Alan Seiden (May 1, 1937 – May 3, 2008) was an American collegiate and professional basketball player. He led
St. John's University to the
1959 National Invitation Tournament title and later played professionally with the
Pittsburgh Rens of the
American Basketball League. Seiden was so highly respected by his peers that it took the
NYC Basketball Hall of Fame only five years to induct him (1995).
Seiden was a New York City schoolboy star at
Jamaica High School
Jamaica High School was a four-year public high school in Jamaica, Queens, New York. It was operated by the New York City Department of Education.
Jamaica High School was founded as the Union Free School in 1854, and located within a three-stor ...
, leading his team to the
PSAL
The Public Schools Athletic League, known by the abbreviation PSAL, is an organization that promotes student athletics in the public schools of New York City. It was founded in 1903 to provide and maintain a sports program for students enrolled ...
title in 1955 as a senior. He chose to stay close to home for college, playing for
Hall of Fame
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
coach
Joe Lapchick
Joseph Bohomiel Lapchick (April 12, 1900 – August 10, 1970) was an American professional basketball player, mostly known for playing with the Original Celtics in the 1920s and 1930s. He is commonly regarded as the best center of his era, ove ...
at
St. John's University. Seiden became a star at St. John's, leading the Redmen to two straight
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...
s 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 ...
and 1959. Seiden averaged 20.4 and 21.9 points per game as a junior and senior and ended his Redmen career with 1,374 points. He served as team captain both seasons
He won a gold medal in basketball with Team USA in the
1957 Maccabiah Games
Twenty-one countries sent 980 athletes to compete in the 1957 5th Maccabiah Games, an international Jewish athletics competition similar to the Olympics. The opening ceremony on September 15, 1957, was held in Ramat Gan Stadium, with athletes para ...
, and was the top scorer in the tournament.
In 1959, Seiden led the Redmen to the NIT title as the unseeded 17–9 squad upset the field to win a tournament that was then seen as prestigious as the
NCAA tournament. Seiden capped his senior season by being named a
consensus second team All-American and won the
Haggerty Award
__NOTOC__
The Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award is given to the top men's college basketball player from an NCAA Division I school in the New York metropolitan area. The Haggerty Award is presented by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MB ...
as the top player in the New York City metro area.
After his college career ended, Seiden was drafted in the second round of the
1959 NBA draft
The 1959 NBA draft was the 13th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 31, 1959, before the 1959–60 season. In this draft, eight NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball pla ...
by the
St. Louis Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at S ...
. He failed to make the roster, and played for the next few years in the
Eastern Professional Basketball League
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...
and in 1961 with the Pittsburgh Rens of the American Basketball League. He would also play semi-professionally and in the summer, notably playing with indicted
CCNY point-shaving scandal
The CCNY point-shaving scandal of 1951 was a college basketball point-shaving gambling scandal which revealed widespread bribery and match fixing involving major colleges and universities both in and around New York City, particularly at the Ma ...
players Eddie Gard and
Jack Molinas, the latter of whom would also be involved with the
as well.
Seiden died on May 3, 2008, of complications from stroke.
In March 2011, he was inducted into the
National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
The National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, in Commack, New York, is dedicated to honoring American Jewish figures who have distinguished themselves in sports.
Its objective is to foster Jewish identity through athletics, and to commemo ...
.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seiden, Alan
1937 births
2008 deaths
All-American college men's basketball players
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from Queens, New York
Competitors at the 1957 Maccabiah Games
Jewish American basketball players
Jews from New York (state)
Maccabiah Games basketball players for the United States
Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States
Maccabiah Games medalists in basketball
Pittsburgh Rens players
Point guards
St. John's Red Storm men's basketball players
St. Louis Hawks draft picks
Williamsport Billies (basketball) players