SubscribeLest we forget: Ralph Kaplowitz
Kaplowitz appeared in the first game of the NBA as a member of the New York Knickerbockers. The contest took place on Nov. 1, 1946, against the Toronto Huskies when the teams were part of the Basketball Association of America, the forerunner of the NBA.
He died Feb. 2 at the age of 89.
His obituary in Newsday mentioned the anti-Semitism Kaplowitz and others had to deal with in those days.
Heckling of Jewish players by New York fans was not unusual at the time and, halfway through the season, Kaplowitz was the first of several Jews traded to the Philadelphia Warriors, owned by Eddie Gottlieb. The Warriors, with Kaplowitz, proceeded to win the first NBA championship, with the Knicks among their playoff victims.
Ralph Kaplowitz, #5, died recently at the age of 89.
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