Henry James Nowak (born February 21, 1935) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

lawyer, politician and a former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

between 1975 and 1993.

Early life

Nowak was born in Buffalo,

attended public elementary schools in Buffalo and graduated from Riverside High School, Buffalo, in 1953. He earned a B.A. from

Canisius College Canisius College is a private Jesuit college in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 master's ...

, Buffalo in 1957. During his college career, he was a star basketball player for the Golden Griffs. When he graduated in 1957, he was Canisius College's all-time scoring leader. In three years as a starter he scored 1,449 points and averaged 18.6 points a game. Today, he still ranks first in rebounding and third in all-time scoring. Sportswriters dubbed him "Hammerin' Hank" for his tough aggressive play. Nowak led the Griffs to three of their four appearances in the NCAA basketball tournament. The St. Louis Hawks subsequently drafted him with the 28th pick in the

1957 NBA Draft The 1957 NBA draft was the 11th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 17, 1957, before the 1957–58 season. In this draft, eight NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball play ...

. From 1957 to 1958 Nowak served in the United States Army, then earned a J.D. from the

University of Buffalo Law School The University at Buffalo School of Law (also known as State University of New York at Buffalo Law School, or SUNY Buffalo Law School) is a graduate professional school at the University at Buffalo. Founded in 1887 and affiliate with Niagara Univ ...

in 1961. He then served in the Army again from 1961 to 1962.

Political career

Admitted to the New York bar in 1963, he commenced practice in Buffalo, and served as assistant district attorney of Erie County, New York in 1964. Erie County Comptroller from 1964 to 1974, he was also a delegate to the New York State Democratic convention in 1970, and to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

in 1972 and 1988.

Congress

Nowak was elected as a Democrat to represent the 33rd and the 37th districts of the state of New York during the Ninety-fourth and to the eight succeeding Congresses. He served from January 3, 1975 to January 3, 1993, and was not a candidate for renomination in 1992 to the One Hundred Third Congress. During his entire congressional career, he was a member of the

U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Public Works and Transportation The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. History The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure was formerly known as the Committee on Public Works a ...

Family life

A resident of Buffalo, New York, Nowak has a daughter, Diane (Nowak) Kent, who is also in the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame, inducted in 2002. His son, Henry Joseph Nowak, is a judge in the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

from the 8th district and is a former Buffalo Housing Court judge.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nowak, Henry J. 1935 births Living people Politicians from Buffalo, New York Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball players University at Buffalo Law School alumni United States Army officers American politicians of Polish descent Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Lawyers from Buffalo, New York American men's basketball players Canisius College alumni