Friedman, "Marty" (Max)
Basketball
b. July 12, 1889, New York, NY
d. Jan. 1, 1986
Friedman first played basketball with the University Settlement House team that won New York Metropolitan AAU championships from 1906 through 1908, when he was studying at the Hebrew Technical Institute.
Considered by many contemporaries as the finest defensive player of his era, Friedman became a professional with the New York Roosevelts in 1909. He played for a number of teams during the next several years, among them Newburgh, Hudson, Utica and Albany in New York; Carbondale and Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, and Easthampton in Massachusetts.
He served in the Army during World War I. In 1919, after the war had ended, he organized the first international basketball tournament as part of the Inter-Allied Games for service teams. Friedman captained the U. S. team that beat France, 93-8, for the championship.
The 5-foot-8 Friedman in 1921 joined the New York Whirlwinds, the greatest professional team of the era before being superseded by the Original Celtics. He ended his career as player-coach of the Cleveland Rosenblums from 1923 through 1927. The Rosenblums won American Basketball League championships in his last two season.