Rader, Howie

Howard Rader

Rader played college basketball in the 1940s at Long Island University (with his twin brother, Lenny Rader), and then played professionally in the American Basketball League, the National Basketball League, the Southern Basketball League, and the National Basketball Association. In 1945, as a member of the Philadelphia Sphas (the nickname stood for South Philadelphia Hebrew Association), Rader won the ABL Championship.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. March 29, 1921 - d. Feb 2, 1991

Career Highlights:
A star under the legendary Jammy Moskowitz at James Madison High School in Brooklyn in the late 1930s, Rader, his brother, and Stan Waxman led Madison to the 1940 PSAL Championship game, where they lost to Franklin in overtime. Two years later, the Rader twins and Waxman joined the LIU varsity team as sophomores, the year after the Bluebirds won the NIT. While Lenny came off the bench, Howie stepped into the starting line-up following the graduation of the team�s former backcourt, Butch Schwartz and Ossie Schectman. Joining junior forward Saul Cohen and fellow guard Stan Waxman, Rader had a terrific season and helped lead LIU back to the postseason with a 24-2 regular season record.

Ranked No. 2 in the East by the New York Times, LIU was seeded No. 1 in the NIT (National Invitational Tournament) as the defending champions. In the first round, they played No. 8 seed West Virginia and lost in overtime, 58-49; Rader scored eight points. Following the NIT, LIU played City College of New York in a charity game and lost to their city rival, 42-34 (Rader had 10 points in the game). Following the season, Rader was named second team All-Metropolitan.

Considered one of the top returning players in the New York City area in 1943, Rader found himself instead in the army during World War II. Both he and his brother played for Mitchell Field during the war, one of the top service teams in the U.S. Army. After his service was over, Rader played professionally in quite a few leagues, including the ABL, NBL and NBA. His first pro season was spent with the Philadelphia Sphas in the American Basketball League in 1944-45 (his brother, Lenny Rader also played with the Sphas that year). Rader played in 26 games as the Sphas went 22-8 and captured the ABL title by defeating the Baltimore Bullets in a seven-game final series.

After his season in the ABL with the Sphas, Rader moved to the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1946-47 and played for the Tri-Cities Blackhawks; at this time, the ABL was the top pro league in the East and the NBL was the major league based in the Midwest. During his first season with the Blackhawks (his brother Lenny also played with the team that year), Howie played in 41 games and scored 195 points as the team finished 19-25 and in fifth place in the Eastern Division. The following year, Howie played in 45 games (and scored 117 points) as Tri-Cities moved to the Western Division and finished in second place with a record of 30-30. They reached the Division finals before losing to the Minneapolis Lakers, led by Hall of Fame center George Mikan. Rader played in all six playoff games that year and scored 22 points.

Following the 1947-48 season, Rader was banned from the NBL for 'contract jumping' and the following season, he joined the Baltimore Bullets as they transferred from the ABL to the Basketball Association of the America (the BAA was formed in 1946 and merged with the NBL in 1949 to become the NBA). That season, he played in 13 games, scored 17 points and had 14 assists as the Bullets finished 29-31 and lost to the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, 2-1 -- Rader did not play in the playoffs.

Origin:
New York

Career Dates:
Rader played guard and forward at Long Island University, 1941-1944. He played in ABL with the Philadelphia Sphas in 1944-45, the NBL for the Tri-Cities Blackhawks in 1946-1948, and in NBA with the Baltimore Bullets in 1948-49.

Physical description:
6'1", 190 pounds

Career Statistics:
In the NBA:
Games: 13
Points: 17
Points Per Game: 1.3

Field Goals Made: 7
Field Goals Attempted: 45
Field Goal Percentage: .156

Free Throws Made: 3
Free Throws Attempted: 10
Free Throw Percentage: .300

Rebounds: not available
Assists: 14
Assists Per Game: 1.1
Personal Fouls: 25

In the NBL:
Games: 86
Points: 312
Points Per Game: 3.6

Field Goals Made: 120
Field Goals Attempted: not available

Free Throws Made: 72
Free Throws Attempted: 118
Free Throw Percentage: .610

Rebounds: not available
Assists: not available
Personal Fouls: 183

NBL playoffs:
Games: 6
Points: 22
Points Per Game: 3.7

Field Goals Made: 8
Field Goals Attempted: not available

Free Throws Made: 6
Free Throws Attempted: 12
Free Throw Percentage: .500

Rebounds: not available
Assists: not available
Personal Fouls: 11

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