Abe Weissbrodt

Weissbrodt played one season of varsity basketball at City College of New York in the 1930s and is a member of the CCNY Athletic Hall of Fame. Prior to his one season with the Beavers, Weissbrodt played for the 92nd St. YMHA's famed basketball team. Nicknamed 'Sooky,' he was voted the team's best passer during the 1932-33 season (when he was a student at CCNY, but not a member of the basketball team). Weissbrodt briefly returned to the 92nd St. Y team after graduating from CCNY, but then went to Columbia Law School.

Birth and Death Dates:
unknown

Career Highlights:
A guard and forward, Weissbrodt played one season of varsity basketball for CCNY. As a senior in 1933-34, he suited up for the Beavers as the team strove for their third straight Eastern championship (the title was mythical, but CCNY was unanimously declared the best team in the East the prior two seasons). Led by Hall of Fame coach Nat Holman and All-America center Moe Goldman, the Beavers won their first 12 games of the season and looked poised to register the first undefeated season in school history. Their final game of the year was against rival NYU (New York University), who was also undefeated, and as the day of the big game approached, it became the talk of the town.

The 1934 NYU-CCNY contest was for the Eastern championship and was one of the most important games in college basketball history. 5,000 rabid fans saw the game, which was a bit of a letdown considering the build-up. The final score was only 24-18 in favor of NYU as both teams felt the pressure and played a bit sloppily. Nevertheless, Weissbrodt made the most of his final college game. Starting at guard after coming off the bench for the majority of the season, Abe scored half of CCNY's total (a career-high nine points) and was praised in the newspapers for his play. He finished the season with 48 points, fourth most on CCNY and 42nd in the New York Metropolitan area.

The significance of the CCNY-NYU game was not the game itself, but the interest it generated. Prior to the contest, some people (including future Hall of Fame promoter Ned Irish) wanted the game moved to Madison Square Garden to accomodate the approximately 15,000 fans who wanted tickets to the game (a scheduling conflict did not allow the switch). The NYU-CCNY game proved without a doubt that college basketball was popular in New York and could make money for promoters and schools. The following year, the famed double-headers began at Madison Square Garden. These games became widely popular and successful and eventually led to national post-season tournaments like the NIT (National Invitational Tournament) and NCAA tournament.

Origin:
unknown

Career Dates:
Weissbrodt played guard and forward at CCNY in 1933-1934.

Physical description:
5 – 11 –