Maurice Podoloff
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Maurice Podoloff ( yi, מוריס פודולוף; August 18, 1890 – November 24, 1985) was an American lawyer and a
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 ...
and
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
administrator. He served as the president 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 ...
(BAA) between 1946–1949, and 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 ...
(NBA) in 1949–1963.


Profile

Podoloff was born to a Russian Jewish family in the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, on or about August 18, 1890. Doubt remains about birthplace and birthday; some talks about
Yelisavetgrad Kropyvnytskyi ( uk, Кропивницький, Kropyvnytskyi ) is a city in central Ukraine on the Inhul river with a population of . It is an administrative center of the Kirovohrad Oblast. Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name ...
, but he himself said he did not know exactly: "I guess they didn't keep records in Russia in those days", he said. "I was born on either Aug. 18 or Aug. 31, and it was somewhere in
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, possibly near
Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
." In young boyhood his family emigrated to the United States, where he graduated from
Hillhouse High School James Hillhouse High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in New Haven, Connecticut. It serves grades 9–12. James Hillhouse High School is the oldest public high school in New Haven, and is part of the New Haven Public Scho ...
in
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
in 1909, and then from
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
in New Haven with a law degree in 1915. In 1926, Podoloff opened the
New Haven Arena New Haven Arena was an indoor arena on Grove Street in New Haven, Connecticut, that served as a venue for ice hockey, concerts, and circuses. The first arena opened in 1914 but burned down in 1924. The new arena was started but went bankrupt; it ...
on Grove Street in downtown New Haven with his father and two brothers. The Arena held over 4,000 people and hosted ice hockey, concerts, and circus events before it was demolished in 1974. A distinguished
lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
, he was of impeccable character and was instrumental in the development and success of professional basketball. On June 6, 1946, already serving as president of the
American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
, he was appointed president of the newly formed
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 ...
(BAA), becoming the first person to lead two professional leagues simultaneously. After BAA teams signed several of the best players in the National Basketball League, Podoloff negotiated a merger with the NBL to form 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 ...
, or NBA, in 1949. His great organizational and administrative skills were later regarded as the key factor that kept the league alive in its often stormy formative years. As president, Podoloff expanded the NBA to as many as 17 teams in three divisions and worked out a 557-game schedule. He introduced the BAA's collegiate draft in 1947, and in 1954 instituted the NBA's 24-second
shot clock A shot clock is a countdown timer used in a variety of games and sports, proving a set amount of time that a team may possess the object of play before attempting to score a goal. Shot clocks are used in several sports including basketball, wat ...
created by
Dan Biasone Daniel Biasone (22 February 1909 – 25 May 1992) was the founding owner of the Syracuse Nationals, an NBA team now known as the Philadelphia 76ers. Biasone, who was a childhood immigrant to the United States from Italy, was mostly known for advoc ...
, owner of 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– ...
, and his executive vice-president,
Leo Ferris Leo F. Ferris (May 31, 1917 – June 1, 1993) was an American sports executive and businessman from Elmira, New York best known for helping invent the 24-second shot clock in the National Basketball Association. Managerial career in basketball ...
, which quickened the pace of games and improved NBA basketball from a slow plodding game to a fast-paced sport. That same year, he increased national recognition of the NBA immensely by landing its first television contract. During his NBA presidency, he meted out lifetime suspensions to 32 players who were involved in
point shaving In organized sports, point shaving is a type of match fixing where the perpetrators try to change the final score of a game without changing who wins. This is typically done by players colluding with gamblers to prevent a team from covering a p ...
scandal in 1951. Among these players were
Indianapolis Olympians The Indianapolis Olympians were a founding National Basketball Association (NBA) team based in Indianapolis. They were founded in 1949 and folded in 1953. Their home arena was Butler Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University--now known as H ...
players
Ralph Beard Ralph Milton Beard Jr. (December 2, 1927 – November 29, 2007) was an American collegiate and professional basketball player. He won two NCAA national Basketball, basketball championships at the University of Kentucky and played two years in t ...
and Alex Groza for their actions at
University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...
, and 1951's number one draft pick Gene Melchiorre, for his actions at
Bradley University Bradley University is a private university in Peoria, Illinois. Founded in 1897, Bradley University enrolls 5,400 students who are pursuing degrees in more than 100 undergraduate programs and more than 30 graduate programs in five colleges. Th ...
. He stepped down as NBA president in 1963 after having greatly increased fan interest during the NBA's formative years and having improved the overall welfare of the sport of basketball through his foresight, wisdom and leadership.


Legacy

In his honor, the NBA named its annual league
Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
trophy the
Maurice Podoloff Trophy The National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1955–56 season to the best performing player of the regular season. Starting with the 2022–23 ...
, which lasted until 2022. Podoloff was subsequently honored with a new trophy dedicated in his name for the team with the best regular season record. In 1974, Podoloff was inducted into the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...
, and in 2011 was inducted into the
American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1989.


References


Further reading

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External links

*
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Bio


{{DEFAULTSORT:Podoloff, Maurice 1890 births 1985 deaths American people of Russian-Jewish descent Businesspeople from New Haven, Connecticut Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Jewish American sportspeople Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Basketball Association commissioners Yale University alumni Yale Law School alumni 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews