Morris C. Spahn (May 3, 1912 – June 11, 1991) was an American basketball player.

Early life, and college basketball career

Spahn, who was Jewish, was born in

New York City, New York 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 ...

. He attended Bryant High School, in

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

, where he played basketball. He attended

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

(CCNY), where he was an All-American and All-Metropolitan basketball player at the

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

position under coach Nat Holman in 1932 and 1933, leading the team to a 32–2 record over those two years. He was captain of the team in his senior year, and eighth in scoring in the Metropolitan area. After he graduated, he became an assistant coach at CCNY under Nat Holman, as he worked toward a master's degree. He earned a Ph.D. in education from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

Professional basketball career

Spahn became a professional basketball player in 1934. He played for a number of teams in the American Basketball League (ABL)—the

Brooklyn Visitations The Brooklyn Visitations (also known as the Triangles) were an American basketball team based in Brooklyn, New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, m ...

, the

Jersey Reds Jersey Reds is a rugby club based in Jersey, Channel Islands that currently competes at the RFU Championship, which is the second tier of English professional rugby. Until season 2022/23, the professional arm of Jersey Reds was part of Jers ...

, and the

New York Jewels The New York Jewels were an American basketball team based in New York, New York that was a member of the American Basketball League. The team was previously known as the Brooklyn Jewels. For the 2nd half of the 1936/37, the team was renamed the ...

. He played on two ABL championship teams (1938, 1942). In his rookie season with the Reds, he led the league in scoring. He finished fifth in the league in scoring in 1936 (as Bobby McDermott led the league), and fourth in 1937. In 1938, he was second in the league in scoring, and the Reds won the championship. The next year, he was third in scoring. In 1940–41 he was fifth in scoring in the league, as

Petey Rosenberg Alexander "Petey" Rosenberg (April 7, 1918–June 29, 1997) was an American professional basketball player. A 5'10" guard from Saint Joseph's University, Rosenberg played one season in the Basketball Association of America as a member of the ...

led the league in scoring. In 1941–42, he was eighth in scoring, for the

Wilmington Bombers The Wilmington Blue Bombers were an American basketball team based in Wilmington, Delaware. They were a member of the American Basketball League. The Blue Bombers are largely remembered for a scandal involving importing points from other games i ...

, who won the regular season to claim the ABL championship. He was that ABL Most Valuable Player (MVP) runner-up in 1935-36 and 1936–37. He won the ABL MVP Award in 1937–38, winning the David Soden Trophy. He retired in 1943, and finished as the fifth all-time leading scorer in ABL history. From 1934 to 1938, he led the ABL in

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the Key (basketball), restricted ...

s made. He was inducted into the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around ...

in 1993. He was also inducted into the City College of New York Athletic Hall of Fame. Hall of Famer Nat Holman said he was among the 10 greatest players of all time.

Life after basketball

He later became a camp director and private school headmaster. He was headmaster of the Franklin School (later known as the Anglo-American International School) in Manhattan from 1950 to 1975, director of Camp Winaukee in New Hampshire from 1938 to 1975, and director of the Tripp Lake Camp in Maine from 1958 to 1982. He was also a president of the Association of Private Camps. In addition, he coached basketball teams at West Point. His son Steve Spahn was an All-

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basketball player for

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

in the 1960s. He died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

at the New York University Medical Center in Manhattan at the age of 79. At the time, he was a resident of Manhattan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spahn, Moe 1912 births 1991 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American Basketball League (1925–1955) players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Jewish American sportspeople Jewish men's basketball players Army Black Knights men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York City CCNY Beavers men's basketball coaches CCNY Beavers men's basketball players Guards (basketball) Original Celtics players Philadelphia Sphas players Wilmington Blue Bombers players 20th-century American Jews