Borgmann, "Benny" (Bernhard)
Basketball
b. Nov. 1, 1899, Haledon, NJ
d. Nov. 11, 1978
Borgmann began playing professional basketball as soon as he graduated from Clifton, NJ, High School in 1917. The 5-foot-8 forward eventually played an estimated 3,000 games for a variety of teams before retiring from the sport in 1937. He was one of the top scorers of his time, usually averaging in double figures when 50 points was a big total for both teams in a game.
After playing part of a season with the Original Celtics, Borgmann joined the Ft. Wayne Hoosiers of the American Basketball League in 1926-27. He led the league in scoring average with 11.2 points per game and he was also the league's top scorer in 1928-29 and 1929-30. After the ABL disbanded in 1930, Borgmann played for George Halas's Chicago Bruins. In his final season as a player, 1936-37, he was with New Britain, CT, in a new ABL, and he also led that league in scoring.
Borgmann coached at St. Michael's College in Vermont from 1945-46 through 1946-47 and at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania from 1950-51 through 1955-56.