Cornelius Joseph "Neil" Cohalan (July 31, 1906 – January 22, 1968) was an American

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 ...

coach. He was the first coach of 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 ...

and has the distinction of being the winning coach of the first game played 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 ...

(BAA), the forerunner to the modern

National Basketball Association 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 ...

(NBA). The game, a November 1, 1946 contest between the Knicks and the Toronto Huskies played in famed

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church and Wellesley, Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was originally constructed in 1931 as an indoor arena to host ice hoc ...

, was won 68–66 by the Knickerbockers. Prior to his pro career, Cohalan was the head basketball coach at

Manhattan College Manhattan University (previously Manhattan College) is a private, Catholic university in New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers (Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools) as an academy fo ...

from 1924 through 1942, where as a student he played basketball and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

Head coaching record

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New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

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References

External links

NBA.com. The first game

* 1906 births 1968 deaths American football quarterbacks American men's basketball players New York Knicks head coaches Manhattan Jaspers football players Manhattan Jaspers men's basketball coaches Manhattan Jaspers men's basketball players Sportspeople from the Bronx Players of American football from New York (state) Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York City {{1900s-US-basketball-bio-stub