THE NEW YORK KNICKERBOCKERS


Andrew Fuzzy Levane does not have a particularly important part in the history of the New York Knickerbockers, not directly at least. But the whole career of Red Holzman, the coach who won more games while leading the Knicks, 613 (the jersey number they retired in his honor), and the only one who led them to the NBA championship, would never take off without him. In the last of his autobiographies, "My Unforgettable Season", Holzman - who passed away in 1998 at 78, due to leukemia - admitted that every job that he was offered in the NBA was a consequence of his friendship with Levane or of the high opinion that he had for him.
               Levane signed to play for the Rochester Royals in the 1940s. The owner, Les Harrison, wanted a Jewish player on his team to satisfy the strong local community. Levane knew Holzman well and took him to the Royals. When in 1951 the Knicks lost the NBA Finals against Rochester 4-3, Holzman was a useful guard for the Royals, a defensive pest.
               The son of a Romanian mother and a Russian father,  Holzman was raised in Brooklyn's Ocean Hill – Brownsville neighborhood and played basketball for Franklin K. Lane High School in the ‘30s. He attended the University of Baltimore and later the City College of New York, where he played for two years until graduation in 1942 under the great Nat Holman. After his playing career ended, in 1953, Holzman was hired by Levane to be his assistant and a scout with the Milwaukee Hawks. When Levane was fired, Holzman was promoted to the head coach position. He finished the season, was fired himself and swore that he would no longer coach: it was too risky and at that time the salaries were certainly not those of today. He began to sell insurances and accepted completely unsatisfactory jobs until Levane became the Knicks' head coach, in 1958, and once again dragged his trusted friend Red aboard.

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