Nathan "Nat" Militzok was an American basketball player, who played the forward position for various teams, including the New York Knicks

New York Knicks

The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

.

Early life

Militzok, who was Jewish, was born in The Bronx

The Bronx

The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...

, New York. Recalling his childhood, he said: “I never saw a dirt field. Everything was cement. ... We had two choices: either go to the schoolyard and play ball or hang around on the corner and get in trouble. So, we played basketball all our lives.” He attended Stuyvesant High School

Stuyvesant High School

Stuyvesant High School , commonly referred to as Stuy , is a New York City public high school that specializes in mathematics and science. The school opened in 1904 on Manhattan's East Side and moved to a new building in Battery Park City in 1992. Stuyvesant is noted for its strong academic...

, where he played for the basketball team.

He began his college basketball career as a freshman at CCNY in 1941, playing for a team that had a 16–1 record. He then transferred to Hofstra University

Hofstra University

Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...

, where he played for two seasons. World War II broke out, and he joined the Army. Stationed at Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

, he joined its basketball team in 1944.

Professional basketball career

After the World War II, Militzok joined the New York Knicks in 1946 in the Basketball Association of America

Basketball Association of America

The Basketball Association of America was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. The league merged with the National Basketball League in 1949, forming the National Basketball Association ...

, which merged with the National Basketball League

National Basketball League (United States)

Founded in 1937, the National Basketball League, often abbreviated to NBL, was a professional men's basketball league in the United States. The league would later merge with the Basketball Association of America  to form the National Basketball Association  in 1949.- League history :The...

 in 1949 to become the NBA. Militzok played in the first game in NBA history for the Knicks against the Huskies on November 1, 1946, and was credited with the first assist in the league's history. He was traded to the Toronto Huskies

Toronto Huskies

The Toronto Huskies were a team in the Basketball Association of America during the 1946–47 season, based in Toronto, Ontario...

 in February 1947.

He joined the Scranton Miners

Scranton Miners

The Scranton Miners were an Eastern Professional Basketball League basketball team based in Scranton, Pennsylvania that was a member of the American Basketball League. Arthur Pachter was the Owner and coach for many years...

 of the American Basketball League in 1948–49. He played with them through 1951–52, when he was sent to the Saratoga Harlem Yankees

Saratoga Harlem Yankees

Glens Falls-Saratoga, also known as Schenectady Yankees, Saratoga Harlem Yankees and New York Harlem Yankees was an American basketball team based in several New York State locations and was a member of the American Basketball League....

.

In 1999, he and the other Jewish players on the Knicks, Sonny Hertzberg, Ralph Kaplowitz

Ralph Kaplowitz

Ralph Kaplowitz was an American basketball player. Kaplowitz played in the first two seasons of the Basketball Association of America , now known as the National Basketball Association , and was at the time of his death the oldest living person to have played for the New York...

, Leo Gottlieb

Leo Gottlieb

-Early and personal life:Gottlieb, who was Jewish, was born in New York City, New York. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in The Bronx, New York.Gottlieb was the uncle of Ron Rothstein, the first coach of the Miami Heat.-Basketball career:...

, Hank Rosenstein

Hank Rosenstein

Henry "Hank" Rosenstein was a professional American basketball player in the National Basketball Association ....

, and Ossie Schectman

Ossie Schectman

Oscar B. "Ossie" Schectman is a retired American professional basketball player. He is credited with having scored the very first basket in the National Basketball Association , at that time the Basketball Association of America....

, were inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

National Jewish Museum Sports Hall of Fame

The National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, in Commack, New York, is dedicated to honoring American Jewish sports figures who have distinguished themselves in sports....

in New York.

After his basketball career, he became an attorney.