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Sid Tanenbaum
Personal information
Born	October 8, 1925; Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	September 4, 1986 (aged 60); Queens, New York, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight	160 lb (73 kg)
Career information
High school	Thomas Jefferson; (Brooklyn, New York)
College	NYU (1943–1947)
BAA draft	1947: undrafted
Playing career	1947–1949
Position	Guard
Number	6, 9
Career history
1947–1949	New York Knicks
1949	Baltimore Bullets
Career highlights and awards
	2× Consensus first-team All-American (1946, 1947); 2× Haggerty Award winner (1946, 1947);
Career BAA statistics
Points	633 (9.0 ppg)
Assists	162 (2.3 apg)
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball Reference

Sidney Harold Tanenbaum (October 8, 1925 – September 4, 1986) was an American professional basketball player.^[1] He was twice a consensus first-team All-American (in 1946 and 1947) and twice a Haggerty Award winner (1946 and 1947). He went on to play professionally for the New York Knicks and the Baltimore Bullets.

Early life

Tanenbaum was born in Brooklyn, New York, grew up in its Brownsville neighborhood, and was Jewish.^[2] He was an all-scholastic player at Thomas Jefferson High School.^[2] He met his wife, Bobbie Wolfson, in college when he was a junior.^[3]

Basketball career

A 6' 0" guard/forward, Tanenbaum played college basketball at New York University, where he was captain of the team in 1947, and was a two-time All-American and two-time Haggerty Award winner as the outstanding player in the metropolitan area.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] He also won the 1947 Bar Kochba Award, which honored him as the best Jewish American athlete in the nation, and was named first team All-Met in all four of his varsity seasons.^[4]^[6]^[7] Wilbur Wood, the sports editor of the New York Sun, wrote of Tanenbaum in 1947: "He is the finest all-around basketball performer ever to don Violet livery."^[5] He left NYU as the school's all-time leading scorer, with 992 points.^[8]^[2] NYU annually awards its top student-athlete the Sid Tanenbaum Memorial Award.^[7]

Tanenbaum played two seasons (1947–1949) in the Basketball Association of America as a member of the New York Knicks and Baltimore Bullets.^[2]^[7] On February 11, 1949, the New York Knicks traded him to the Baltimore Bullets for Connie Simmons.^[9] He scored 633 points in 70 games and tallied 162 assists.^[10] He was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 1997 into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.^[11]^[6]

Personal life

After his basketball career, Tanenbaum lived in Woodmere, New York, with his wife Barbara and sons Steven and Michael (an optometrist).^[2]^[3] He owned a machine shop specializing in metal spinning and stamping in Far Rockaway, Queens, known as the Able Metal Spinning and Stamping.^[3]^[7]^[12]

Murder

Tanenbaum was murdered on September 4, 1986, aged 60, when he was stabbed to death by a local 37-year-old woman in his shop.^[3]^[12] Police described Tanenbaum as "something of a benefactor in his neighborhood" who often gave money to people living in the streets.^[4] According to reports, he was stabbed because he decided to stop lending money to his attacker after assisting her many times in the past, and when he turned his back she attacked him.^[4]^[13] His killer, Molly Dotsun, was sentenced to 21 years in prison.^[3]^[12]

The basketball courts at the park in North Woodmere, New York, are named after Tanenbaum. Since 1986, they have hosted the Sid Tanenbaum Memorial Basketball Tournament that raises scholarship money for students in the Five Towns.^[14]

BAA career statistics

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

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	FG%	FT%	APG	PPG
1947–48	New York	24	.250	.838	1.5	10.1
1948–49	New York	32	.283	.844	2.2	8.0
1948–49	Baltimore	14	.309	.791	3.9	9.6
Career		70	.274	.830	2.3	9.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	FG%	FT%	APG	PPG
1948	New York	3	.333	.727	1.3	10.0
1949	Baltimore	3	.207	1.000	3.3	5.7
Career		6	.274	.813	2.3	7.8

References

^ "Sidney Harold Tanenbaum". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Sam Goldaper (September 6, 1986). "SID TANENBAUM, 60, IS SLAIN; N.Y.U. BASKETBALL STAR IN 40'S". The New York Times.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Ira Berkow (September 21, 2013). "Tanenbaum, Man and Player, Gets His Due". The New York Times.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Gerald Sorin (1992). The Nurturing Neighborhood: The Brownsville Boys' Club and Jewish Community. ISBN 9780814779392 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b Bernard Postal; Jesse Silver; Roy Silver (1965). "TANENBAUM, SIDNEY HAROLD". Encyclopedia of Jews in Sports. p. 124 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b "Sidney Tannenbaum", Jewish Sports
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Tanenbaum, Sidney Harold", Jewish Virtual Library
^ Joseph Siegman. "Sidney Tannenbaum profile, Jewish Sports Legends. Brassey's 2000. pg. 38
^ "Sid Tanenbaum", Basketball-Reference
^ "Sid Tannenbaum". Basketball-Reference. Archived from the original on April 10, 2007. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
^ Ira Berkow (2013). Autumns in the Garden: The Coach of Camelot and Other Knicks Stories. Triumph Books. ISBN 9781600788666 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Sidney Tannenbaum, Ex-Player", The New York Times, September 5, 1986, page A20
^ Gerald Sorin. (1992). Nurturing Neighborhood. NYU Press. p. 192. ISBN 9780814779392 – via Google Books.
^ Bessen, Jeff (June 1, 2016). "Honoring a legacy of giving". LI Herald. Retrieved August 25, 2021.