Louis Herman "Red" Klotz (October 21, 1920 – July 12, 2014)
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 was a
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)
point guard
The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game.
A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...
with the original
Baltimore Bullets, and he was best known for forming the teams that play against and tour with the
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...
: the
Washington Generals
The Washington Generals are an American basketball team who play exhibition games against the Harlem Globetrotters. The team has also played under several aliases in their history as the Globetrotters' perennial opponents.
Function
The Gener ...
and the
New York Nationals. He was the oldest-living NBA champion at the time of his death.
Over Klotz's professional basketball career, he coached or played in over 14,000 games during eight decades and in over 100 countries.
Early life
Klotz was born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, into a
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family.
He began playing basketball at age 12.
He attended
South Philadelphia High School
South Philadelphia High School is a public secondary high school located in the Lower Moyamensing neighborhood of South Philadelphia, at the intersection of Broad Street and Snyder Avenue.
The school serves grades 9 through 12 and is part of ...
where he led the school team to city basketball championships in 1939 and 1940, both times earning Philadelphia Player of the Year honors.
He attended
Villanova University
Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...
on an athletic scholarship, playing on the undefeated freshman basketball team.
He left college for
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 ...
, serving stateside.
Career
Klotz "played for a number of teams in those early and turbulent days of professional basketball", according to Joe Posnanski of ''Sports Illustrated''.
Klotz played with the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association (the
Philadelphia Sphas
The Philadelphia Sphas, also stylized SPHAs or SPHAS, were an American basketball franchise that existed as a professional, semi-professional, and exhibition team. They played their home games in the ballroom of Philadelphia's Broadwood Hotel. Th ...
) of the
American Basketball League (ABL) as a
point guard
The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game.
A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...
in the 1940s. In an exhibition game, the Sphas defeated the
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...
, Klotz's first game against them.
He played with the Sphas until 1947.
Klotz played during the 1948 season on the Baltimore Bullets team, the year they won 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 ...
championship.
He played in 11 games, scoring 15 points. He also played in six playoff games, scoring six points.
At , he is tied as the
fourth-shortest person to play in an NBA game,
and the shortest to play on a championship team.
Washington Generals
Klotz played for the Philadelphia Sphas of the ABL until 1947; the team had beaten the Harlem Globetrotters on more than one occasion.
He later coached and managed the Sphas. In 1953, after playing on several all-star teams against the Trotters during their first international tours, Klotz was approached by Globetrotters owner
Abe Saperstein
Abraham Michael Saperstein (; July 4, 1902 – March 15, 1966) was the founder, owner and earliest coach of the Harlem Globetrotters. Saperstein was a leading figure in black basketball and baseball from the 1920s through the 1950s, primarily be ...
about having his team tour with the Globetrotters and play them on a regular basis. Klotz named his new enterprise the Washington Generals, in honor of
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
.
From 1953 until 1995, the Generals played exhibitions against the Globetrotters, winning only two games and only one recognized by the Trotters, the last in 1971, and losing more than 14,000.
[
Klotz played with the team as a ]point guard
The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game.
A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...
until the age of 68. At 50 years old, he made the game-winning shot for the New Jersey Reds with three seconds left in their final win. "The crowd wanted to kill me," he said. In 1995 Klotz "disbanded" the Generals and formed the New York Nationals to take their place, to erase their record and "change their luck".[ The team remained the Nationals until 2007, when they reverted to the "Generals" name. The Generals remained a separate organization from the Globetrotters until 2017, three years after the passing of Klotz. Klotz claimed the team still tried to win every game.
]
Achievements
Klotz was inducted into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. He became the first non-Globetrotter to receive the Globetrotters' "Legend" award on March 10, 2007. Red has stated he has lost over 13,000 games in his coaching career.
In 2009 the Philadelphia Sportswriter's Association presented Klotz with the "Living Legend" award, previously given to such Philadelphia notables as Robin Roberts, Chuck Bednarik
Charles Philip Bednarik (May 1, 1925 – March 21, 2015), nicknamed "Concrete Charlie", was an American professional football linebacker and center who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn Quak ...
, Harry Kalas
Harold Norbert Kalas (March 26, 1936 – April 13, 2009) was an American Sports commentator, sportscaster, best known for his Ford C. Frick Award, Ford C. Frick Award-winning role as lead Sports commentator, play-by-play announcer for the Phila ...
and Wilt Chamberlain
Wilton Norman Chamberlain ( ; August21, 1936 – October12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player. Standing tall, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 seasons. He was enshrin ...
.
The Globetrotters inducted Klotz into their Legends Ring, the team's version of a hall of fame, in 2007. He remains the first non-Trotter so honored. In 2011, the Trotters and Generals retired Klotz's number 3 jersey and raised a banner honoring him to the rafters at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Klotz's biography, ''The Legend of Red Klotz: How Basketball's Loss Leader Won Over the World, 14,000 Times'', was published in November 2013.
Personal life
Klotz was married. He attributed much of his success to his wife, Gloria.[According to Author Tim Kelly's book, ''The Legend of Red Klotz''. In September 2013, Red Klotz "Dedicated the book in the honor of his wife, Gloria. She made it possible for my success in the world of Basketball."]
He died at age 93 in Margate City, New Jersey
Margate City is a city (New Jersey), city situated on the Jersey Shore on Absecon Island, within Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, on the Atlantic Ocean shoreline. As of the 2020 United States census, ...
, where he had long kept his office.
BAA career statistics
Regular season
Playoffs
See also
*List of select Jewish basketball players
This list of Jewish athletes in sports contains athletes who are Jews, Jewish and have attained outstanding achievements in sports. The topic of Jewish participation in sports is discussed extensively in academic and popular literature.
Sport ...
*
References
External links
Crothers, Tim. "The General Whose Army Never Wins,"
''Sports Illustrated'', February 20, 1995
''The New York Times'', Friday, February 13, 2009
"The Winningest Loser"
''South Jersey Magazine'', June 2008.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klotz, Louis
1920 births
2014 deaths
American men's basketball coaches
American men's basketball players
American sports owners
Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players
Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania
Basketball players from Philadelphia
Basketball player-coaches
Jewish American basketball players
People from Margate City, New Jersey
Philadelphia Sphas players
Point guards
Villanova Wildcats men's basketball players
Washington Generals players
21st-century American Jews
South Philadelphia High School alumni
Jewish American basketball coaches
Jews from Pennsylvania