Max Kase
Encyclopedia
Max Kase was an American newspaper writer and editor. He worked for the Hearst newspapers from 1917 to 1966 and was the sports editor of the New York Journal-American from 1938 to 1966. In 1946, he was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the New York Knicks
and the Basketball Association of America
, predecessor to the NBA. He also won a special Pulitzer Prize
in 1952 for his work in exposing the college basketball point shaving scandals, including the CCNY Point Shaving Scandal
.
At the time of the 1900 United States Census, Kase was living on Willett Street on the Lower East Side
of Manhattan
with his parents and six siblings – Moses (born 1884 in Austria), Annie (born 1889 in New York), Benjamin (born 1891 in New York), Lena (born 1895 in New York), and twins Fannie and Rachel (born 1900 in New York). At that time, Kase's father was working as 'cloak operator' ie. a sewing machine operator working on ladies cloaks.
At the time of the 1910 United States Census, Kase was living with his parents and an older sister (Lena) at 334 Georgia Avenue in Brooklyn
, New York. At that time, Kase's father was employed as a grocer in a retail store.
By 1918, the family had moved to The Bronx
and was living at 1558 Minford Place, near Crotona Park
. At the time of the 1920 United States Census, Kase was living with his parents and two older siblings (Benjamin and Lena) at the same address in The Bronx. Max's profession was recorded at that time as a stenographer.
. In approximately 1917, he joined the staff of the International News Service
(INS), the wire service for the Hearst newspapers.
Kase's earliest by-lines involved the financial markets, including a June 21 story about mysterious flood of sell orders that had driven stocks to their lowest prices since 1917, and a May 1922 article about a merger between Lackawanna Steel Company
and Bethlehem Steel Company.
In 1922, Kase began writing feature stories. In February 1922, newspapers across the country published his feature story about plans by Will Hays
and others to build a model community on Long Island to lure motion picture production away from scandal-ridden Hollywood. Four months later, Kase's feature story about jazz culture and flapper
s received wide coverage. The story opened with the following provocative quote from psychologist Andre Tridon: "Jazz should be our national pastime: the flapper, God bless her, is the hope of the modern world. The article went on to quote Tridon suggesting that jazz should be encouraged as a means to satisfy man's "gorilla instincts":
In December 1922, Kase wrote a feature about a new form of armament developed by racing driver Walter Christie, which Kase described as a combination of a battleship, fort and tank that had been tested in the Hudson River
and was "expected to revolutionize modern warfare." In January 1923, he wrote a pieces about a painting by Antonio da Correggio
, missing since the 15th Century, that had been discovered in Brooklyn. His moving feature from February 1923 about the death of a 17-year-old boy from Manhattan's Lower East Side
was also published in Hearst newspapers across the country:
agreed fight Firpo, Kase covered Dempsey and issued daily stories from the champ's training camp in White Sulphur Springs, New York. When Dempsey left White Sulphur Springs, Kase described the scene he left behind:
Kase provided similar in-depth coverage leading up to the July 1923 championship bout between lightweights Benny Leonard
, born in the Jewish ghetto of New York's Lower East Side, and Lew Tendler
. When Leonard successfully defended his title in front of a crowd of 60,000 spectators at Yankee Stadium
, Kase wrote that the title of "The Old Master," previously used to describe Joe Gans
, "may now in all probability be hauled out, dusted off and placed firmly on the brow of Benny Leonard."
In 1924, Kase was sent to Cuba as the editor and general manager of The Havana Telegram. He was reported to be the youngest person at that time to hold an editorial position with a Cuban newspaper.
In 1925, Kase returned to New York as a sportswriter for Hearst's New York Journal under its longtime sports editor, Wilton S. Farnsworth
.
In the early 1930s, Kase covered the National League baseball beat for the Journal and the Hearst newspaper syndicate. He also continued to cover boxing for the Hearst newspapers. Covering the bout between Kid Chocolate
, "The Cuban Bon Bon," and Lew Feldman, Kase credited the Cuban with "artistically muzzling the Brownsville bulldog after fifteen rounds of classy, game battling."
In 1934, Kase was sent to Boston as the sports editor of Hearst's Boston American
. During his time in Boston, Kase became acquainted with Walter A. Brown
, the original owner of the Boston Celtics
.
Kase returned to New York in 1935 as a sportswriter and columnist for the New York Journal and, following the merger of Hearst's morning and afternoon papers, the New York Journal-American. Upon his return to New York, Kase covered the New York Yankees
and the American League
baseball beat. In the spring of 1937, Kase was credited with mending a rift that had developed in 1936 between Yankees stars Tony Lazzeri
and Joe DiMaggio
.
When Joe Louis
burst onto the scene in 1935, Kase covered Louis' training camp before the September 1935 bout at Yankee Stadium
against German champion Max Baer
. Kase referred to Louis as "the etherizing Detroit destroyer" and wrote about the difficulty in securing sparring partners: "There were to have been seven laboratory specimens for the Detroit destroyer to experiment on but five of the expected sparring partners, showing rare judgment, failed to appear."
In March 1936, he drew national coverage with a feature story reporting that Dizzy Dean
's wife had been assigned to negotiate a new contract with the Cardinals.
In 1937, Kase was added to the committee of eight baseball writers charged with choosing the American League's Most Valuable Player.
. Kase became a fixture in New York's sporting world from the 1930s through the 1960s. In his book on the history of the NBA, Charles Rosen wrote the following about Kase:
. Kase and Journal-American sportswriter Bill Corum came up with the idea to have 26 all-stars from the three New York baseball teams play against a team of all-stars serving in the military. The game also featured an exhibition by 13 all-time baseball greats, including Babe Ruth
, Walter Johnson
, George Sisler
, Tris Speaker
, and Honus Wagner
. One of the highlights of the exhibition was a home run hit by Babe Ruth into the right field stands off Walter Johnson.
In 1944, Kase became the chairman of the Fifth War Loan Sports Committee. During June 1944, Kase's committee sold $16.7 million in war bonds by organizing sporting events in New York. The events included a War Bond Day at the Aqueduct Racetrack
, a golf exhibition with Byron Nelson
and Jug McSpaden, a sports carnival at the Polo Grounds
on June 17, 1944, and a novel three-way baseball game at the Polo Grounds on June 26, 1944, between the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, and New York Yankees
.
, formed in 1937, was based in the Midwest and had "limped along" while being "generally ignored" by sports editors. During the 1930s, Kase had discussions with Walter A. Brown
, manager of the Boston Garden
, about creating a truly national basketball league with franchises in the country's largest cities. In 1944, Kase organized a basketball exhibition in New York featuring two of the top barnstorming teams. The overflow crowd that turned out for the charity event reinforced Kase's belief that professional basketball could attract a following in New York. Kase continued to press the idea in discussions with Walter A. Brown and even drafted the new league's charter and operating plan.
In his original conception, Kase planned to own and operate the New York basketball franchise. He approached Ned Irish
, the president of Madison Square Garden
who had successfully promoted college basketball matches at the venue, with a proposal to lease the Garden on open dates for use by Kase's professional basketball team. Irish informed Kase that the Arena Managers Association of America, which owned the sports arenas in the largest cities, had a pact which required Madison Square Garden to own any professional basketball team that played there. However, Irish was persuaded that Kase's idea had merit and, in 1946, Irish became one of the founders of the new Basketball Association of America
(BAA) and the original owner of the New York Knicks
. Irish later paid Kase several thousand dollars for his role in organizing the new basketball league.
Kase's role in the formation of the BAA, which later became the NBA, has been acknowledged in several accounts of the NBA's history. One author wrote: "The impetus behind the formation of the BAA came mainly from Max Kase ..." Another noted:
After Kase died, Walter Kennedy
, the commissioner of the NBA from 1963–1975, said, "His personal involvement in the beginning of the NBA ... and his strong belief that pro basketball was destined to be a major sport were important factors in the growth and success of the NBA."
. Kase later wrote that the Journal-American had been probing tips and leads for several years, but had been "bumping into impenetrable stone walls in past years." Kase began interviewing acquaintances in the gambling community. During the 1948–1949 season, Kase assigned a reporter to investigate the story on a full-time basis. Over the following year, Kase and the reporter devoted much of their time to the investigation. Concerned that his sportswriters may have connections to the players or gamblers, he secured additional assistance from several of the Journal-Americans best crime reporters.
The Journal-Americans investigation eventually focused on Eddie Gard, a player for the Long Island University
basketball team who was believed to be acting as a bagman for the gambling interests. In early January 1951, Kase met secretly with New York District Attorney Frank Hogan
. Kase shared his findings with Hogan and agreed to withhold the story until Hogan could develop the case further. Using the evidence collected by Kase, Hogan began tailing Gard and tapped his phone. The investigation resulted in the arrest and prosecution of three star players from the City College of New York
's 1950 national championship team.
In exchange for his cooperation, Hogan gave Kase the exclusive rights to the inside story when the arrests were made in mid-January 1951. Kase wrote in the Journal-American that "a first blush of sympathy for the corrupted weaklings has given way to a cold rage because of their lack of loyalty to their school and a calloused greed for their Judas pieces of silver." After Kase's expose, the point shaving scandal spread as players at Long Island University, the University of Kentucky
and Bradley University
were also implicated. It was ultimately shown that five players on Kentucky's 1949 NCAA championship team were involved or implicated in point shaving. Two of the players were suspended for life by the NBA, and Kentucky did not play the 1952–1953 season because of the scandal. The college basketball point shaving scandals uncovered by Kase were considered the most serious in American sports since the 1919 Black Sox Scandal
.
In 1952, Kase was presented with a special Pulitzer Prize
for his role in exposing the point shaving scandals in college basketball. In May 1952, a testimonial dinner for Kase was held at Toots Shor's Restaurant
in Manhattan. The dinner was attended by 200 of the leading figures in the sports world, including baseball commissioner Ford Frick
, Grantland Rice
, and Bugs Baer. District Attorney Frank Hogan paid tribute to Kase at the dinner: "I humbly and contritely express my appreciation for what Max Kase did. ... This was the act of a person conscious of the welfare of the community."
program. In 1947, he organized an annual all-star game featuring the best players selected from local all-star games in cities with Hearst newspapers. The national all-star game was played at the Polo Grounds
in New York and was called the Hearst Sandlot Classic. Kase solicited Babe Ruth
to serve as chairman of the event. The Hearst sandlot program ultimately produced 50 Major League Baseball
players, including all-stars Whitey Ford
, Al Kaline
, Joe Torre
, Tony Kubek
, Bill Freehan
, Mike Marshall, and Bill Skowron.
In 1950, Kase founded the B'nai B'rith New York Sports Lodge as part of the Anti-Defamation League
's campaign to promote religious tolerance and fight anti-Semitism. Kase twice served terms as president of the lodge, which was renamed the Max Kase Sports Lodge in 1975.
In 1956, Israel's national basketball team was unable to compete in the 1956 Summer Olympics
as a result of the hostilties associated with the Suez Crisis
. Accordingly, Kase, with sponsorship from the New York Journal-American, organized a United States February 1957 tour by the Israeli basketball team with games played in Boston, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
In October 1964, the New York Rangers
banned the Journal-Americans hockey reporter, Stan Fischler, from the dressing room and press room after taking issue with one of Fischler's stories. Kase called the Rangers and informed them that "the Journal-American would not carry a single line of Rangers' news until the ban was lifted." The Rangers promptly lifted the ban. Fischler later recalled, "Unfortunately, there aren't many editors like Max Kase around."
In 1966, the New York Journal-American went out of business. Kase retired upon the publication of the paper's final edition on April 24, 1966.
. He later opened a second "Briefkase" pub near Madison Square Garden
.
Kase was a bachelor for much of his life. In June 1945, he married Kay Gallagher. Kase died in March 1974 at Yonkers General Hospital after suffering a heart attack at his home. He was 75 years old at the time of his death.
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 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 to the NBA. He also won a special Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
in 1952 for his work in exposing the college basketball point shaving scandals, including the CCNY Point Shaving Scandal
CCNY Point Shaving Scandal
The CCNY point shaving scandal of 1950-1951 was a college basketball point shaving gambling scandal that involved seven schools in all, with four in Greater New York and three in the Midwest...
.
Childhood
Kase was born in July 1897. His parents, Solomon and Fannie Kase, emigrated from Austria to New York in the late 1880s.At the time of the 1900 United States Census, Kase was living on Willett Street on the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
with his parents and six siblings – Moses (born 1884 in Austria), Annie (born 1889 in New York), Benjamin (born 1891 in New York), Lena (born 1895 in New York), and twins Fannie and Rachel (born 1900 in New York). At that time, Kase's father was working as 'cloak operator' ie. a sewing machine operator working on ladies cloaks.
At the time of the 1910 United States Census, Kase was living with his parents and an older sister (Lena) at 334 Georgia Avenue 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. At that time, Kase's father was employed as a grocer in a retail store.
By 1918, the family had moved to The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
and was living at 1558 Minford Place, near Crotona Park
Crotona Park
Crotona Park is a public park in the Bronx, New York City, United States. It covers or one-fifth of a square mile , including a 3.3 acre lake, the Bronx's largest swimming pool, and 28 species of trees...
. At the time of the 1920 United States Census, Kase was living with his parents and two older siblings (Benjamin and Lena) at the same address in The Bronx. Max's profession was recorded at that time as a stenographer.
Early years as a journalist
Kase began work at age 16 as an office boy for the New York Evening MailNew York Evening Mail
The New York Evening Mail was an American daily newspaper published in New York City.The paper was made up of the New York Evening Express, which dated from 1836, and the Daily Advertiser. It was eventually merged with the Evening Telegram, which became the New York World-Telegram in 1927.From New...
. In approximately 1917, he joined the staff of the International News Service
International News Service
International News Service was a U.S.-based news agency founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.Established two years after the Scripps family founded the United Press Association, INS scrapped among the newswires...
(INS), the wire service for the Hearst newspapers.
Kase's earliest by-lines involved the financial markets, including a June 21 story about mysterious flood of sell orders that had driven stocks to their lowest prices since 1917, and a May 1922 article about a merger between Lackawanna Steel Company
Lackawanna Steel Company
The Lackawanna Steel Company was an American steel manufacturing company that existed as an independent company from 1840 to 1922, and as a subsidiary of the Bethlehem Steel company from 1922 to 1983. Founded by the Scranton family, it was once the second-largest steel company in the world ....
and Bethlehem Steel Company.
In 1922, Kase began writing feature stories. In February 1922, newspapers across the country published his feature story about plans by Will Hays
Will H. Hays
William Harrison Hays, Sr. , was the namesake of the Hays Code for censorship of American films, chairman of the Republican National Committee and U.S. Postmaster General from 1921 to 1922....
and others to build a model community on Long Island to lure motion picture production away from scandal-ridden Hollywood. Four months later, Kase's feature story about jazz culture and flapper
Flapper
Flapper in the 1920s was a term applied to a "new breed" of young Western women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior...
s received wide coverage. The story opened with the following provocative quote from psychologist Andre Tridon: "Jazz should be our national pastime: the flapper, God bless her, is the hope of the modern world. The article went on to quote Tridon suggesting that jazz should be encouraged as a means to satisfy man's "gorilla instincts":
"Jazz should be encouraged. It is the modern saturnalia which allows us to satisfy our gorilla instincts in a ball room in a perfectly nice, decent, orderly and open manner. It is an excellent substitute for alcohol. There is not enough fun in our present world ..."
In December 1922, Kase wrote a feature about a new form of armament developed by racing driver Walter Christie, which Kase described as a combination of a battleship, fort and tank that had been tested in the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
and was "expected to revolutionize modern warfare." In January 1923, he wrote a pieces about a painting by Antonio da Correggio
Antonio da Correggio
Antonio Allegri da Correggio , usually known as Correggio, was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sensuous works of the 16th century...
, missing since the 15th Century, that had been discovered in Brooklyn. His moving feature from February 1923 about the death of a 17-year-old boy from Manhattan's Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
was also published in Hearst newspapers across the country:
"The bustle of the East Side has slightly slowed, the shrill cry of pushcart peddlers is a bit subdued, while on the teeming block of Eldridge street, in the heart of the Ghetto, there is deep mourning. Sammy Rathet is dead. Sammy was only seventeen years old – but a good boy. That was admitted by the white-haired patriarchs who hobble about with canes while their long beards sway to the vagaries of the wind. ..."
Sportswriter in the 1920s and 1930s
In 1923, Kase's focus began shifted to boxing. In June 1923, he wrote a feature story about Luis Firpo, known as "The Wild Bull of The Pampas." When heavyweight champion Jack DempseyJack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey was an American boxer who held the world heavyweight title from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first...
agreed fight Firpo, Kase covered Dempsey and issued daily stories from the champ's training camp in White Sulphur Springs, New York. When Dempsey left White Sulphur Springs, Kase described the scene he left behind:
"The hotel which was thronged for more than a month with tin-eared prize fighters, trainers, rubbers, and dozens of reporters, scores of vacationalists and tourists, now is silent and deserted. the lobbies which were jammed and crowded now echo hollowly with the footsteps of a forlorn bartender, a sad hearted inn-keeper and an occasional waiter."
Kase provided similar in-depth coverage leading up to the July 1923 championship bout between lightweights Benny Leonard
Benny Leonard
Benny Leonard was an American lightweight boxer. He was named as number 8 on Ring Magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years and number 7 on ESPN's 50 Greatest Boxers of All-Time....
, born in the Jewish ghetto of New York's Lower East Side, and Lew Tendler
Lew Tendler
"Lefty" Lew Tendler was an American boxer. He is a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame, the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame.-External links:******...
. When Leonard successfully defended his title in front of a crowd of 60,000 spectators at Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
, Kase wrote that the title of "The Old Master," previously used to describe Joe Gans
Joe Gans
Joe Gans was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Gans was rated as the greatest lightweight boxer of all time by boxing historian and Ring Magazine founder, Nat Fleischer and was known as the "Old Master". He fought from 1891 to 1909.Gans started boxing professionally about 1891 in Baltimore...
, "may now in all probability be hauled out, dusted off and placed firmly on the brow of Benny Leonard."
In 1924, Kase was sent to Cuba as the editor and general manager of The Havana Telegram. He was reported to be the youngest person at that time to hold an editorial position with a Cuban newspaper.
In 1925, Kase returned to New York as a sportswriter for Hearst's New York Journal under its longtime sports editor, Wilton S. Farnsworth
Wilton S. Farnsworth
Wilton Simpson "Bill" Farnsworth was an American sports writer, editor, and boxing promoter. He worked for William Randolph Hearst's newspapers from 1904 to 1937. He was the sports editor of Hearst's New York Evening Journal or New York American from 1914 to 1937...
.
In the early 1930s, Kase covered the National League baseball beat for the Journal and the Hearst newspaper syndicate. He also continued to cover boxing for the Hearst newspapers. Covering the bout between Kid Chocolate
Kid Chocolate
For the boxer of the same nickname see Peter Quillin.Eligio Sardiñas Montalvo , better known as Kid Chocolate, was a Cuban boxer who enjoyed wild success both in the boxing ring and in society life during a span of the 1930s.-Biography:Eligio Montaldo, also nicknamed The Cuban Bon Bon, learned how...
, "The Cuban Bon Bon," and Lew Feldman, Kase credited the Cuban with "artistically muzzling the Brownsville bulldog after fifteen rounds of classy, game battling."
In 1934, Kase was sent to Boston as the sports editor of Hearst's Boston American
Boston American
The Boston American was a daily tabloid newspaper published in Boston, Massachusetts from March 21, 1904 until September 30, 1961. The newspaper was part of William Randolph Hearst's chain, and thus was also known as Hearst's Boston American....
. During his time in Boston, Kase became acquainted with Walter A. Brown
Walter A. Brown
Walter A. Brown was the original owner of the Boston Celtics as well as an important figure in the development of ice hockey in the United States.-Life:...
, the original owner of the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
.
Kase returned to New York in 1935 as a sportswriter and columnist for the New York Journal and, following the merger of Hearst's morning and afternoon papers, the New York Journal-American. Upon his return to New York, Kase covered the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
and the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
baseball beat. In the spring of 1937, Kase was credited with mending a rift that had developed in 1936 between Yankees stars Tony Lazzeri
Tony Lazzeri
Anthony Michael "Tony" Lazzeri was an American Major League Baseball player during the 1920s and 1930s, predominantly with the New York Yankees. He was part of the famed "Murderers' Row" Yankee batting lineup of the late 1920s , along with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Bob Meusel...
and Joe DiMaggio
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...
.
When Joe Louis
Joe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...
burst onto the scene in 1935, Kase covered Louis' training camp before the September 1935 bout at Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
against German champion Max Baer
Max Baer
Max Baer was an American boxer of the 1930s as well as a professional wrestler and referee, and had an occasional role on film or television. He was the brother of twice World Champion boxing contender Buddy Baer and father of actor Max Baer, Jr...
. Kase referred to Louis as "the etherizing Detroit destroyer" and wrote about the difficulty in securing sparring partners: "There were to have been seven laboratory specimens for the Detroit destroyer to experiment on but five of the expected sparring partners, showing rare judgment, failed to appear."
In March 1936, he drew national coverage with a feature story reporting that Dizzy Dean
Dizzy Dean
Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in one season. Dean was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953....
's wife had been assigned to negotiate a new contract with the Cardinals.
In 1937, Kase was added to the committee of eight baseball writers charged with choosing the American League's Most Valuable Player.
Sports editor at the New York Journal-American
In October 1938, after Wilton Farnsworth retired to become a boxing promoter, Kase replaced him as the sports editor of the New York Journal-American. Kase remained in that position for 28 years. During his time as the sports editor, Kase also wrote a popular sports column for the Journal-American called "The Brief Kase." His columns were also reprinted on occasions in The Sporting NewsThe Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
. Kase became a fixture in New York's sporting world from the 1930s through the 1960s. In his book on the history of the NBA, Charles Rosen wrote the following about Kase:
"During his career, his trademark widow's peak and devilish smile were seen at every conceivable sporting event from basketball to baseball, from football to ice hockey, from rodeos to bullfights, from six-day bicycle races to flagpole-sitting contests, as well as boxing and wrestling matches, dog shows, and track meets. Along the way, he'd met and befriended everybody who was worth knowing."
War bond efforts
During World War II, Kase was a leader in mobilizing the sporting world to assist in the sale of war bonds. In 1943, he helped sell $800 million in war bonds through a "War Bond Game" at the Polo GroundsPolo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
. Kase and Journal-American sportswriter Bill Corum came up with the idea to have 26 all-stars from the three New York baseball teams play against a team of all-stars serving in the military. The game also featured an exhibition by 13 all-time baseball greats, including Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
, Walter Johnson
Walter Johnson
Walter Perry Johnson , nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Washington Senators...
, George Sisler
George Sisler
George Harold Sisler , nicknamed "Gentleman George" and "Gorgeous George," was an American professional baseball player for 15 seasons, primarily as first baseman with the St. Louis Browns...
, Tris Speaker
Tris Speaker
Tristram E. Speaker , nicknamed "Spoke" and "The Grey Eagle", was an American baseball player. Considered one of the best offensive and defensive center fielders in the history of Major League Baseball, he compiled a career batting average of .345 , and still holds the record of 792 career doubles...
, and Honus Wagner
Honus Wagner
-Louisville Colonels:Recognizing his talent, Barrow recommended Wagner to the Louisville Colonels. After some hesitation about his awkward figure, Wagner was signed by the Colonels, where he hit .338 in 61 games....
. One of the highlights of the exhibition was a home run hit by Babe Ruth into the right field stands off Walter Johnson.
In 1944, Kase became the chairman of the Fifth War Loan Sports Committee. During June 1944, Kase's committee sold $16.7 million in war bonds by organizing sporting events in New York. The events included a War Bond Day at the Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack is a thoroughbred horse-racing facility and racino in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Its racing meets usually are from late October/early November through April.-History:...
, a golf exhibition with Byron Nelson
Byron Nelson
John Byron Nelson, Jr. was an American PGA Tour golfer between 1935 and 1946.Nelson and two other well known golfers of the time, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, were born within seven months of each other in 1912...
and Jug McSpaden, a sports carnival at the Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
on June 17, 1944, and a novel three-way baseball game at the Polo Grounds on June 26, 1944, between the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, and New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
.
Formation of the NBA
Kase became convinced that professional basketball could be a success on a national basis. The National Basketball LeagueNational Basketball League
National Basketball League may mean:* National Basketball League , the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia* National Basketball League * National Basketball League of Canada...
, formed in 1937, was based in the Midwest and had "limped along" while being "generally ignored" by sports editors. During the 1930s, Kase had discussions with Walter A. Brown
Walter A. Brown
Walter A. Brown was the original owner of the Boston Celtics as well as an important figure in the development of ice hockey in the United States.-Life:...
, manager of the Boston Garden
Boston Garden
The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928 as "Boston Madison Square Garden" and outlived its original namesake by some 30 years...
, about creating a truly national basketball league with franchises in the country's largest cities. In 1944, Kase organized a basketball exhibition in New York featuring two of the top barnstorming teams. The overflow crowd that turned out for the charity event reinforced Kase's belief that professional basketball could attract a following in New York. Kase continued to press the idea in discussions with Walter A. Brown and even drafted the new league's charter and operating plan.
In his original conception, Kase planned to own and operate the New York basketball franchise. He approached Ned Irish
Ned Irish
Edward S. "Ned" Irish was a basketball promoter and one of the key figures in popularizing professional basketball. He was the president of the New York Knicks from 1946 to 1974...
, the president of Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
who had successfully promoted college basketball matches at the venue, with a proposal to lease the Garden on open dates for use by Kase's professional basketball team. Irish informed Kase that the Arena Managers Association of America, which owned the sports arenas in the largest cities, had a pact which required Madison Square Garden to own any professional basketball team that played there. However, Irish was persuaded that Kase's idea had merit and, in 1946, Irish became one of the founders of the new 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 ...
(BAA) and the original owner of 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...
. Irish later paid Kase several thousand dollars for his role in organizing the new basketball league.
Kase's role in the formation of the BAA, which later became the NBA, has been acknowledged in several accounts of the NBA's history. One author wrote: "The impetus behind the formation of the BAA came mainly from Max Kase ..." Another noted:
"The Basketball Association of America, a bastard child, sprang from the unlikely parentage of pro hockey and the Hearst press. Max Kase, sports editor of Hearst's New York Journal-American, conceived the BAA and drew up its charter. ... Kase's idea was to fill those empty dates with pro basketball."
After Kase died, Walter Kennedy
Walter Kennedy (NBA)
James Walter Kennedy was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association from 1963 until 1975. He is sometimes mistakenly referred to as Walter J. Kennedy.-Early life:...
, the commissioner of the NBA from 1963–1975, said, "His personal involvement in the beginning of the NBA ... and his strong belief that pro basketball was destined to be a major sport were important factors in the growth and success of the NBA."
1951 point shaving scandals
In the late 1940s, there were rumors and suspicions that college basketball players were being paid by bookies to engage in point shavingPoint shaving
In organized sports, point shaving is a type of match fixing where the perpetrators try to prevent a team from covering a published point spread. Unlike other forms of match fixing, sports betting invariably motivates point shaving. A point shaving scheme generally involves a sports gambler and one...
. Kase later wrote that the Journal-American had been probing tips and leads for several years, but had been "bumping into impenetrable stone walls in past years." Kase began interviewing acquaintances in the gambling community. During the 1948–1949 season, Kase assigned a reporter to investigate the story on a full-time basis. Over the following year, Kase and the reporter devoted much of their time to the investigation. Concerned that his sportswriters may have connections to the players or gamblers, he secured additional assistance from several of the Journal-Americans best crime reporters.
The Journal-Americans investigation eventually focused on Eddie Gard, a player for the 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:...
basketball team who was believed to be acting as a bagman for the gambling interests. In early January 1951, Kase met secretly with New York District Attorney Frank Hogan
Frank Hogan
Frank Smithwick Hogan was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Dubbed "Mr. Integrity" due to his perceived honesty and incorruptibility, he was D.A. of New York County for more than 30 years.-Life and career:...
. Kase shared his findings with Hogan and agreed to withhold the story until Hogan could develop the case further. Using the evidence collected by Kase, Hogan began tailing Gard and tapped his phone. The investigation resulted in the arrest and prosecution of three star players from the 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...
's 1950 national championship team.
In exchange for his cooperation, Hogan gave Kase the exclusive rights to the inside story when the arrests were made in mid-January 1951. Kase wrote in the Journal-American that "a first blush of sympathy for the corrupted weaklings has given way to a cold rage because of their lack of loyalty to their school and a calloused greed for their Judas pieces of silver." After Kase's expose, the point shaving scandal spread as players at Long Island University, the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
and Bradley University
Bradley University
Bradley University, founded in 1897, is a private, co-educational university located in Peoria, Illinois. It is a small institution with an enrollment of approximately 6,100 undergraduate and postgraduate students and a full-time faculty of approximately 350....
were also implicated. It was ultimately shown that five players on Kentucky's 1949 NCAA championship team were involved or implicated in point shaving. Two of the players were suspended for life by the NBA, and Kentucky did not play the 1952–1953 season because of the scandal. The college basketball point shaving scandals uncovered by Kase were considered the most serious in American sports since the 1919 Black Sox Scandal
Black Sox Scandal
The Black Sox Scandal took place around and during the play of the American baseball 1919 World Series. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox were banned for life from baseball for intentionally losing games, which allowed the Cincinnati Reds to win the World Series...
.
In 1952, Kase was presented with a special Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for his role in exposing the point shaving scandals in college basketball. In May 1952, a testimonial dinner for Kase was held at Toots Shor's Restaurant
Toots Shor's Restaurant
Toots Shor's Restaurant was a restaurant and lounge owned and operated by Bernard "Toots" Shor at 51 West 51st Street in Manhattan during the 1940s and 1950s. Its oversized circular bar was a New York landmark....
in Manhattan. The dinner was attended by 200 of the leading figures in the sports world, including baseball commissioner Ford Frick
Ford Frick
Ford Christopher Frick was an American sportswriter and executive who served as president of the National League from to and as the third Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1951 to . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970...
, Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice was an early 20th century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio.-Biography:...
, and Bugs Baer. District Attorney Frank Hogan paid tribute to Kase at the dinner: "I humbly and contritely express my appreciation for what Max Kase did. ... This was the act of a person conscious of the welfare of the community."
Other accomplishments
Kase had many other successes during his tenure as the sports editor of the Journal-American. In 1941, Kase founded the Hearst sandlot baseballSandlot ball
Sandlot ball is a North American adolescent game that generally follows the basic rules of baseball. More specific rules can be set for games and may vary each time the game is played. These rules are usually agreed upon before the game begins by teams of young boys or girls usually from the same...
program. In 1947, he organized an annual all-star game featuring the best players selected from local all-star games in cities with Hearst newspapers. The national all-star game was played at the Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
in New York and was called the Hearst Sandlot Classic. Kase solicited Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
to serve as chairman of the event. The Hearst sandlot program ultimately produced 50 Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
players, including all-stars Whitey Ford
Whitey Ford
Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who spent his entire 18-year career with the New York Yankees. He was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.-Early life and career:...
, Al Kaline
Al Kaline
Albert William "Al" Kaline is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Kaline played his entire 22-year baseball career with the Detroit Tigers. Kaline still works for the Tigers as a front office official. Because of his lengthy career and...
, Joe Torre
Joe Torre
Joseph Paul Torre is a former American professional baseball player and manager who currently serves as Major League Baseball’s Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations. A nine-time All-Star, he played in Major League Baseball as a catcher, first baseman and a third baseman for the...
, Tony Kubek
Tony Kubek
Anthony Christopher "Tony" Kubek is a retired American professional baseball player and television broadcaster....
, Bill Freehan
Bill Freehan
William Ashley Freehan is a former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career as a catcher for the Detroit Tigers...
, Mike Marshall, and Bill Skowron.
In 1950, Kase founded the B'nai B'rith New York Sports Lodge as part of the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
's campaign to promote religious tolerance and fight anti-Semitism. Kase twice served terms as president of the lodge, which was renamed the Max Kase Sports Lodge in 1975.
In 1956, Israel's national basketball team was unable to compete in the 1956 Summer Olympics
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
as a result of the hostilties associated with the Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
. Accordingly, Kase, with sponsorship from the New York Journal-American, organized a United States February 1957 tour by the Israeli basketball team with games played in Boston, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
In October 1964, the New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
banned the Journal-Americans hockey reporter, Stan Fischler, from the dressing room and press room after taking issue with one of Fischler's stories. Kase called the Rangers and informed them that "the Journal-American would not carry a single line of Rangers' news until the ban was lifted." The Rangers promptly lifted the ban. Fischler later recalled, "Unfortunately, there aren't many editors like Max Kase around."
In 1966, the New York Journal-American went out of business. Kase retired upon the publication of the paper's final edition on April 24, 1966.
Later years and family
After retiring from the New York Journal-American, Kase continued to write a column which was published in The Taxi News. In 1969, Kase opened a pub called the "Briefkase" in Manhattan's Port Authority Bus TerminalPort Authority Bus Terminal
The Port Authority Bus Terminal is the main gateway for interstate buses into Manhattan in New York City...
. He later opened a second "Briefkase" pub near Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
.
Kase was a bachelor for much of his life. In June 1945, he married Kay Gallagher. Kase died in March 1974 at Yonkers General Hospital after suffering a heart attack at his home. He was 75 years old at the time of his death.