Alvin "Fats" Roth (November 2, 1929 – June 19, 2003) was an American professional basketball player known for his playing days at the
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
(CCNY) between 1949–50 and 1950–51. Roth was a contributing member of the only basketball team in
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
history to win both the
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...
(NIT) and
NCAA Tournament in the same season.
Roth was one of four
sophomore
In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...
starters on the
CCNY squad that defeated
Bradley
Bradley is an English surname derived from a place name meaning "broad wood" or "broad meadow" in Old English.
Like many English surnames Bradley can also be used as a given name and as such has become popular.
It is also an Anglicisation of t ...
in both championship games.
College career
Roth was 6'4", weighed 210 pounds and played
guard
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison ...
.
He grew up in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
and attended
Erasmus Hall High School
Erasmus Hall High School was a four-year public high school located at 899–925 Flatbush Avenue between Church and Snyder Avenues in the Flatbush neighborhood of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It was founded in 1786 as Erasmus Hall Ac ...
, where as a
senior
Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to:
* Senior (name), a surname ...
in 1947–48 he led them to a
PSAL
The Public Schools Athletic League, known by the abbreviation PSAL, is an organization that promotes student athletics in the public schools of New York City. It was founded in 1903 to provide and maintain a sports program for students enrolled in ...
championship.
Due to his poor academic grades, Roth was ineligible to attend CCNY his
freshman
A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions.
Ara ...
year;
one year later Roth was admitted to the school as a sophomore.
It was this season that CCNY won both national basketball championships (the NIT was actually considered the premier national championship at the time). One year later, news broke about a
point-shaving
In organized sports, point shaving is a type of match fixing where the perpetrators try to change the final score of a game without changing who wins. This is typically done by players colluding with gamblers to prevent a team from covering a ...
scandal that was sweeping east coast universities, and at its heart was CCNY's squad led by
Nat Holman
Nat Holman (October 19, 1896 – February 12, 1995) was an American professional basketball player and college coach. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and is the only coach to lead his team to NCAA and National In ...
.
Roth was one of the players arrested in the scandal.
In July 1952, a judge suspended his sentence after Roth volunteered to join the United States Army as a private in the following month.
"'Fixed' Player Draws Suspended Sentence"
''The Pittsburgh Press
''The Pittsburgh Press'' (formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'') was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1884 to 1992. At one time, the ''Press'' was the second larg ...
'', Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, volume 69, number 37, July 30, 1953, page 24.
Roth's admission into CCNY despite his poor grades was a result of transcript altering by Holman.National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA).
Professional career
Eastern League
Due to his ban, Roth played for a time in the Eastern League, although it is unknown which team he played for.
Personal life
After his playing days, Roth went back to CCNY to earn his business degree, then moved to the suburbs of New York City to sell insurance.[ He died June 19, 2003 in Rockford, New York.][Alvin Roth's obituary](_blank)
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roth, Alvin
1929 births
2003 deaths
Banned National Basketball Association players
Basketball players from New York City
CCNY Beavers men's basketball players
Erasmus Hall High School alumni
Guards (basketball)
Jewish men's basketball players
Sportspeople from Brooklyn
United States Army soldiers
American men's basketball players