Eddie Gottlieb
From Hoopedia
Edward Gottlieb (September 15, 1898 – December 7, 1979) played basketball, organized, coached, owned, and managed basketball teams, and organized and scheduled basketball leagues. If it was something related to basketball, he probably did it.
He was the first coach and manager of the Philadelphia Warriors in the BAA/NBA and the owner and coach of the team from 1951 to 1962. He was a professional player and organizer in the 1920s and a major force in the National Basketball Association from its inception in 1946 until his death in 1979. It wasn't for nothing that he was known as "The Mogul."
Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Gottleib played on the Philadelphia League champion Southern Philadelphia High School team, winning the title in 1914, 1915 and 1916.
In 1918 he organized a team from his high school teammates and former opponents. Sponsored by the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association, the team became known by the acronym: The Philadelphia SPHAs. They quickly established themselves as a force to be contended with on the hardcourt. They barnstormed across the country and played in various professional leagues (including the Eastern League and the American Basketball League. They collected numerous league championships.
In 1926 Gottlieb organized best-of-three series with the top teams in the country: the Original Celtics and the New York Rens. The SPHAs won both series. They lost their series with the Cleveland Rosenblums, the reigning ABL champions, however.
Gottlieb was one of the organizers of the Basketball Association of America in 1946, the forerunner of the NBA. Gottlieb became the first coach and general manager of the Philadelphia Warriors.
Led by early scoring sensation Joe Fulks, they won the championship in the league's inaugural 1946-47 season, defeating the Chicago Stags, four games to one. The BAA became the National Basketball Association in 1949 and Gottlieb played an active role in pulling off the merger. The Warriors were a league power under Gottlieb, losing in the league championship series in 1949 and losing in the conference semifinals in the years 1950-52.
Gottlieb bought the team in 1951 and gave up his coaching duties in 1955. The Warriors won the NBA championship in 1956. In 1962 Gottlieb sold the Warriors and they were moved to San Francisco and eventually became the Golden State Warriors.
Gottlieb contributed significantly to forming the rules of the modern game. Chairman of the NBA Rules Committee for twenty-five years, Gottlieb was instrumental in the adoption of the 24-second clock, the rule against zone defenses, and the bonus penalty shot.
The trophy that the NBA Rookie of the Year receives is named after Gottlieb.
Gottlieb was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor on April 20, 1972. Gottlieb is also a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
