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Alfred Nicholas Cervi (February 12, 1917 – November 9, 2009) was an American professional basketball player and coach 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, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...
"Digger" because of his hard-nosed style of defense. He won the National Basketball League championship in 1946 with the Rochester Royals while being an All-NBL First Team in three straight seasons. He stayed with the NBL with the Syracuse Nationals in 1948, where he became player-coach that same year, which was the last one prior to joining the NBA. In that first year in the NBA, the Nationals won 51 games and reached the Finals, where they lost to the Minneapolis Lakers in six games. Cervi led the team back to the Finals in 1954 and 1955, which each saw the Nationals play in a Game 7; denied in 1954 to Minneapolis, the Nationals won Game 7 in 1955 for their first NBA championship. After twelve games in 1956, Cervi was fired from the Nationals, having coached them to eight postseason appearances in nine seasons. He coached one season with the Philadelphia Warriors in 1958 but elected to leave coaching for more lucrative ventures.Matthews, Bob. "Basketball Hall of Famer Cervi dies at 92," ''Rochester'' (NY) ''Democrat and Chronicle'', Tuesday, November 10, 2009.
/ref> Cervi 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 pre ...
in 1985.


Early life

Born in
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
, 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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...
, 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 Royals returned to the finals the following two seasons, but lost to the Chicago American Gears and
Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, having played and won championships in both the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball League (NBL) and the Basketball Association of America (BAA) prior to ...
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 (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 76ers are third in NBA ...
, 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. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...
.


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 Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...
. However, his last year as a full-time player was 1952; it was the last year that he played at least 50 games. The Syracuse teams he piloted took on his relentlessly competitive nature. He played a major role in the development of Dolph Schayes.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 The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...
. 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 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
and then in seven in
1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...
. The pinnacle of Cervi's coaching career was leading his squad to the NBA Championship over the Fort Wayne Pistons 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.


Later years

Cervi succeeded George Senesky as coach of the
Philadelphia Warriors The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden ...
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 thir ...
, 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 ...
business as an area
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
for Eastern Freightways, Inc. in
Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
. 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 * Janu ...
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 Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
for the last 58 years of his life. Cervi 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 pre ...
in 1985. He received similar honors from the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. 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
Syracuse Nationals The Philadelphia 76ers are an American basketball team currently playing in the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 76ers are third in NBA ...
(1946–1963).


Career playing statistics


NBL

Source


Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1937–38 , style="text-align:left;", Buffalo , 9 , , 19 , , 6 , , , , , , 44 , , 4.9 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#ffe6fa;", 1945–46† , style="text-align:left;", Rochester , 28 , , 112 , , 76 , , 108 , , .704 , , 300 , , 10.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1946–47 , style="text-align:left;", Rochester , 44 , , 228 , , 176 , , 236 , , .746 , , 632 , , 14.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1947–48 , style="text-align:left;", Rochester , 49 , , 234 , , 187 , , 242 , , .773 , , 655 , , 13.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1948–49 , style="text-align:left;", Syracuse , 57 , , 204 , , 287 , , 382 , , .751 , , 695 , , 12.2 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 187 , , 797 , , 732 , , 968 , , .750 , , 2,326 , , 12.4


Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#ffe6fa;",
1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...
† , style="text-align:left;", Rochester , 7 , , 23 , , 24 , , 30 , , .800 , , 70 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",
1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...
, style="text-align:left;", Rochester , 11 , , 49 , , 50 , , 68 , , .735 , , 148 , , 13.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
, style="text-align:left;", Rochester , 6 , , 18 , , 14 , , 19 , , .737 , , 50 , , 8.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",
1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...
, style="text-align:left;", Syracuse , 6 , , 12 , , 22 , , 30 , , .733 , , 46 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 30 , , 102 , , 110 , , 147 , , .748 , , 314 , , 10.5


NBA


Regular season


Playoffs


Head coaching record

, - , style="text-align:left;", Syracuse , style="text-align:left;", , 64, , 51, , 13, , , , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Eastern, , 11, , 6, , 5, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in
NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...
, - , style="text-align:left;", Syracuse , style="text-align:left;", , 66, , 32, , 34, , , , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Eastern, , 7, , 4, , 3, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Division finals , - , style="text-align:left;", Syracuse , style="text-align:left;", , 66, , 40, , 26, , , , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Eastern, , 7, , 3, , 4, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Division finals , - , style="text-align:left;", Syracuse , style="text-align:left;", , 71, , 47, , 24, , , , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Eastern, , 2, , 0, , 2, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Division semifinals , - , style="text-align:left;", Syracuse , style="text-align:left;", , 72, , 42, , 30, , , , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Eastern, , 13, , 9, , 4, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in
NBA finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...
, -style="background:#FDE910;" , style="text-align:left;", Syracuse , style="text-align:left;", , 72, , 43, , 29, , , , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Eastern, , 11, , 7, , 4, , , style="text-align:center;", Won
NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...
, - , style="text-align:left;", Syracuse , style="text-align:left;", , 72, , 35, , 37, , , , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Eastern, , 8, , 4, , 4, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Division finals , - , style="text-align:left;", Syracuse , style="text-align:left;", , 12, , 4, , 8, , , , style="text-align:center;", (replaced), , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", — , - , style="text-align:left;",
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 ...
, style="text-align:left;", , 72, , 32, , 40, , , , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Eastern, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 567, , 326, , 241, , , ,  , , 59, , 33, , 26, , , ,  


References


Further reading

*


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 NBA championship–winning head coaches People from Brighton, Monroe County, New York Sportspeople from Monroe County, New York Philadelphia Warriors head coaches Basketball player-coaches Rochester Royals players Shooting guards Small forwards Syracuse Nationals head coaches Syracuse Nationals players United States Army Air Forces soldiers American men's basketball players Eastern Basketball Association coaches