Harry J. Boykoff (July 24, 1922 – February 20, 2001) was a professional American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. During his career he was often referred to as "Heshie", Big Hesh", and "Big Boy". He stood at tall.

Early life

Boykoff was born on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

, grew up in the Brownsville neighborhood of

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 was Jewish.Harry Boykoff
/ref>Boykoff, Harry : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
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Basketball career

Boykoff played high school basketball for Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn, and college basketball for

St. John's University (New York City) St. John's University is a private Roman Catholic university in Queens, New York City. It was founded in 1870 by the Congregation of the Mission (C.M., the Vincentian Fathers) with a mission to provide the youth of New York with a Catholic univ ...

, where he was an All American three years in a row. In a 1947 game at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

, while playing for St John's, he scored 54 points, more than the combined total of the opposing team. Boykoff led St John's to the 1943

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 ...

championship. He was awarded the MVP Award, and was named on several All-American teams. He received a gold basketball emblematic of his selection on the All-America basketball team appearing in ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'', a national sports newspaper. He played for the

Waterloo Hawks The Waterloo Hawks were a National Basketball League and National Basketball Association team based in Waterloo, Iowa. The Hawks remain the only sports franchise ever based in Iowa from any of the current Big Four Leagues. Franchise history ...

(1949–50),

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

and

Tri-Cities Blackhawks Tri-Cities most often refers to: *Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States *Tri-Cities, Washington, United States Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-Cities may also refer to: Populated places Americas Canada *Tri-Cities (British Columbia), consisting of Co ...

(1950–51) in the

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 ...

for a total of 109 games. In his 1948–49 season for Waterloo, Boykoff's shooting average (41.3%) was the fourth-highest in the league. While playing for the Celtics, he was the highest paid NBA player, at around $15,000 per year. He became so proficient at blocking shots that because of his play, the rules of the game were changed to prevent shots being blocked on their way down toward the basket (

goaltending Goaltending is a violation of the rules in the sport of basketball. It consists of certain forms of player interference with the ball while it is on its way to the basket. It is goaltending if a player touches the ball when it is (a) in downwar ...

Personal

Even with his outstanding record, Boykoff remained humble. He was quoted as saying:

I'm not an athlete, I'm just a big guy and a lucky one.

Later in life Boykoff appeared in films and television shows such as ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'', ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Case ...

'', '' Town & Country'', '' The Crew'', on McDonald's cups and commercials, and a few others. Boykoff died in California at age 78 of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

References

External links

*
Jews in Sports
*https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/15/sports/harry-boykoff-78-st-john-s-star-in-the-1940-s-dies.html?pagewanted=2 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boykoff, Harry 1922 births 2001 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from New York City Boston Celtics players Deaths from lung cancer in California Centers (basketball) International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductees Jewish American sportspeople Jewish men's basketball players Sportspeople from Brooklyn St. John's Red Storm men's basketball players Thomas Jefferson High School (Brooklyn) alumni Toledo Jeeps players Tri-Cities Blackhawks players Undrafted National Basketball Association players Waterloo Hawks players 20th-century American Jews