Nathan Militzok (May 3, 1923 – May 14, 2009) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. He played the

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

position for various teams, including the New York Knicks.

Early life

Militzok, who was Jewish, was born in

The Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New York ...

. Recalling his childhood, he said: "I never saw a dirt field. Everything was cement. ... We had two choices: either go to the schoolyard and play ball or hang around on the corner and get in trouble. So, we played basketball all our lives." He attended Stuyvesant High School, where he played for the basketball team. He began his college basketball career as a freshman at

CCNY 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, City ...

in 1941, playing for a team that had a 16–1 record. He then transferred to Hofstra University. World War II broke out, and he joined the Navy. Stationed at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, he joined its basketball team for the 1943–44 season.

Professional career

After the end of World War II, Militzok joined the New York Knicks in 1946 in the Basketball Association of America, which merged with the National Basketball League in 1949 to become the NBA. Militzok played in the first game in NBA history for the Knicks against the Huskies on November 1, 1946, and was credited with the first assist in the league's history. He was traded to the

Toronto Huskies The Toronto Huskies were a team in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which was a forerunner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), during the 1946–47 season. They were based in Toronto. The team compiled a 22–38 win–loss r ...

in February 1947 for cash. He joined the

Scranton Miners The Scranton Miners, known as the Scranton Apollos from 1970 to 1977, were a professional basketball team based in Scranton, Pennsylvania that was a member of the American Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association. Arthur Pacht ...

of the American Basketball League in 1948–49. He played with them through 1951–52, when he was sent to the Saratoga Harlem Yankees.

Later life

After his basketball career, he became an attorney. In 1999, he and the other Jewish players on the Knicks, Sonny Hertzberg,

Ralph Kaplowitz Ralph Kaplowitz (May 18, 1919 – February 2, 2009) was an American professional basketball player. Kaplowitz played in the first two seasons of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), now known as the National Basketball Association (NBA), a ...

Leo Gottlieb Leo "Ace" Gottlieb (November 28, 1920 – August 16, 1972) was an American professional basketball player. Early and personal life Gottlieb, who was Jewish, was born in New York City, New York. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in The Bron ...

Hank Rosenstein Henry Rosenstein (June 16, 1920 – February 27, 2010) was an American professional basketball player. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Rosenstein attended City College of New York before starring in AAU Basketball and being named MVP in the Eastern Je ...

, and

Ossie Schectman Oscar Benjamin "Ossie" Schectman (March 30, 1919 – July 30, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. He is credited with having scored the first basket in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which would later become the Na ...

, were inducted into the

National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, in Commack, New York, is dedicated to honoring American Jewish figures who have distinguished themselves in sports. Its objective is to foster Jewish identity through athletics, and to commemo ...

in New York.

BAA career statistics

Regular season

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Militzok, Nat 1923 births 2009 deaths American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball players United States Navy personnel of World War II Basketball players from New York City CCNY Beavers men's basketball players Cornell Big Red men's basketball players Forwards (basketball) Hofstra Pride baseball players Jewish men's basketball players New York Knicks players Scranton Miners players Sportspeople from the Bronx Stuyvesant High School alumni Toronto Huskies players