Alfred Nicholas Cervi (February 12, 1917 – November 9, 2009) was an American professional basketball player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

in the National Basketball League (NBL) and National Basketball Association (NBA). One of the strongest backcourt players of the 1940s and 1950s, he was always assigned to defend against the opposing team's best scoring threat. He earned the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

"Digger" because of his hard-nosed style of defense.Matthews, Bob. "Basketball Hall of Famer Cervi dies at 92," ''Rochester'' (NY) ''Democrat and Chronicle'', Tuesday, November 10, 2009.
/ref>

Early life

Born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, Cervi attended East High School in his hometown, where he captained the baseball and basketball teams and achieved All-City honors in both sports. He dropped out of school after his junior year when he was recruited by the Buffalo Bisons of the newly formed NBL.Northrop, Milt. "Basketball Hall of Famer Al Cervi dies at age 92," ''The Buffalo News'', Tuesday, November 10, 2009.
/ref> He played in all of the Bisons' nine games in 1937–38, the franchise's only season of existence.Shouler, Ken; Ryan, Bob; Smith, Sam; Koppett, Leonard & Bellotti, Bob. ''Total Basketball: The Ultimate Basketball Encyclopedia''. Toronto, ON: Sport Media Publishing, Inc., 2003. He never attended college. Instead, he served five years in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

from 1940 through 1945.

Rochester Royals (1945–1948)

After the conclusion of World War II, he joined the

Rochester Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

, another NBL franchise entering its first year of operations. He immediately experienced success as the team captured the 1945–46 league title after sweeping the best-of-five championship series from the

Sheboygan Red Skins The Sheboygan Red Skins (or Redskins) was a professional basketball team based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, which was an original National Basketball Association franchise during the 1949–1950 season. History Overview The Redskins played in th ...

. The Royals returned to the finals the following two seasons, but lost to the

Chicago American Gears The Chicago American Gears were a National Basketball League (NBL) team who played from 1944 to 1947. The team also played in the Professional Basketball League of America (PBLA) in 1947–48 after leaving the NBL. About They are notable in prof ...

and

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...

in four games each. Cervi made the All-NBL First Team in 1947 and 1948.''Official NBA Register''. 2003–04 Edition. St. Louis, Missouri: ''The Sporting News'', 2003. In the first of those two campaigns, he was the leading scorer with 632 points. His time with the Royals lasted only three seasons. After discovering that other teammates were being paid more than his $7,500 annual salary, he requested a $3,500 raise, which was denied by team owner Les Harrison. As a result, instead of moving with the Royals to the Basketball Association of America (BAA) after the 1948 campaign, Cervi stayed in the NBL and joined 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– ...

, who met his salary demands and appointed him

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

Syracuse Nationals (1948–1957)

Besides being named to the All-NBL First Team for a third straight year in 1949, he also earned Coach of the Year honors. After the BAA-NBL merger to form the NBA prior to the 1949–50 campaign, he continued to serve in the dual capacity role until his retirement as an active player in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

. The Syracuse teams he piloted took on his relentlessly competitive nature. He played a major role in the development of

Dolph Schayes Adolph Schayes (May 19, 1928 – December 10, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A top scorer and rebounder, he was a 12-time NBA All-Star and a 12-time All-NBA selection. ...

.Kirst, Sean. "Relentless: The passing of Al Cervi," ''The Post-Standard'' (Syracuse, NY), Tuesday, November 10, 2009.
/ref> The Nationals qualified for the playoffs in eight of the nine seasons that he coached the ballclub, including three trips to the NBA Finals. They were twice defeated by the Lakers, first in six games in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

and then in seven in 1954. The pinnacle of Cervi's coaching career was leading his squad to the NBA Championship over the

Fort Wayne Pistons A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

in seven games in 1955. When the Nationals began the 1956–57 campaign at 4–8, he was replaced by team captain Paul Seymour.''Official NBA Guide''. 2003–04 Edition. St. Louis, Missouri: ''The Sporting News'', 2003.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Later years

Cervi succeeded

George Senesky George Lawrence Senesky (April 4, 1922 – June 25, 2001) was an American professional basketball player and coach. A 6'2" guard from Saint Joseph's University, he was the 1942–43 College Basketball Season's Consensus Player of the Year and pl ...

as coach of the Philadelphia Warriors in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

, but left after one season to accept a more lucrative job in the

trucking Road transport or road transportation is a type of transport using roads. Transport on roads can be roughly grouped into the transportation of goods and transportation of people. In many countries licensing requirements and safety regulations e ...

business as an area

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

for Eastern Freightways, Inc. in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

. In

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

he declined to accept a two-year offer to coach the Lakers in its first campaign in Los Angeles because his wife was reluctant to leave the Rochester area. He lived in the suburb of Brighton for the last 58 years of his life. Cervi was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985. He received similar honors from the

Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality * ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record * "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014 *Greater Bank, an Australian ...

in 2003.Al Cervi (Class of 2003), Buffalo Bisons Basketball Player – Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.
He died on November 9, 2009 in Rochester, New York at the age of 92. Cervi was featured in the book, Basketball History in Syracuse, Hoops Roots by author Mark Allen Baker published by The History Press in 2010. The book is an introduction to professional basketball in Syracuse and includes teams like (Vic Hanson's) All-Americans, the Syracuse Reds and the

(1946–1963).

Coaching record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cervi, Al 1917 births 2009 deaths Basketball players from Buffalo, New York United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Basketball coaches from New York (state) Buffalo Bisons (NBL) players Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Basketball Association championship-winning head coaches People from Brighton, Monroe County, New York Philadelphia Warriors head coaches Player-coaches Rochester Royals players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Buffalo, New York Syracuse Nationals head coaches Syracuse Nationals players United States Army Air Forces soldiers American men's basketball players Eastern Basketball Association coaches