Bennie Borgmann

Who was Bennie Borgmann?

Bernhard "Bennie" Borgmann was one of the early pro basketball players. He played for 17 years between 1919 and 1936, and is mostly known for his time with the Kingston Colonials and Original Celtics. Borgmann is regarded as the best offensive player of his era. He also served as the first coach of the Syracuse Nationals of the National Basketball League—now the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers—from 1946 to 1948. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1961. Borgmann also played as a middle infielder in the baseball minor leagues from 1928 to 1942, managed in the minors from until 1950, and scouted until 1974.

Borgmann was featured in the book Basketball History in Syracuse, Hoops Roots by author Mark Allen Baker, published by The History Press in 2010.