Jack Garfinkel

Who was Jack Garfinkel?

Jack "Dutch" Garfinkel was an American basketball player.

Garfinkel attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn and then nearby St. John's University to play for future Hall of Fame coach Joe Lapchick. In 1941, he won the Haggerty Award, given to the top player in the New York City metropolitan area.

After his college career was over, Garfinkel served in the United States Army during World War II. He then played for the Philadelphia Sphas of the American Basketball League, the Rochester Royals of the National Basketball League, and finally settled in with the Boston Celtics of the Basketball Association of America, where he was a member of the franchise's first team in 1946–47. Garfinkel lasted three seasons with the Celtics, but his career ended prior to the NBL/BAA merger that formed the National Basketball Association in 1949.

After his playing days were over, Garfinkel became a basketball coach and official. He died on August 14, 2013.