narratives provided by, and footage of, well known Jewish basketball personalities including Ossie Schectman, Red Auerbach, Sidney...


External links

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