Bernhard Borgmann Jr. (November 22, 1898 – November 11, 1978) was a 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 and coach.
Born in
Haledon, New Jersey
Haledon ( ) is a borough in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,052, an increase of 734 (+8.8%) from the 2010 census count of 8,318, which in turn reflected an ...
, he played for 17 years between 1919 and 1936, and is mostly known for his time with the Kingston Colonials and
Original Celtics
The Original Celtics were a barnstorming professional American basketball team. At various times in their existence, the team played in the American Basketball League, the Eastern Basketball League and the Metropolitan Basketball League. The tea ...
. Borgmann is regarded as the best offensive player of his era, leading various leagues in scoring 15 times in a 12-year span. He also served as the first coach of the Syracuse Nationals of the National Basketball League—now the NBA's
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...
—from 1946 to 1948. He 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 ...
in 1961.
Borgmann also played as a middle infielder in the
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
minor leagues from 1928 to 1942, managed in the minors from until 1950, and scouted until 1974. He died in
Hawthorne, New Jersey
Hawthorne is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 18,791"Chiefs Get New Boss Syracuse, N. Y. ''The Daily Record'', September 9, 1941. Accessed August 29, 2020. "Bennie Borgmann of Hawthorne, N. J., will not be re-signed as manager of the Syracuse Chiefs of the International Baseball League, Clarence M. Schindler, club president, announced."
Borgmann was featured in the book ''Basketball History in Syracuse, Hoops Roots'' by Mark Allen Baker, published by The History Press in 2010.