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Podoloff
by Haskell Cohen
J1 A
A good friend of basketball has
passed away. The beloved Maurice
(Moish) Podoloff died last month
at age 95. At least, that was his age
as listed in the record books. But
his son, Doran, told this columnist
that his father, who was born in
Russia, might have been two or
three years older. There was really
no way of knowing because the
Russians did not maintain records
of birth in any diligent fashion.
Podoloff came to this country at a
very young age and was educated
at Yale University, graduating in
1913. Afterwards he attended Yale
Law School, from which he graduated
in 1915.
It’s rather difficult to do this
column because I served as publicity
director under Podoloff for several
years in the National Basketball
Association (NBA) before he retired
in 1963. A more genial, dedicated,
devoted and honest individual never
came down the pike. Everyone
who had contact with him knew
him to be a gentleman of the
highest order. Typical of Podoloff
was the fact that he handed out
praise for and to people who might
have been forgotten, such as Danny
Biasone, the owner and president
of the Syracuse Nats, no longer in
the NBA.
Biasone, disturbed by the fact
that there was a lot of stalling in the
NBA basketball games, came to
Podoloff and suggested that a time
clock be installed so that the teams
would have to score, or attempt to
score, within a reasonable length
of time. At his request, Podoloff
saw to it that the 24-second clock,
now in operation all over the NBA
circuit, was brought into effect. It
eliminated a lot of fouling and
stalling and, in particular, kept
fans in their seats in the final
moments of each contest. Podoloff
loved this idea and pushed it to the
utmost and saw to it that the
NBA’s board of governors approved
Biasone’s suggestion.
Prior to becoming commissioner
of the NBA, Podoloff served for
several years as president of the
American Hockey League. He was
eventually lured away from the
league. When asked, at a later
stage of his career with the NBA,
how much money he got to take
over the reins of the N BA, he would
answer, “I don’t know. 1 got some
thing like $8,000 or $9,000 per
annum. I forgot exactly what the
amount was.” This is in stark contrast
to the current salary of more than
$200,000 a year which is paid to the
present administrator, David Stern.
Incidentally, Stern was a young
lawyer in a prominent New York
City legal firm which handled the
business for the NBA and got to
meet Podoloff while he was an
intern in the legal profession.
Constance Maroselle, who was
Podoloff s bookkeeper, recalls some
of the many good deeds her boss
performed during his tenure at the
NBA. "1 remember quite vividly,”
she says, “how he used to take
money out of his pocket to pay for
A true gentleman
expenses which the league should
have picked up There were times
when owners would come to town
and Mr. Podoloff would tell them
to go to Leone’s Restaurant and
have dinner on the league. Actually,
Mr. Podoloff never put the bills
through the NBA bookkeeping
department. He paid those bills
out of his own pocket. He did this
constantly, and I used to have to
fight with him to make him take his
expense money out of the league
treasury.”
There was a time, although it’s
hard to believe it in this day and
age when one reads about the
millions of dollars the NBA owners
are paying their players, when several
owners were in dire straits and
some of them were ready to fold up
their franchises unless they could
secure financial aid. By methods
and means which I could never
understand, Podoloff managed to
secure the necessary funding to
keep these people in business.
Podoloff was a gentle and congenial
man, but he feared no one and his
job did not prohibit or inhibit him
from yelling and arguing with club
owners when he felt he knew that
he was in the right. One incident
comes vividly to mind. It was an
incident that occurred on the corner
of 46th Street and 8th Avenue in
New York City on the eve of the
first NBA All-Star Game, which
was played in Boston in January
1951.
Podoloff, who did not get along
very well with Ned Irish, the mogul
at Madison Square Garden who,
supposedly, knew all there was about
the game of basketball, got into an
argument with Irish on the corner
about the feasibility of staging the
first All-Star contest. Irish was
very much opposed to it and Podoloff,
who liked the idea immensely, stuck
his head up into the air to face
Irish, who was a head taller, and
yelled that the game would go on
and would be successful. Irish argued
that it could be a flop. They argued
for about five minutes and it ended
only when the Madison Square
Garden impressario hailed acabto
go on to his next destination. As he
entered the cab, Podoloff, who had
a profound knowledge of obscene
language, shouted some expletives
after him.
After his wife died and upon
reaching age 80, Podoloff, then
retired, entered a rest home in
West Haven, Conn. It was the
custom of his former employees as
well as hoop referee-in-chief Sid
Borgia to visit him annually on his
birthday in the first week ot August.
This practice continued until last
summer when all of us received a
call from the son of “our boss” that
his father was too ill and beginning
to suffer from lapses of memory.
We were very much disturbed over
the fact that we couldn’t see him
anymore because we looked forward
to the annual get-togethers to relive
the old times and share sandwiches
with Podoloff which he would have
prepared.
He was not a frugal man. As a
matter of fact, nobody knows how
much money he expended especially
for charities. We knew it was sub
stantial and knew that he was a
gentleman with a big heart. He will
be missed sorely by those of us who
knew him. It’s unfortunate that the
present generation among the basket
ball owners never got to meet the
man who made it possible for them
to, somehow, pay salaries to their
players extending into the high six
figures. The average pay of a player
in the NBA, in the early years
known as the BAA, may have been
$5,000 per season.
Compare this with the couple of
million dollars received annually
by such performers as Larry Bird,
Moses Malone and Pat Ewing.
They owe a debt of gratitude to this
little dynamo because, were it not
for his business acumen and ability
to keep owners off each other’s
backs and throats, these players
would be playing in the minor
leagues at maybe some $100 per
game.
Podoloff was inducted into the
Basketball Hall of Fame in Spring-
field, Mass., in 1974. There is a
picture of him on the wall of that
new edifice which opened recently.
Look for it. His contributions will
live on forever.
Jerome Lipps
Jerome Lipps, 73, of Atlanta
died Sunday, Dec. 22.
Graveside service was held
Tuesday, Dec. 24, at Crest Lawn
Memorial Park, with Rabbi Emanuel
Feldman officiating.
A veteran of World War II in the
United States Army, he was a
member of the Society of the Purple
Heart and the Society of Prisoners
ol War. He was also a member of
the Jewish War Veterans, American
Legion Post No. 1, 40th N. 8, and
Beth Jacob Synagogue.
Survivors include his wife, Mrs.
Sadie Helen Lipps; daughters, Mrs.
Marilyn Zuckerman and Mrs. Marcia
Asher of Atlanta, and Mrs. Florence
Koplan of Dalton, Ga.; sons, David
Lipps of Atlanta and Dr. Harold
Lipps of Mount View, Calif.; sister,
Miss Rose Lipps of Brooklyn, N.Y.;
and nine grandchildren.
Leonard William Dorbran
Leonard William Dobran, 71, of
Lexington, S.C., died Monday,
Dec. 23.
He was the father of Arnold T.
Dobran and Mrs. Linda Dobran
Purdy, both of Atlanta.
Graveside service was held
Tuesday, Dec. 24, at the House of
Peace Cemetery in Columbia, S.C.,
with Rabbi Gerald Weiss officiating.
Mr. Dobran was a native of
Chicago. He lived in Johnston,
S.C., and then, for 20 years, in
Lexington. A World War II veteran,
he was a retired sales manager with
Ford who won national awards for
his expertise.
He was a Mason and member of
Bet h Shalom Synagogue in Columbia.
He is also survived by his wife,
Sadie Darling Dobran; sister, Marian
Bloch of North Hollywood, Calif.;
grandchildren, Leslie and Danna
Purdy of Atlanta.
Donations can be made to the
American Cancer Society.
Mrs. Pearl S. Hartman
Mrs. Pearl S. Hartman, 78, of
Atlanta died Monday, Dec. 23.
Graveside service was held
Tuesday, Dec. 24, at Greenwood
Cemetery, with Rabbi Arnold M.
Goodman and Cantor Isaac Good-
friend officiating.
She was a member of Ahavath
Achim Synagogue and its sisterhood
and Hadassah.
Survivors include her husband,
Morris Hartman; daughter, Mrs.
Barbara Orkin of Atlanta; sister,
Mrs. Sam Harris of Atlanta, brothers,
Dave Sims of Atlanta and Morris
Sims of San Diego, Calif.; eight
grandchildren; three great-grand
children; nieces and nephews.
Mrs. Helena R. Herschberg
Mrs. Helena R. Herschberg, 68,
of Atlanta died Friday, Dec. 20.
Graveside service was held Sunday,
Dec. 22, at Greenwood Cemetery,
with Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman
Mrs. Ethel S. Kern
Mrs. Ethel Stein Kern, 64, of
Atlanta died Saturday, Dec. 21.
Graveside service was held
Monday, Dec. 23, at Crest Lawn
Memorial Park, with Rabbi Arnold
M. Goodman and Cantor Isaac
Goodfriend officiating.
Mrs. Kern, a native of West
Point, was a former corresponding
secretary for Hadassah and Mizrachi,
and was a life member of both. She
was a member of JWV Auxiliary
Post 112.
Mrs. Kern was part-owner of
Atlanta Fixture and Sales Co. Inc.
Survivors include her husband,
Fred Kern; son, Lee Kern of Atlanta;
brother, Sol Stein of Atlanta;
grandson, Jeffrey Kern of Atlanta;
nieces and nephews.
Contributions can be made to
the American Cancer Society or
Ahavath Achim Synagogue.
and Cantor Isaac Goodfriend
officiating.
She was a member of Ahavath
Achim Synagogue and its sisterhood
and Hadassah.
Survivors include her husband,
Martin Herschberg; daughters, Sherry
Jaffe of Atlanta, Frances Astren of
Houston, and Barbara Kraselsky
of Dallas, Texas; sister, Charlotte
Wilen of Atlanta; and three grand
children.
Mrs. Esther Reingold Krieger
Mrs. Esther Reingold Krieger,
78, of Miami Beach, died Wednesday,
Dec. 25.
She was the mother of Dr. David
Reingold of Atlanta.
Funeral service is to be held at
Parkside Chapel in Forest Hills,
N.Y.
Originally from Queens, N.Y.,
Mrs. Krieger’s first husband was
the late Samuel Reingold. She was
a life member of Hadassah.
Other survivors include her
husband, Ben Krieger; daughter,
Mrs. Sheila Dunn of Rockaway,
N.J.; and five grandchildren.
An Investment in
Peace of Mind
The selection of a final resting place is a sacred family duty that
sooner or later must be fulfilled. How much better to meet this inevit
able obligation now, while members of the family are together—than
postpone it until the confused, lonely hour of bereavement.
Reservations made before need give one a precious peace of mind
that comes from know ing that “one’s house
is in order’’and that your loved ones will be A
cared for, forever, in beautiful ^ /-/I
yidi
(<■■
surroundings of your own choosing.
If you have any questions about
Arlington, counselors are available
at your convenience. 201 Mt . Vernon Road, N.vv. 0 __
Atlanta, Georgia 30328
IrliiKjton
yjoncxial party
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1
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your own schedule. Home health
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Call TLC Nursing Center at 451-
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TORAH DAY SCHOOL OF ATLANTA,
w/grades 1-4 invitesqualified secu
lar studies teachers to join its teach
ing team for the 1986-87 school
year. To apply, call Rabbi Vilinsky,
982-9001.
PAGE 17 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE December 27, 1985