Harry Boykoff
Personal information
Born(1922-07-24)July 24, 1922
Brooklyn, New York
DiedFebruary 20, 2001(2001-02-20) (aged 78)
Santa Monica, California
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High schoolThomas Jefferson
(Brooklyn, New York)
CollegeSt. John's (1942–1943, 1945–1947)
BAA draft1947: undrafted
Playing career1947–1951
PositionCenter
Number13, 24, 16
Career history
1947–1948Toledo Jeeps
1948–1950Waterloo Hawks
1950–1951Boston Celtics
1951Tri-Cities Blackhawks
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points1,105 (10.1 ppg)
Assists209 (1.9 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Harry J. Boykoff (July 24, 1922 – February 20, 2001) was a professional American basketball player. During his career he was often referred to as "Heshie", Big Hesh", and "Big Boy". He stood at 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) tall.[1]

Early life

Boykoff was born on the Lower East Side, grew up in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, and was Jewish.[2][3][4]

Basketball career

Boykoff played high school basketball for Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn, and college basketball for St. John's University (New York City), where he was an All American three years in a row.[3][4]

In a 1947 game at Madison Square Garden, while playing for St John's, he scored 54 points, more than the combined total of the opposing team.

Boykoff led St John's to the 1943 National Invitation Tournament championship.[4] He was awarded the MVP Award, and was named on several All-American teams.[4] He received a gold basketball emblematic of his selection on the All-America basketball team appearing in The Sporting News, a national sports newspaper.

He played for the Waterloo Hawks (1949–50), Boston Celtics and Tri-Cities Blackhawks (1950–51) in the National Basketball Association for a total of 109 games.[4]

In his 1948–49 season for Waterloo, Boykoff's shooting average (41.3%) was the fourth-highest in the league.

While playing for the Celtics, he was the highest paid NBA player, at around $15,000 per year.

He became so proficient at blocking shots that because of his play, the rules of the game were changed to prevent shots being blocked on their way down toward the basket (goaltending).[4]

Personal

Even with his outstanding record, Boykoff remained humble. He was quoted as saying:

I'm not an athlete, I'm just a big guy and a lucky one.[5]

Later in life Boykoff appeared in films and television shows such as Star Trek, Frasier, Town & Country, The Crew, on McDonald's cups and commercials, and a few others.[5]

Boykoff died in California at age 78 of lung cancer.[5][4]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

Source[1]

Regular season

Year Team GP FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1949–50 Waterloo 61.413.775–2.412.8
1950–51 Boston 32.384.7144.21.36.3
1950–51 Tri-Cities 16.361.7845.31.37.8
Career 109.400.7654.61.910.1

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Harry Boykoff". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  2. ↑ Harry Boykoff
  3. 1 2 "Welcome to Jews In Sports Online". www.jewsinsports.org. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Harry Boykoff, 78, St. John's Star in the 1940s, Dies - The New York Times
  5. 1 2 3 Litsky, Frank (April 15, 2001). "Harry Boykoff, 78, St. John's Star in the 1940's, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
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