Ben Goldfaden

Benjamin Paul Goldfaden (September 6, 1913 – March 25, 2013) was an American professional basketball player.[1] He played two games in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) as a member of the Washington Capitols during the 1946–47 season. Goldfaden spent most of his professional career playing in the American Basketball League.[2]

Ben Goldfaden
Goldfaden with the Washington Capitols in 1946
Personal information
Born(1913-09-06)September 6, 1913
DiedMarch 25, 2013(2013-03-25) (aged 99)
Tavares, Florida
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolSouth Side (Newark, New Jersey)
CollegeGeorge Washington (1934–1937)
Playing career1938–1947
PositionForward
Career history
1938–1942Washington Brewers
1942–1943Philadelphia Sphas
1943–1945Wilmington Bombers
1945–1946Trenton Tigers
1946Washington Capitols
1946–1947Trenton Tigers
Career highlights and awards
  • 2× ABL champion (1943, 1944)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Goldfaden began playing basketball in Detroit during his early years due to his height.[2] He attended South Side High School in Newark, New Jersey, where he was an all-state team selection in 1933.[3] Goldfaden was so highly recruited during his teenage years that he was pursued by Catholic and other sectarian prep schools despite that he was Jewish.[1] He was paid to play for barnstorming teams in exhibition games as a 16-year-old that would have marred his amateur status and disqualified him from playing college basketball.[1] Goldfaden played collegiately for the George Washington Colonials on an athletic scholarship.[1]

Goldfaden quit playing basketball at the age of 33 to become a physical education teacher as its salary of US$2,000 ($26,222 adjusted for inflation) was better than his basketball career.[1] He worked 20 years as an agent for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance and served as a city recreation director in Maryland.[1] Goldfaden died of congestive heart failure, aged 99, in Tavares, Florida.[1] He was believed to be the oldest living former National Basketball Association (NBA) player at the time of his death.[1]

BAA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played
 FG%  Field-goal percentage
 FT%  Free-throw percentage
 APG  Assists per game
 PPG  Points per game

Regular season

Year Team GP FG% FT% APG PPG
1946–47 Washington 2.000.500.01.0
Career 2.000.500.01.0

References

  1. "Ben Goldfaden: He played 2 games in NBA's initial season". Orlando Sentinel. orlandosentinel.com. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  2. Tranum, Sam (August 30, 2003). "Basketball's Bygone League". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  3. "Bloom Unanimous Choice For All-State Center Position". Asbury Park Press. March 24, 1933. p. 19. Retrieved October 6, 2020.


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