Nathan Militzok (May 3, 1923 – May 14, 2009) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He played the

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

position for various teams, including the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

Early life

Militzok, who was Jewish, was born in

The Bronx, New York The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County to its north; to its south and west, the New York City bo ...

. Recalling his childhood, he said: "I never saw a dirt field. Everything was cement. ... We had two choices: either go to the schoolyard and play ball or hang around on the corner and get in trouble. So, we played basketball all our lives." He attended

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School ( ) is a co-ed, State school, public, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in Manhattan, New York City. The school, commonly called "Stuy" ( ) by its students, faculty, a ...

, where he played for the basketball team. He began his college basketball career as a freshman at

CCNY The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 18 ...

in 1941, playing for a team that had a 16–1 record. He then transferred to

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

. World War II broke out, and he joined the Navy. Stationed at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, he joined its basketball team for the 1943–44 season.

Professional career

After the end of World War II, Militzok joined the New York Knicks in 1946 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 merged with the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball Lea ...

, which merged with the National Basketball League in 1949 to become the

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

. Militzok played in the first game in NBA history for the Knicks against the Huskies on November 1, 1946, and was credited with the first assist in the league's history. He was traded to the

Toronto Huskies The Toronto Huskies were a team in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which was a forerunner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), during the 1946–47 season. They were based in Toronto. The team compiled a 22–38 win–loss r ...

in February 1947 for cash. He joined 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 ...

of the American Basketball League in 1948–49. He played with them through 1951–52, when he was sent to the Saratoga Harlem Yankees.

Later life

After his basketball career, he became an attorney. In 1999, he and the other Jewish players on the Knicks,

Sonny Hertzberg Sidney "Sonny" Hertzberg (July 29, 1922 – July 25, 2005) was an American professional basketball player. Early life Hertzberg was born in Brooklyn, New York, grew up in Crown Heights, and was Jewish. Hertzberg played at Samuel J. Tilden ...

Ralph Kaplowitz Ralph Kaplowitz (May 18, 1919 – February 2, 2009) was an American professional basketball player. Kaplowitz played in the first two seasons of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), now known as the National Basketball Association (NBA), ...

Leo Gottlieb Leo "Ace" Gottlieb (November 28, 1920 – August 16, 1972) was an American professional basketball player. Early and personal life Gottlieb, who was German Jewish, was born in New York City, New York. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in ...

Hank Rosenstein Henry Rosenstein (June 16, 1920 – February 27, 2010) was an American professional basketball player and coach. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Rosenstein attended City College of New York before starring in AAU Basketball and being named MVP in the ...

, and

Ossie Schectman Oscar Benjamin "Ossie" Schectman (March 30, 1919 – July 30, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. He is credited with having scored the first basket in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which would later become the N ...

, were 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 ...

in New York.

BAA career statistics

Regular season

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Militzok, Nat 1923 births 2009 deaths American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball players United States Navy personnel of World War II CCNY Beavers men's basketball players Cornell Big Red men's basketball players Forwards (basketball) Hofstra Pride baseball players Hofstra Pride men's basketball players New York Knicks players Scranton Miners players Basketball players from the Bronx Stuyvesant High School alumni Toronto Huskies players Jewish American basketball players Jews from New York (state) 20th-century American sportsmen