Oscar Henry Feldman (August 18, 1921 – November 27, 2024) was an American attorney who was a longtime minority owner and legal counsel of the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

of the

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 ...

. From 1975 to 1977 he was also the team's general manager.

Early life

Feldman was born in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Town of Poughkeepsie, New York (state), New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie i ...

, on August 18, 1921. He enrolled at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 1939, where he met his future business partner, Bill Davidson. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and after the war, he earned a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

from Michigan and a law degree from the

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

. After graduating, he taught at Columbia for one year then worked for the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

in the office of the chief counsel. In 1951, Feldman returned to Michigan, where he purchased a pharmaceutical company with Davidson and taught law at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

. He took over his father-in-law's law practice following his sudden death and served as a legal counsel for

Guardian Industries Guardian Industries is a privately held industrial manufacturer of glass, automotive and building products based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The company manufactures float glass, fabricated glass products, fiberglass insulation and building materi ...

, which was run by Davidson.

Detroit Pistons

On July 29, 1974, Davidson, Feldman, and nine other partners purchased the Detroit Pistons from

Fred Zollner Fred Zollner (January 22, 1901 – June 21, 1982), nicknamed "Mr. Pro Basketball", was the founder and owner, along with his sister Janet, of the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (now the Detroit Pistons) and a key figure in the merger of National ...

for $8.1 million. General manager Ed Coil agreed to stay with the team for one year following the sale and when he departed on July 1, 1975, Feldman succeeded him as general manager. On January 26, 1976, Feldman fired the team's then-winningest coach, Ray Scott due to his poor "rapport with the entire organization". The Pistons, who had gone 17–25 under Scott, went 19–21 under his replacement

Herb Brown Herbert Brown (born March 14, 1936) is an American basketball coach and the brother of Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown. He is the former head coach of the Detroit Pistons (1976–78). Career Brown succeeded Ray Scott when he was promoted from ...

and made it to the Western Conference semifinals, where they lost to the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

in six games. The Pistons selected

Marvin Barnes Marvin Jerome "Bad News" Barnes (July 27, 1952 – September 8, 2014) was an American professional basketball player. A forward (basketball), forward, he was an NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, All-American at Providence College, and played p ...

in the 1976 ABA dispersal draft and after protracted negotiations, Feldman signed him to a $500,000-a-year contract. Soon after signing, Barnes was arrested for carrying a concealed handgun at the

Detroit Metropolitan Airport Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is the primary international airport serving Detroit and its Metro Detroit, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Romulus, Michigan, Romulus, a Detroit suburb ...

and, after the Pistons were eliminated from the playoffs, began serving a jail sentence for violating his probation. On May 25, 1977, Feldman stepped down as general manager in favor of his handpicked successor –

Atlanta 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 (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

assistant GM and former

Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball team based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference ...

All-Star

Bob Kauffman Robert Kauffman (July 13, 1946 – July 25, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach. Kaufmann was a three-time NBA All-Star. Early life Robert Alan Kauffman was born on July 13, 1946, in Brooklyn, New York, to LeRoy and ...

. Feldman remained with the team as legal counsel and worked on the team's relocation from the

Cobo Arena Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly TCF Center) is a convention center in Downtown Detroit, owned by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and operated by ASM Global. Located at 1 Washi ...

to the

Pontiac Silverdome The Pontiac Silverdome (also known as the Silverdome) was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, the fi ...

. Kauffman resigned for personal reasons at the end of the season and Feldman took over his duties. The Pistons went 30–52 and missed the playoffs in 1978–79 under new head coach

Dick Vitale Richard "Dick" John Vitale (; born June 9, 1939), also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well known for his 41-year tenure as a college basketball broadc ...

. In the summer of 1979, Pistons forward

M. L. Carr Michael Leon Carr (born January 9, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA), and former head coach and General Manager of the Boston Celtics. ...

signed as a free agent with 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 Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. The two teams could not agree on compensation for Carr, with Vitale wanting

Bob McAdoo Robert Allen McAdoo Jr. ( ; born September 25, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a five-time NBA All-Star and named the NBA Mos ...

and Celtics GM

Red Auerbach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. As a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he led the Boston Celtics to an unprecedented champio ...

wanting to send

Curtis Rowe Curtis Rowe Jr. (born July 2, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'7" forward from UCLA, Rowe was drafted by the Dallas Chaparrals in the 1971 ABA Draft and by the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 1971 NBA ...

and another player to Detroit. The dispute ended when the Pistons agreed to trade two first round picks in

1980 NBA draft The 1980 NBA draft was the 34th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 10, 1980, at the Sheraton Centre Hotel & Towers, before the 1980–81 season. In this draft, 23 NBA teams took turns selectin ...

to the Celtics for McAdoo. The Pistons made another high-priced acquisition that same offseason by signing

Jim McElroy James Charles McElroy Jr. (born October 4, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player. He was born in Cotton Plant, Arkansas. A 6'3" guard from Central Michigan University, McElroy played in the National Basketball Association f ...

. After the team got off to a 4–8 start, Feldman fired Vitale and named assistant coach

Richie Adubato Richard Adam Adubato (born November 23, 1937) is an American former basketball coach in the National Basketball Association. He has served as head coach for three NBA teams, the Detroit Pistons, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Orlando Magic. He ...

as his interim replacement. On December 11, 1979, the Pistons named

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

assistant coach

Jack McCloskey John William McCloskey (September 19, 1925 – June 1, 2017) was an American basketball player, coach and executive. He served as the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and general manager of the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves. ...

general manager, ending Feldman's run as head of basketball operations. Detroit finished the season with a league-worst 16–66 record, which gave the Celtics the top pick in the 1980 draft (Boston traded the pick to the

in exchange for

Robert Parish Robert Lee Parish (born August 30, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player. A 7'1" Center (basketball), center, nicknamed "the Chief", Parish played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1976 to 199 ...

and the #3 overall pick, which they used to select Kevin McHale). Feldman remained with the Pistons as a minority owner until October 2009. Feldman died on November 27, 2024, at the age of 103.Oscar Feldman obituary
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feldman, Oscar 1921 births 2024 deaths American men centenarians Columbia Law School alumni Columbia Law School faculty Detroit Pistons executives Detroit Pistons owners Internal Revenue Service people Michigan lawyers People from Poughkeepsie, New York United States Army personnel of World War II University of Michigan alumni Wayne State University faculty Jewish American sports executives and administrators