Bernie Fliegel Inducted in 1995
Bernie Fliegel
Bernard Fliegel (May 13, 1918 – December 3, 2009) attended DeWitt Clinton High School where he led DeWitt to the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) championship over powerhouse Thomas Jefferson High School of Brooklyn as a senior in 1933–34. Fliegel, a center, was named to the All-City third team despite rarely even shooting the basketball. He then graduated in 1934, at age 16, and enrolled at the City College of New York. Fliegel's senior season in 1937–38 he was the only player named as a consensus First Team All-Metropolitan selection, and he received the Haggerty Award as the area's top college player. Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) also named him a First Team All-American.
He played professionally in the American Basketball League (ABL), the team moved and became known as the Kingston Colonials. The next season (1939–40), Fliegel's team was eliminated in the playoffs once again after finishing 19–15. Fliegel stayed with the franchise despite it being relocated once again in 1940–41. The Brooklyn Celtics, as they became known, played well in the regular season with Fliegel as their third-leading scorer. They lost to the Philadelphia Sphas, however, in the championship series. In the spring of 1941, Fliegel graduated from law school.
For the rest of his professional career, which was interrupted for three years due to his enlistment in the U.S. Army for World War II, he played for either the Wilmington Bombers or Jersey City Atoms. He finished his ABL career in 1947 having scored 911 points in 151 games (6.0 average). Fliegel was offered to play for the New York Knicks in the newly developed Basketball Association of America (which became the modern NBA), but his desire to practice law made him refuse the invitation. Playing in the BAA would have been a full-time job, so Fliegel decided to become a lawyer as his profession.
He played professionally in the American Basketball League (ABL), the team moved and became known as the Kingston Colonials. The next season (1939–40), Fliegel's team was eliminated in the playoffs once again after finishing 19–15. Fliegel stayed with the franchise despite it being relocated once again in 1940–41. The Brooklyn Celtics, as they became known, played well in the regular season with Fliegel as their third-leading scorer. They lost to the Philadelphia Sphas, however, in the championship series. In the spring of 1941, Fliegel graduated from law school.
For the rest of his professional career, which was interrupted for three years due to his enlistment in the U.S. Army for World War II, he played for either the Wilmington Bombers or Jersey City Atoms. He finished his ABL career in 1947 having scored 911 points in 151 games (6.0 average). Fliegel was offered to play for the New York Knicks in the newly developed Basketball Association of America (which became the modern NBA), but his desire to practice law made him refuse the invitation. Playing in the BAA would have been a full-time job, so Fliegel decided to become a lawyer as his profession.