Irving Torgoff (March 6, 1917 – October 21, 1993) was an American professional

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.

Early life

Torgoff was born 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 played basketball at Tilden High School.

Education

He attended

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LIU ...

from 1935 to 1939 and was a two-time All-American for coach

Clair Bee Clair Francis Bee (March 2, 1896 – May 20, 1983) was an American basketball coach who led the team at Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York to undefeated seasons in 1936 and 1939, as well as two National Invitation Tournament titles in ...

. In 1939, Torgoff led LIU to an undefeated record and a

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 over

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

. At the end of the season, he was named the winner of the

Haggerty Award __NOTOC__ The Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award is given to the All-New York Metropolitan NCAA Division I men's college basketball player of the year, presented by the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and the Met Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) ...

as the top collegiate player in the New York City area.

Career

After graduating, Torgoff played professional basketball with the

Detroit Eagles The Detroit Eagles were a professional basketball team based in Detroit, Michigan. Managed by Dutch Dehnert, they played in the National Basketball League from 1939 to 1941, then became a barnstorming team. The team folded during the 1942–43 ...

of the National Basketball League, the

Philadelphia Sphas The Philadelphia Sphas, also stylized SPHAs or SPHAS, were an American basketball franchise that existed in professional, semi-professional, and exhibition forms. They played their home games in the ballroom of Philadelphia's Broadwood Hotel. The ...

of the American Basketball League, and the

Washington Capitols The Washington Capitols were a former Basketball Association of America (forerunner of the National Basketball Association) team based in Washington, D.C. from 1946 to 1951. The team was coached from 1946 to 1949 by NBA Hall of Famer Red Auerbach ...

, Baltimore Bullets, and

Philadelphia Warriors The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden St ...

of the

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA absorbed most of National Basketball League (NBL) and rebranded as the National Ba ...

Red Auerbach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. He served as a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Boston Celtics. ...

, who coached the Capitols before gaining fame as coach of the

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 ...

, said of Torgoff, "He was really the first player who became known as a sixth man in basketball. Torgoff was the kind of player who could come off the bench and was as good as any of the starters. He could turn a whole game around. He was one of the great players." Irving Torgoff, 75, a Star Player In Early Days of Pro Basketball
Retrieved on August 26, 2008. He has the lowest career shooting percentage of any player with at least 1,000 shot attempts at 24.6%. https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask?q=player+with+worst+shooting+percentage+with+a+minimum+of+1000+field-goals+missed+in+nba+history After his basketball career ended, Torgoff sold fabrics and yarn. He died of a heart attack in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

, in 1993.

BAA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torgoff, Irv 1917 births 1993 deaths All-American college men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players Detroit Eagles players LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds men's basketball players Philadelphia Sphas players Philadelphia Warriors players Basketball players from Brooklyn Washington Capitols players Samuel J. Tilden High School alumni American men's basketball players Forwards (basketball) 20th-century American Jews