Jules Bender (1914 – January 13, 1982) was an American collegiate and 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. He was an All-American at

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 ...

, leading the Blackbirds to a 103–6 record over his career. Bender was a native 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 attended

Boys High School Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...

. He went on to play college basketball at Long Island University from 1934 to 1937.

College

Bender came to L.I.U. to play for future

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

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 ...

. During Bender's four-year career, the Blackbirds went a remarkable 103–6, including a perfect 24–0 in the 1935–36 season, with Bender leading the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

metropolitan area in scoring, a feat he also accomplished the previous season. At the completion of the 1936 season, Bender was named the winner of the inaugural

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) ...

, presented since to the top player in the New York City metropolitan area each year. After the 1936 season, the L.I.U. Blackbirds were invited to try out for the 1936 Olympics, the first year in which basketball would be an event. In a move that surprised many, the largely Jewish team, including Bender, boycotted the trials over the games' placement in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and the anti-semitic leanings of the country's leader

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

.A Basketball Team That Stood Up
/ref> Bender was named a Consensus All-American in 1937. He was inducted into the L.I.U. Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000 (their inaugural class).

Professional

After his college career, Bender played in the American Basketball League for Kate Smith's Celtics, the

Kingston Colonials The Kingston Colonials were an American basketball team based in Kingston, New Jersey that was a member of the American Basketball League. During the 1939/40 season, the team was merged into the Troy Celtics The Troy Haymakers were an American ...

Wilkes-Barre Barons The Wilkes-Barre Barons were a basketball team from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Barons played between 1933 and 1980 in different American leagues. The team won 11 titles during this time, including while playing in the American Basketball ...

Baltimore Clippers The Baltimore Clippers were a minor league professional ice hockey team from in Baltimore, Maryland, playing in the Baltimore Civic Center. The Clippers were members of the American Hockey League from 1962 to 1976, and then played one season in ...

and the

Paterson Crescents The Paterson Whirlwinds were an American basketball team based in Paterson, New Jersey that was a member of the American Basketball League. After their first season, the team became known as the Paterson Crescents. During the 1st half of the 19 ...

. Following his professional career he became a high school teacher at his alma mater,

and then at

John Dewey High School John Dewey High School is a public school in Gravesend, Brooklyn, New York City. It was founded and based on the educational principles of John Dewey. The school, under the supervision of the New York City Department of Education, was named a Ne ...

, both in Brooklyn. He also coached at the college level for

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

and the

United States Merchant Marine Academy The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA or Kings Point) is a United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains its midshipmen (as students at the academy are called) to serve as officers in the United States Merchant ...

. Bender died of cancer on January 13, 1982. He was buried at Mount Hebron Cemetery in

Flushing, Queens Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the ...

References

External links

Jews in Sports profile

LIU Hall of Fame profile
1914 births 1982 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York City Boys High School (Brooklyn) alumni Brooklyn Bulldogs men's basketball coaches Deaths from cancer in Florida High school basketball coaches in New York (state) Jewish American sportspeople Jewish men's basketball players LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds men's basketball players Merchant Marine Mariners men's basketball coaches Paterson Crescents players Sportspeople from Brooklyn Forwards (basketball) Guards (basketball) Brooklyn College faculty Burials at Mount Hebron Cemetery (New York City) 20th-century American Jews {{1910s-US-basketball-bio-stub