Joe Lapchick Inducted in 1992

Joseph Bohomiel Lapchick (April 12, 1900 – August 10, 1970) a Yonkers, NY native at the age of 12 he started playing basketball around his neighborhood. Like many children of that era, he stopped going to school after the eighth grade. While working as a caddie and in a factory, the 15-year-old found he could make $5 to $10 per night playing for local basketball teams. At age 19 he was suiting up for four different touring teams, such as the Holyoke Reds, Brooklyn Visitations, and Troy Trojans, and pocketing up to $100 per game. Basketball became his life. As a  professional, he played with the Original Celtics in the 1920s and 1930s. He is commonly regarded as the best center of his era, overshadowed (if anything) in his later years only by Tarzan Cooper. After ending his playing career in 1937, Lapchick became head coach at St. John's University, a position he held until 1947 when he took over the New York Knicks in the NBA. Lapchick coached the Knicks until 1957, leading them to three consecutive NBA Finals appearances (1951–53). He returned to St. John's, coaching them until 1965.

As a player, he is a 4× ABL champion (1927–1930). As a coach, he is a 3× NBA All-Star Game head coach (1951, 1953, 1954), 4× NIT champion (1943, 1944, 1959, 1965), and a 6× Metropolitan New York Conference regular season championships (1943, 1946, 1947, 1958, 1961, 1962).