Milton Kutsher Inducted in 1997

Milton Kutsher (1916-November 28, 1998) was born in Monticello, NY, he created a go-to vacation place in the Catskills, NY in the 1950s that became a vacation place for the NYC Jewish community, boxing, and the basketball world. Kutsher’s Hotel hosted a young Wilt Norman Chamberlain who was a bellhop during college. Kutsher brought  Arnold Jacob “Red” Auerbach the former coach of the Boston Celtics to Monticello to assist with bringing other basketball greats to participate in the Maurice Stokes Memorial Games. The games honored Maurice Stokes, a player of the  Rochester Royals out of Rochester, New York. Stokes suffered a brain injury which led to paralysis. A teammate of Stokes Jack Twyman led the tournament with the assistance of Milt Kutsher and Wilt Chamberlain to help raise money to assist Stokes. Stokes died of a heart attack on April 6, 1970, and a memorial game was held to support other NBA players. These memorial games lasted through the 1970s with players from the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, and the New Jersey Nets all coming to Kutsher’s to play. The hotel continued for several years to raise money for needy veteran NBA players. Kutsher was also a Trustee of the National Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA, and was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996.