John Joseph Ezersky (March 21, 1922 – February 20, 2012) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. A basketball star at

Power Memorial Academy Power Memorial Academy (PMA) was an all-boys Catholic high school in New York City that operated from 1931 through 1984. It was a basketball powerhouse, producing several NBA players including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Len Elmore, Mario Elie, Chris ...

in the late 1930s, Ezersky was accused of accepting money in his senior year and was subsequently ruled ineligible for college basketball. Though Ezersky is listed as having played for the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Island ...

team, he never played basketball at a college level. Ezersky attempted a career in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

following his college basketball ruling and tried out for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

alongside close friend

Buddy Kerr John Joseph "Buddy" Kerr (November 6, 1922 – November 7, 2006) was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball. From 1943 through 1951, Kerr played for the New York Giants (1943–1949) and Boston Braves (1950–1951). A native of Astoria, Ne ...

in 1941, but he was sent to the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...

and failed to make it out of

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

. He returned to New York, where he became a cab driver and was later drafted into the military for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He was discharged from service in 1946, and resumed his cab driving before attempting to pursue a career in professional basketball. He signed with the

Brooklyn Gothams The Brooklyn Gothams were an American basketball team based in Brooklyn, New York that was a member of the American Basketball League. Before the 1946/47 season the team was known as the New York Gothams The New York Giants were a Major Leag ...

of the American Basketball League, but only managed to play two games for the team. The following season, he signed with the

Tri-Cities Blackhawks Tri-Cities most often refers to: *Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States *Tri-Cities, Washington, United States Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-Cities may also refer to: Populated places Americas Canada * Tri-Cities (British Columbia), consisting of C ...

of the National Basketball League, and played with the team for two months. Ezersky spent the next two seasons in the

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA absorbed most of National Basketball League (NBL) and rebranded as the National Ba ...

and, later, the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

, playing with the Baltimore Bullets in two stints and 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 league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of ...

in one, with the latter team having previously drafted him in the

1947 BAA draft The 1947 BAA draft was the 1st draft of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which later became the National Basketball Association (NBA). The fledgling BAA held a joint draft with the established National Basketball League (NBL). Both le ...

. He was not resigned by either team following the

1949–50 NBA season The 1949–50 NBA season was the inaugural season of the National Basketball Association, which was created in 1949 by merger of the 3-year-old BAA and 12-year-old NBL. The 1950 NBA playoffs ended with the Minneapolis Lakers winning the NBA Cham ...

, so he spent his final two seasons playing basketball in the ABL for a second time with the

Hartford Hurricanes The Hartford Hurricanes were an American basketball team based in Hartford, Connecticut that was a member of the American Basketball League. The team was previously known as the Elizabeth Braves The Elizabeth Braves were an American basketball ...

and

Wilkes-Barre Barons The Wilkes-Barre Barons were a basketball team from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Barons played between 1933 and 1980 in different American leagues. The team won 11 titles during this time, including while playing in the American Basketbal ...

, and 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 mi ...

with the

Scranton Miners The Scranton Miners, known as the Scranton Apollos from 1970 to 1977, were a professional basketball team based in Scranton, Pennsylvania that was a member of the American Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association. Arthur Pachter ...

. After retiring from playing professional basketball in 1952, Ezersky returned to his career as a cab driver in New York City. He moved to

East Bay, California The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties ...

in 1981, where he resumed his cab driving career until he retired in 2000, aged seventy-eight. Ezersky was a member of the group of NBA veterans that lobbied against the NBA's pension rules, which previously required pre-1965 players to have played in the NBA or BAA for five years to be eligible. The requirement was changed to three years and made Ezersky, who spent three years in the two leagues, able to receive the pension.

BAA/NBA career statistics

Regular season

References

External links

1922 births 2012 deaths American Basketball League (1925–1955) players American men's basketball players American military personnel of World War II Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players Boston Celtics draft picks Boston Celtics players Forwards (basketball) Guards (basketball) Providence Steamrollers players Rhode Island Rams men's basketball players Wilkes-Barre Barons players {{1920s-US-basketball-bio-stub