Douglas Stark - When Basketball Was Jewish: Voices of Those Who Played the Game

Writing a book is a complex project and, much like the game of basketball, it is a team sport. This book is the collective effort of many individuals. Without them, this would not have been possible.

Once again, Bill Himmelman was a tremendous help in the completion of this book. From reviewing drafts of the narratives to fact checking and sourcing images, Bill continues to be an indispensable resource for anyone wanting to write about basketball history. Thanks once again for your assistance. Future projects continue to await us.

Additional individuals were especially helpful, including: David Smith, former librarian at the New York Public Library, who initially put me in contact with the Dorot Jewish Division. David Blittner, the grandson of Red Sarachek, for assisting in obtaining a copy of his grandfathers oral history from the New York Public Library. Matt Zeysing, historian at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, who opened the Hall of Fames archives and let me spend hours searching its oral history project from the 1980s and 1990s. Robin Deutsch spent countless hours helping to revamp my website, and was a sounding board for discussing the narratives. Sara Berkovec and Troy Gowen provided some very timely scanning. To all, my deepest thanks.

Two repositories were especially helpful in this project: the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the New York Public Library. The interviews in the book can be divided into four groups:

Interviews with Norm Drucker, Sonny Hertzberg, and Nat Holman are part of the Hall of Fames collection. These interviews were conducted in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Interviews with Moe Goldman, Shikey Gotthoffer, Sammy Kaplan, Jammy Moskowitz, and Moe Spahn were conducted by Robert Peterson for his book Cages to Jump Shots: Pro Basketballs Early Years (1990) and are now part of the Hall of Fames Robert Peterson Collection. Peterson interviewed these gentlemen in the late 1980s.

Interviews with Jerry Fleishman, Bernie Fleigel, Dutch Garfinkel, Ralph Kaplowitz, Red Klotz, Phil Rabin, and Ossie Schectman were all conducted for my first book, The SPHAS : The Life and Times of Basketballs Greatest Jewish Team (used by permission of Temple University Press, 2011 by Temple University, all rights reserved). I conducted these interviews in the early to mid-2000s.

Les Harrison, Harry Litwack, Dolph Schayes, and Max Zaslofsky were interviewed by Elli Wohlgelernter, while Clifton Chanin interviewed Red Sarachek for the American Jewish Committee. These interviews are published courtesy of the American Jewish Committee William E. Weiner Oral History Library. They are housed in the Dorot Jewish Division of the New York Public Library. These former players were interviewed in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Photographs for this book were generously provided by City College of New York, Bill Himmelman, Ed Krinsky, Long Island University, Diane Moskowitz, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, New York University, the Spahn Family, and Yeshiva University.

To Rob Taylor, my editor at the University of Nebraska Press, who championed this book from our first conversation and carefully guided it to its finished product, many thanks for your support.

As always, family plays an important roleMom, Dad, Jim, Sunday, Bennett, Nick, Rachel, and Alexisthanks for your continued support.

During the early stages of this book, Melanie reentered my life, and she eventually became my wife. From the outset, she was enthusiastic about the project, reading multiple drafts and learning the difference between a jump shot and a hook shot. Her education continues with weekly Boston Celtics games on television, a perk of marriage. This book is for you, with love.