Joe Lapchick
Encyclopedia
Joseph Bohomiel Lapchick (b. April 12, 1900 in Yonkers, New York
– d. August 10, 1970 in New York City
) was a professional basketball
player, mostly known for playing with the Original Celtics
in the 1920s and 30s. He is commonly regarded as the best center of his era, overshadowed (if anything) in his later years only by Tarzan Cooper
. After ending his playing career in 1937, Lapchick became head coach at St. John's University, a position he held until 1947, when he took over the New York Knicks
in the NBA
. Lapchick coached the Knicks until 1957, leading them to three consecutive NBA Finals
appearances (1951–53). He returned to St. John's, coaching them until 1965.
Lapchick picked up a basketball for the first time just two decades after the game was invented. Basketball became his life. As a star center with the Original Celtics
and other barnstorming teams, a college coach at St. John’s, an NBA coach with the New York Knicks
, and an ambassador of the sport, Lapchick cast a broad shadow across the game and its history.
Though a slick player and an admired coach, Lapchick was perhaps best known for his obsessive worrying and nervousness. He lived every second of every game as though it were the last tick of the clock. Stress-related problems ended his professional coaching career and caused an occasional on-court fainting spell and even a few heart attacks.
Lapchick was respected for his motivational coaching style that focused less on mechanics than on eliciting peak performances from his players. Stressing a freewheeling offensive approach and smooth ballhandling, Lapchick built winners at both the college and pro levels. As a player, Lapchick had sharp passing and shooting skills that made him one of the first great pro centers and that helped his teams win several championships.
Lapchick was born at the turn of the century to Czech
immigrants. As a boy in Yonkers, New York
, he helped his struggling family make ends meet by scrounging for coal near railroad tracks. At age 12 the youngster started playing basketball around his neighborhood, wearing a uniform his mother had made for him. Like many youngsters of the era, he stopped going to school after the eighth grade. While working as a caddy
and in a factory, the 15-year-old found he could make $5 to $10 per night playing for local basketball teams. At age 19 he was suiting up for four different touring teams and pocketing up to $100 per game.
Lapchick was rangy at 6-foot-5, making him a valuable commodity at a time when a jump ball was held after every basket. “I played one manager against the other,” he said years later. “I bargained with the managers for every game. When there was a clash of dates, I took the best offer.”
In 1923 he joined the fabled Original Celtics
(a team that was the second incarnation of the New York Celtics, who had disbanded during World War I
). At first the team eschewed league play, choosing instead to barnstorm throughout the Northeast and wow crowds with its razzle-dazzle style of play. Conditions were spartan. When a large cut on Lapchick’s wrist became infected with uniform dye, a teammate rubbed off the scab with a towel and doused the wound with whiskey. Luckily for Lapchick, the treatment worked.
The Celtics joined the American Basketball League
in 1926 and won two straight titles. So dominant were Lapchick, Nat Holman
, and the rest of the Celtics that the league insisted the team disband. It did, in 1928. Lapchick and two other former Celtics then joined the Cleveland Rosenblums
, a team owned by a department store magnate who had named the team after himself. With Lapchick starring at the pivot, the "Rosenblum Celtics" won two straight ABL titles
.
The Great Depression
forced an end to the ABL in 1931
. Still a young man, Lapchick re-formed the Celtics with Dutch Dehnert
, Davey Banks, Nat Hickey
, Johnny Beckman, Carl Husta
and hhim. They hit the road for five years, with Lapchick handling driving duties, and Kate Smith
singing "God Bless America" at games.
In 1936 Lapchick landed the coaching job at St. John’s University, New York
. In 11 seasons he steered the Redmen to a 180-55 record and two consecutive National Invitation Tournament
titles, in 1943 and 1944. Overwhelmed by stress, Lapchick fainted during the second half of the 1944 final game. In 1947 he passed up a then-astronomical offer of $12,000 per year to stay at St. John’s, opting instead to accept a job as coach of the New York Knickerbockers
of the fledgling Basketball Association of America
. Landing Lapchick was a big boost to the league, which was in only its second year of operation.
Continuing to emphasize his themes of personal achievement and responsibility, Lapchick led the Knicks to eight straight winning seasons and eight trips to the playoffs, including three straight NBA Finals
from 1951 to 1953. The 1953–54
Knicks were more than just a team of talented players; eight of them went on to coach pro or college teams, a tribute to Lapchick’s leadership. Though a great motivator, Lapchick was a wild man on the sidelines, stomping on his coat, smashing chairs, and tossing various objects into the air. Stress-management problems forced him to quit near the end of the 1955–56 season
. He left the Knicks with a 326-247 NBA coaching record.
Lapchick rested for only a month before returning to St. John’s, where in nine more seasons he led the Redmen to two more NIT
crowns, giving them a record four titles. Lapchick wasn’t just his players’ basketball coach; he monitored their academic performance as well. The school’s mandatory-retirement rules forced Lapchick, a two-time college Coach of the Year, to step down after the 1964–65 season at age 65. He had several heart attacks that year. The season ended with the outclassed Redmen upsetting Villanova
, 55-51, in an emotional NIT
Championship Game.
Describing his final season at St. John’s, Lapchick told the Washington, D.C.–based Evening Star: "I used to double up with chest pains. Sometimes I couldn’t even talk to the team during halftime."
Lapchick then turned to writing. In 1968 he authored 50 Years of Basketball, a book that was both a compilation of stories from Lapchick’s early days as a player and an explanation of his coaching philosophy. As one of basketball’s most prominent elder statesmen, Lapchick also stayed active as a spokesman for the sport.
Lapchick was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1966. He died of a heart attack in Monticello, New York
, in 1970 at age 70. In his memory, St. John’s created an annual preseason college basketball tournament entitled the Lapchick Memorial Tournament.
. He is also President/CEO of the National Consortium for Academics and Sport (NCAS), a school outreach program which focuses on teaching youth how to improve race relations, and develop conflict resolution skills.
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...
– d. August 10, 1970 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
) was a 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, mostly known for playing with the Original Celtics
Original Celtics
The Original Celtics were a barnstorming professional basketball team in the 1920s. There is no relation to the modern Boston Celtics. The Original Celtics are often credited with extending the reach of basketball across America and for establishing the importance of aggressive defensive play...
in the 1920s and 30s. He is commonly regarded as the best center of his era, overshadowed (if anything) in his later years only by Tarzan Cooper
Tarzan Cooper
Charles "Tarzan" Cooper was an American professional basketball player. He is mostly known for his time with the New York Renaissance ....
. After ending his playing career in 1937, Lapchick became head coach at St. John's University, a position he held until 1947, when he took over the New York Knicks
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 the NBA
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...
. Lapchick coached the Knicks until 1957, leading them to three consecutive NBA Finals
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
appearances (1951–53). He returned to St. John's, coaching them until 1965.
Full biography
From star player to successful coach to popular author to respected dignitary, Joe Lapchick played a variety of roles in his more than 50 years in the game of basketball. He was an eminently influential figure who helped nurture the sport from its crude beginnings into its modern form.Lapchick picked up a basketball for the first time just two decades after the game was invented. Basketball became his life. As a star center with the Original Celtics
Original Celtics
The Original Celtics were a barnstorming professional basketball team in the 1920s. There is no relation to the modern Boston Celtics. The Original Celtics are often credited with extending the reach of basketball across America and for establishing the importance of aggressive defensive play...
and other barnstorming teams, a college coach at St. John’s, an NBA coach with the New York Knicks
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...
, and an ambassador of the sport, Lapchick cast a broad shadow across the game and its history.
Though a slick player and an admired coach, Lapchick was perhaps best known for his obsessive worrying and nervousness. He lived every second of every game as though it were the last tick of the clock. Stress-related problems ended his professional coaching career and caused an occasional on-court fainting spell and even a few heart attacks.
Lapchick was respected for his motivational coaching style that focused less on mechanics than on eliciting peak performances from his players. Stressing a freewheeling offensive approach and smooth ballhandling, Lapchick built winners at both the college and pro levels. As a player, Lapchick had sharp passing and shooting skills that made him one of the first great pro centers and that helped his teams win several championships.
Lapchick was born at the turn of the century to Czech
Czech
Czech may refer to:* Czech cuisine* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe* Czech language* Czechs, the people of the area* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech and Rus...
immigrants. As a boy in Yonkers, New York
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...
, he helped his struggling family make ends meet by scrounging for coal near railroad tracks. At age 12 the youngster started playing basketball around his neighborhood, wearing a uniform his mother had made for him. Like many youngsters of the era, he stopped going to school after the eighth grade. While working as a caddy
Caddy
In golf, a caddy is the person who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives insightful advice and moral support. A good caddy is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course being played, along with the best strategy in playing it. This includes knowing overall yardage, pin...
and in a factory, the 15-year-old found he could make $5 to $10 per night playing for local basketball teams. At age 19 he was suiting up for four different touring teams and pocketing up to $100 per game.
Lapchick was rangy at 6-foot-5, making him a valuable commodity at a time when a jump ball was held after every basket. “I played one manager against the other,” he said years later. “I bargained with the managers for every game. When there was a clash of dates, I took the best offer.”
In 1923 he joined the fabled Original Celtics
Original Celtics
The Original Celtics were a barnstorming professional basketball team in the 1920s. There is no relation to the modern Boston Celtics. The Original Celtics are often credited with extending the reach of basketball across America and for establishing the importance of aggressive defensive play...
(a team that was the second incarnation of the New York Celtics, who had disbanded during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
). At first the team eschewed league play, choosing instead to barnstorm throughout the Northeast and wow crowds with its razzle-dazzle style of play. Conditions were spartan. When a large cut on Lapchick’s wrist became infected with uniform dye, a teammate rubbed off the scab with a towel and doused the wound with whiskey. Luckily for Lapchick, the treatment worked.
The Celtics joined 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...
in 1926 and won two straight titles. So dominant were Lapchick, Nat Holman
Nat Holman
Nat Holman was one of the early pro basketball players and one of the game's most important innovators.-Career:...
, and the rest of the Celtics that the league insisted the team disband. It did, in 1928. Lapchick and two other former Celtics then joined the Cleveland Rosenblums
Cleveland Rosenblums
The Cleveland Rosenblums was an American basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio that was one of the original members of the American Basketball League...
, a team owned by a department store magnate who had named the team after himself. With Lapchick starring at the pivot, the "Rosenblum Celtics" won two straight ABL titles
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 Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
forced an end to the ABL in 1931
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...
. Still a young man, Lapchick re-formed the Celtics with Dutch Dehnert
Dutch Dehnert
Henry G. "Dutch" Dehnert was an American basketball player whose career lasted from 1915 to 1935....
, Davey Banks, Nat Hickey
Nat Hickey
Matthew "Nat" Hickey was an American professional basketball player and coach.A 5'11" guard/forward, Hickey played during the 1920s through 1940s as a member of multiple professional teams, including the Cleveland Rosenblums of the American Basketball League and the Pittsburgh Raiders,...
, Johnny Beckman, Carl Husta
Carl Husta
Carl Lawrence Husta was an American Major League Baseball infielder. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics during the season.-References:...
and hhim. They hit the road for five years, with Lapchick handling driving duties, and Kate Smith
Kate Smith
Kathryn Elizabeth "Kate" Smith was an American Popular singer, best known for her rendition of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America". Smith had a radio, television, and recording career spanning five decades, which reached its pinnacle in the 1940s.Smith was born in Greenville, Virginia...
singing "God Bless America" at games.
In 1936 Lapchick landed the coaching job at St. John’s University, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. In 11 seasons he steered the Redmen to a 180-55 record and two consecutive National Invitation Tournament
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...
titles, in 1943 and 1944. Overwhelmed by stress, Lapchick fainted during the second half of the 1944 final game. In 1947 he passed up a then-astronomical offer of $12,000 per year to stay at St. John’s, opting instead to accept a job as coach of the 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...
of the fledgling 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 ...
. Landing Lapchick was a big boost to the league, which was in only its second year of operation.
Continuing to emphasize his themes of personal achievement and responsibility, Lapchick led the Knicks to eight straight winning seasons and eight trips to the playoffs, including three straight NBA Finals
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
from 1951 to 1953. The 1953–54
1953-54 NBA season
The 1953–54 NBA season was the 8th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Minneapolis Lakers winning their 5th NBA Championship in 6 years, beating the Syracuse Nationals 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.- Notable occurrences :...
Knicks were more than just a team of talented players; eight of them went on to coach pro or college teams, a tribute to Lapchick’s leadership. Though a great motivator, Lapchick was a wild man on the sidelines, stomping on his coat, smashing chairs, and tossing various objects into the air. Stress-management problems forced him to quit near the end of the 1955–56 season
1955-56 NBA season
The 1955–56 NBA season was the 10th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Philadelphia Warriors winning the NBA Championship, beating the Fort Wayne Pistons 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.- Notable occurrences :...
. He left the Knicks with a 326-247 NBA coaching record.
Lapchick rested for only a month before returning to St. John’s, where in nine more seasons he led the Redmen to two more NIT
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...
crowns, giving them a record four titles. Lapchick wasn’t just his players’ basketball coach; he monitored their academic performance as well. The school’s mandatory-retirement rules forced Lapchick, a two-time college Coach of the Year, to step down after the 1964–65 season at age 65. He had several heart attacks that year. The season ended with the outclassed Redmen upsetting Villanova
Villanova University
Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
, 55-51, in an emotional NIT
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...
Championship Game.
Describing his final season at St. John’s, Lapchick told the Washington, D.C.–based Evening Star: "I used to double up with chest pains. Sometimes I couldn’t even talk to the team during halftime."
Lapchick then turned to writing. In 1968 he authored 50 Years of Basketball, a book that was both a compilation of stories from Lapchick’s early days as a player and an explanation of his coaching philosophy. As one of basketball’s most prominent elder statesmen, Lapchick also stayed active as a spokesman for the sport.
Lapchick was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1966. He died of a heart attack in Monticello, New York
Monticello, New York
Monticello is a village located in the Town of Thompson in Sullivan County, New York, United States. The population was 6,512 at the 2000 census. It is the seat for the Town of Thompson and the county seat of Sullivan County...
, in 1970 at age 70. In his memory, St. John’s created an annual preseason college basketball tournament entitled the Lapchick Memorial Tournament.
Family
Dr. Richard Lapchick, the son of Joe Lapchick, is a human rights activist, pioneer for racial equality, internationally recognized expert on sports issues, scholar and author. Lapchick is the Endowed Chair and Director of the DeVos Sport Business Management Program at the College of Business Administration, University of Central FloridaUniversity of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida, commonly referred to as UCF, is a metropolitan public research university located in Orlando, Florida, United States...
. He is also President/CEO of the National Consortium for Academics and Sport (NCAS), a school outreach program which focuses on teaching youth how to improve race relations, and develop conflict resolution skills.