Herm Brunotte

Who was Herm Brunotte?

Herm Brunotte was an American college and professional basketball player. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was a star guard at Brooklyn Polytechnic until the outbreak of World War II sent him to Model City near Niagara Falls, New York for classified work in support of the Manhattan Project. He began taking courses at nearby Canisius College in Buffalo, and joined their basketball team. In 1944, he won the team's Most Valuable Player Award for leading the school to its first berth in the eight-team National Invitation Tournament in Madison Square Garden. Brunotte scored a team-high 11 points in a 43–29 first-round loss to Oklahoma A&M on March 20, 1944 before a crowd of 16,273. The undersized Canisius team was forced to dramatically alter its shots when confronted with 7-foot center Bob Kurland, who excelled at defensive goaltending. The 1943–44 season marked the end of legal defensive goaltending in NCAA competition. Canisius finished with a win–loss record of 15–6 including a 48–43 regular season win over eventual NIT champs St. Johns. Brunotte was named a Sporting News 3rd Team All-American.

He entered the Army in late 1944 and served in counter-intelligence.