St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Alums Sponsor Joe Lapchick Celebration In Manhattan
5/16/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
May 16, 2013
- STJ-TV VIDEO: May 9 Joe Lapchick Celebration and Statue Fundraiser
PHOTO GALLERY: May 9 Joe Lapchick Celebration and Statue Fundraiser
QUEENS, N.Y. - A dedicated group of St. John's alumni are currently leading an initiative to honor Hall of Fame basketball player, coach and pioneering humanitarian Joe Lapchick with a tribute as permanent as the changes in sport and society that his life inspired - a statue on the Queens campus. The effort began with a dinner honoring the original Celtic, Redman and New York Knicks legend on May 9 in Manhattan.
To date, nearly $70,000 has been collected toward the Lapchick Statue Fund, more than half of the initiative's intended goal. The funding began pouring in during an evening hosted by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports and WFAN, and featuring NBA legends such as Walt "Clyde" Frazier, Tom "Satch" Sanders and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, St. John's greats such as John W. "Jack" Kasier, Jerry Houston, Lou Roethel and Gus Alfieri, St. John's head coach Steve Lavin, Director of Athletics Chris Monasch and a host of media and alumni.
"I think one of the things that I've appreciated most about being Joe Laphick's son is the kind of legacy that he left. That people, 43 years after he passed, still think about him and talk about him and not only what he did to make a difference in the game of basketball, but in society," said Richard Lapchick, Ph.D., who spoke at the event along with Lapchick's daughter, Barbara. "It would be a symbolic thing that there would be a statue embodying what he was and what he represented at St. John's, which was his home for so long."
"Coach Lapchick was not only great coach, he was a tremendous person," said alum Kevin Reed from the St. John's College Class of 1975, who helped drive the event. "There should be something on the St. John's campus that commemorates Coach Lapchick's life and legacy in a meaningful way."
Joe Lapchick was the first talented big man to play in the collegiate ranks. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1966 as an original member of the Celtics travel team from the era of the "Roaring 20's." The "Big Indian," as he was called, had a career in basketball that virtually spanned the game from its true beginning to its full growth.
Lapchick coached at St. John's from 1936-1947, left to roam the sidelines for the New York Knicks from 1947-1956, where upon he returned to lead the Redmen until his retirement in 1965. Lapchick won 334 games during his St. John's tenure, among those were four National Invitation Tournament titles (1943, 1944, 1959 and 1965).
Lapchick's tenure with the Knicks included 326 victories and Eastern Division titles in 1953 and 1954. A pioneer, Lapchick helped to break the NBA's racial barrier with the signing of Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton to the Knicks in 1950. He passed away on August 10, 1970.
St. John's University officials recognized Lapchick for his many accomplishments by naming a regular season tournament (The Joe Lapchick Memorial) in his honor. In 1985 he was unanimously chosen as part of the first induction class to enter the St. John's Athletic Hall of Fame, and in 2006 he was among the first group of Redmen legends feted with "Legacy Honors," earning a permanent place in the rafters of Carnesecca Arena.
Individuals interested in contributing to the Lapchick Statue Fund can contact the St. John's Athletics Development office at 718-990-2547 for additional details and donor recognition opportunities.
