Emanuel "Menchy" Goldblatt

Goldblatt, a member of the Helms Hall of Fame and the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, was the first Jewish captain of any athletics team in the history of the University of Pennsylvania.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. Nov. 3, 1904 - d. 1994

Career Highlights:
After one of the greatest high school careers in the early decades of the twentieth century in Philadelphia (he was named All-City and led all prep scorers twice), Goldblatt became a star at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1920s. During this era, basketball was played at a slower pace than in modern times. With no shot clock, no ten-second rule (to cross midcourt), a center jump following every basket, and a running clock (causing countless minutes to run off the game clock), stalling was common and scores tended to be in the 20s or 30s as teams would work for the perfect shot.

In this era of low scoring, some players proved their worth through their leadership and defensive work rather than putting the ball in the basket. In 1925, Goldblatt joined the Penn varsity as a sophomore guard and was named Helms All-America and All-Ivy League first team despite scoring only seven points in 10 conference games. The Quakers finished the season with a record of 17-5 (6-4 in conference).

The following season, Penn was not as strong, but Goldblatt improved his scoring and finished with 44 points (11th in conference), and was named Helms All-America honorable mention and All-Ivy League first team for the 9-13 (5-5 in conference) Quakers. In 1927, he was team captain and scored 29 points in ten conference games as Penn rebounded and had a better team with a record of 16-10 (5-5 in conference). Goldblatt was named second team All-Ivy League.

After playing professional basketball in the late 1920s, he turned to coaching. In the early 1940s, he became the first head basketball coach at John Bartram High School, and led his teams to a number of league and state titles. From 1948-1952, Goldblatt was the basketball coach at the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science (he is a member of the Textile Hall of Fame). Following his coaching career, he continued to teach at Bartram and maintained contact with many of his 'boys' years after they had graduated. He retired to Redondo Beach, California.

Origin:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Career Dates:
Goldblatt played at the University of Pennsylvania, 1925-1927.

Physical description:
5'10", 145 pounds