Arthur Edward Spector (nicknamed "Speed"; 17 October 1920 – 18 June 1987) was an American

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 (appro ...

player. He played as a forward for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

from 1946 to 1950.

Early life and education

Spector was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, and lived in

West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Although there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the n ...

. He was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

.Charles Rosen
''The Chosen Game: A Jewish Basketball History''
U of Nebraska Press, 2017. His grandson is American former

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player Jonathan Spector. Spector attended and played basketball first at West Philadelphia High School, where he was team captain. He then played basketball at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

, graduating in 1941.

Professional basketball

He was the first player ever to be signed by the

. Later, he was a scout for the Celtics. He played as a forward for the Celtics from 1946 to 1950. He lived later in

Newtown, Connecticut Newtown ( ) is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is part of the Greater Danbury area as well as the New York metropolitan area. Newtown was founded in 1705, and later incorporated in 1711. As of the 2020 census, its p ...

BAA and NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Profile
at NBA.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Spector, Art 1920 births 1987 deaths Boston Celtics players Boston Celtics scouts American men's basketball players Basketball players from Philadelphia Forwards (basketball) Jewish American basketball players Jews from Pennsylvania NBA scouts West Philadelphia High School alumni Villanova Wildcats men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen