A few years after its invention by James Naismith, basketball became the primary sport in the crowded streets of the Jewish neighborhood on New York's Lower East Side. Participating in the new game was a quick and enjoyable way to become Americanized. Jews not only dominated the sport for the next fifty‑plus years but were also instrumental in modernizing the game. Barney Sedran was considered the best player in the country at the City College of New York from 1909 to 1911. In 1927 Abe Saperstein took over management of the Harlem Globetrotters, playing a key role in popularizing and integrating the game. Later he helped found the American Basketball Association and introduced the three-point shot. More recently, Nancy Lieberman played in a men's pro summer league and became the first woman to coach a men's pro team, and Larry Brown became the only coach to win both NCAA and the NBA championships. While the influence of Jewish players, referees, coaches, and administrators has gradually diminished since the mid‑1950s, the current basketball scene features numerous Jews in important positions. Through interviews and lively anecdotes from franchise owners, coaches, players, and referees, The Chosen Game explores the contribution of Jews to the evolution of present-day pro basketball.
A few years after its invention by James Naismith, basketball became the primary sport in the crowded streets of the Jewish neighborhood on New York's Lower East Side. Participating in the new game was a quick and enjoyable way to become Americanized. Jews not only dominated the sport for the next fifty‑plus years but were also instrumental in modernizing the game. Barney Sedran was considered the best player in the country at the City College of New York from 1909 to 1911. In 1927 Abe Saperstein took over management of the Harlem Globetrotters, playing a key role in popularizing and integrating the game. Later he helped found the American Basketball Association and introduced the three-point shot. More recently, Nancy Lieberman played in a men's pro summer league and became the first woman to coach a men's pro team, and Larry Brown became the only coach to win both NCAA and the NBA championships. While the influence of Jewish players, referees, coaches, and administrators has gradually diminished since the mid‑1950s, the current basketball scene features numerous Jews in important positions. Through interviews and lively anecdotes from franchise owners, coaches, players, and referees, The Chosen Game explores the contribution of Jews to the evolution of present-day pro basketball.
A few years ago, I suddenly realized that the men in my life had each written his memoirs. My father, my brother, and my husband were each very different, with completely distinct backgrounds. Their memoirs were a unique gift to me, and now, dear reader, a gift to you. My father, Charles Rosen, was born and raised in Harlem in New York City and, after his father was killed leaving his mother with 6 sons, had to start work to survive. He finally became a printer but, then in World War I, he fought at the front in France. His memoirs are very vivid memories of that war. After being wounded in battle, he returned home where he became a master printer. His memoirs of his love for his wife and family are only surpassed by his love of his country. My brother, Hank Rowan, began to draw and paint at a very early age. After WWII he pursued his career as an artist and professor of art which took him all over this country as well as the world. His memoirs are filled with that pursuit of Art which defines his life. My husband, Jim Cooke, not an artist, but a man who pursued truth, and had the ability to recognize it throughout his life, but especially during WWII where he fought in Europe. His memories are filled with events that needed to be documented, never to be forgotten, from Normandy to Buchenwald to Berlin. I am blessed to have been an important part of the lives of my father, my brother, and my husband, and best of all to be able to document those lives!
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