Harold Blitman (February 12, 1930 – March 23, 2012) was a basketball coach. Blitman was head coach of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

team the

Miami Floridians The Miami Floridians, later in their history known simply as The Floridians, were a professional basketball franchise in the original, now-defunct American Basketball Association. The Miami Floridians played in the ABA from 1968 through 1970 when ...

during the 1969–1970 season and of

The Floridians ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

during the 1970–1971 season. Blitman was head coach at Cheyney State from 1962 to 1969. The Miami Floridians began the 1969–1970 season winning only 5 of their first 20 games under head coach

Jim Pollard James Clifford Pollard (July 9, 1922 – January 22, 1993) was an American professional basketball player and coach. As a player in the National Basketball Association (NBA), Pollard was considered one of the best forwards in the 1950s and was k ...

. On November 29, 1969, Pollard was fired and replaced by Blitman. The team finished with a record of 23 wins and 61 losses. Management problems beyond Blitman's control were a factor; on April 13, 1970, the ABA took over management of the team. The team's average home attendance for the season was 2,724. Ned Doyle took over as majority owner of the team after the season. In the 1970–1971 season, playing as The Floridians with home games in different parts of the state, the team finished with a record of 37 wins and 47 losses, good for fourth place in the Eastern Division. Average attendance rose to 4,020. However, Blitman was fired as coach on January 15, 1971, and was replaced by

Bob Bass Robert Eugene Bass (January 28, 1929 – August 17, 2018) was an American basketball coach and executive who worked in college basketball, the American Basketball Association (ABA), and the National Basketball Association (NBA). Early life Bass ...

. By the late 1970s, Blitman served as principal of Nautilus Junior High in Miami.https://from-way-downtown.com/2025/03/15/warren-jabali-the-rock-of-ages-1995/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blitman, Harold 1930 births 2012 deaths Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Cheyney Wolves men's basketball coaches Miami Floridians coaches Place of birth missing Sports coaches from Philadelphia