Isaac Richman (1913-1965) was an American lawyer and sports executive. He was the personal attorney for

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

player

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 years and is widely reg ...

and a co-owner of the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

from 1963 until his death in 1965.

Biography

Richman was born in 1913 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. He graduated from

South Philadelphia High School South Philadelphia High School is a public secondary high school located in the Lower Moyamensing neighborhood of South Philadelphia, at the intersection of Broad Street and Snyder Avenue. The school serves grades 9 through 12 and is part of t ...

, where he was a classmate of Irv Kosloff, his future partner in the 76ers. He graduated from

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

and the

Temple University School of Law The Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law is the law school of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls about 530 students. Student body Admission for fall 2019 entering class was highly compe ...

. He worked as an attorney in Philadelphia and ultimately became Chamberlain's attorney, negotiating the player’s first contract with the Philadelphia Warriors. In his autobiography, Chamberlain called Richman a "second father". In 1962,

Franklin Mieuli Franklin Mieuli ( ; September 14, 1920 – April 25, 2010) was a San Francisco Bay Area radio and television producer who was best known as the principal owner of the San Francisco / Golden State Warriors from 1962 to 1986. The pinnacle of hi ...

acquired a share of the team and relocated it to the San Francisco Bay Area. With no team in the Philadelphia area, Richman sought to acquire the

Syracuse Nationals The Philadelphia 76ers are an American basketball team currently playing in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 76ers are third in NBA history in wins and playoff appearances. 1946– ...

. He convinced Kosloff to invest the purchase price of between $500,000 and $600,000. In late 1962, the pair relocated the team to Philadelphia and renamed it the 76ers. After receiving Chamberlain back via a trade with the Warriors, the player threatened to retire if he did not receive more money. In order to retain Chamberlain, Richman, who had a 50 percent share of the 76ers, offered Chamberlain half of his own share, which would make Chamberlain a 25 percent owner of the team upon his retirement. Because the agreement was against league rules, it was never put in writing and Chamberlain never received his share of the team. On December 3, 1965, Richman was in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

for a game between the

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 the 76ers when he died from a heart attack during the game. Kosloff refused to honor Richman’s agreement with the player.

Personal life

Richman had two sons, Michael and David, and one daughter, Sybil. His grandson, Ike Richman, was born seven weeks after his death and worked for the 76ers for 29 years in public relations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richman, Ike 1913 births 1965 deaths American sports owners People from Philadelphia Philadelphia 76ers owners Temple University alumni