Irv Torgoff
{{Short description|American basketball player (1917–1993)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Irv Torgoff
| image = Irv Torgoff 1946.jpeg
| image_size = 290px
| caption = Torgoff, circa 1946
| number =
| position = Forward
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 2
| weight_lb = 192
| birth_date = {{birth date|1917|3|6}}
| birth_place = Brooklyn, New York
| death_date = {{death date and age|1993|10|21|1917|3|6}}
| death_place = Fort Lauderdale, Florida
| nationality = American
| high_school = Tilden (Brooklyn, New York)
| college = LIU Brooklyn (1935–1939)
| career_start = 1939
| career_end = 1949
| years1 = 1939–1940
| team1 = Detroit Eagles
| years2 = 1940–1946
| team2 = Philadelphia Sphas
| team3 = Washington Capitols
| years4 = 1948–1949
| team4 = Baltimore Bullets
| years5 = 1949
| team5 = Philadelphia Warriors
| years6 = 1949–1950
| team6 = Trenton Tigers
| highlights =
- NIT champion (1939)
- Consensus first-team All-American (1939)
- Haggerty Award (1939)
| bbr = torgoir01
}}
Irving Torgoff (March 6, 1917 – October 21, 1993) was an American professional basketball player.
Early life
Torgoff was born in Brooklyn, New York, and played basketball at Tilden High School.
Education
He attended Long Island University from 1935 to 1939 and was a two-time All-American for coach Clair Bee. In 1939, Torgoff led LIU to an undefeated record and a National Invitation Tournament championship over Loyola University Chicago. At the end of the season, he was named the winner of the Haggerty Award as the top collegiate player in the New York City area.
Career
After graduating, Torgoff played professional basketball with the Detroit Eagles of the National Basketball League, the Philadelphia Sphas of the American Basketball League, and the Washington Capitols, Baltimore Bullets, and Philadelphia Warriors of the Basketball Association of America.[http://www.jewsinsports.org/profile.asp?sport=basketball&ID=133 Entry at Jews in Sports]. Retrieved on August 26, 2008.
Red Auerbach, who coached the Capitols before gaining fame as coach of the Boston Celtics, said of Torgoff, "He was really the first player who became known as a sixth man in basketball. Torgoff was the kind of player who could come off the bench and was as good as any of the starters. He could turn a whole game around. He was one of the great players."[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEFDA163EF937A15753C1A965958260 Irving Torgoff, 75, a Star Player In Early Days of Pro Basketball]. Retrieved on August 26, 2008. He has the lowest career shooting percentage of any player with at least 1,000 shot attempts at 24.6%. {{cite web | url=https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask?q=player+with+worst+shooting+percentage+with+a+minimum+of+1000+field-goals+missed+in+nba+history | title=Player with Worst Shooting Percentage with a Minimum of 1000 Field-goals Missed in NBA History }}
After his basketball career ended, Torgoff sold fabrics and yarn. He died of a heart attack in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1993.
BAA career statistics
| class="toccolours" style="font-size: 90%; white-space: nowrap;" |
| colspan="6" style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid #aaa;"| Legend |
|---|
| style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"| GP
| Games played | style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"| FG% | style="padding-right: 8px" | Field-goal percentage |
| style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"| FT%
| Free-throw percentage | style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"| APG | Assists per game |
| style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"| PPG
| Points per game | style="background-color: #F2F2F2; border: 1px solid black" | Bold | Career high |
=Regular season=
| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" | ||||
| Year
! Team ! GP ! FG% ! FT% ! APG ! PPG | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="text-align:left;"| 1946–47
| style="text-align:left;"| Washington | 58 | .273 | .730 | .5 | 8.4 |
| style="text-align:left;"| 1947–48
| style="text-align:left;"| Washington | 47 | .205 | .813 | .7 | 7.2 |
| style="text-align:left;"| 1948–49
| style="text-align:left;"| Baltimore | 29 | .253 | .768 | 1.1 | 4.6 |
| style="text-align:left;"| 1948–49
| style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 13 | .292 | .875 | .9 | 2.7 |
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 147 | .246 | .771 | .7 | 6.8 |
=Playoffs=
| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" | ||||
| Year
! Team ! GP ! FG% ! FT% ! APG ! PPG | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="text-align:left;"| 1947
| style="text-align:left;"| Washington | 6 | .160 | .684 | .8 | 6.5 |
| style="text-align:left;"| 1949
| style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 2 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | .0 |
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 8 | .155 | .684 | .9 | 4.9 |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{basketball stats|bbr=t/torgoir01}}
{{navboxes|list=
{{1939 NCAA Men's Basketball Consensus All-Americans}}
{{Haggerty Award}}
{{Philadelphia Sphas 1940–41 ABL champions}}
{{Philadelphia Sphas 1942–43 ABL champions}}
{{Philadelphia Sphas 1944–45 ABL champions}}
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torgoff, Irv}}
Category:All-American college men's basketball players
Category:Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players
Category:Detroit Eagles players
Category:LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds men's basketball players
Category:Philadelphia Sphas players
Category:Philadelphia Warriors players
Category:Basketball players from Brooklyn
Category:Washington Capitols players
Category:Samuel J. Tilden High School alumni
Category:American men's basketball players