Lefft, Joe

Lefft was a member of the NYU (New York University) basketball team in the 1930s, and helped the Violets capture the mythical Eastern championship in 1934. Joe also played college and professional football.

Birth and Death Dates:
unknown

Career Highlights:
The younger brother of Hy Lefft, Joe began playing on the varsity for NYU as a sophomore in 1932. Since he was also a football player, he joined the squad late in the season, and NYU finished with a 6-7 record. The following year, Lefft played sporadically and the Violets finished with a record of 11-4.

During his senior year in 1934, Lefft played a key role for NYU. That season, the school had one of the best teams in the country, having added outstanding sophomores Willie Rubenstein and Irwin Klein. NYU started the season with a 28-18 win over St. Francis (Lefft scored five points in the game). Lefft was a backup to Klein at center during the year. He scored seven points in a 39-26 win over Rutgers, and played well off the bench as NYU won its first 15 games of the season. Joe finished the season with 45 points (fifth on the team) while playing in 13 games.

In the season finale, NYU played its rival, the also-unbeaten CCNY (City College of New York) for the Eastern and New York Metropolitan championship. The hype surrounding the contest was unprecedented and the game is still considered one of the most important showdowns in New York college basketball history. Leading up to the game, CCNY was a decided favorite among the newspapers, as well as with the fans. With All-America center Moe Goldman leading the way, it was anticipated that City College would constantly control the tap (a center jump took place after each basket) and NYU would have problems scoring. Few people believed that the inexperienced Klein and the senior Lefft would be able to control City's big center.

Five thousand fans attended the game, which ended up being a bit of a letdown considering the build-up. In the battle of unbeaten squads, NYU surprisingly came out on top by a score of 24-18. Lefft did an outstanding job of holding Goldman without a single field goal during the game. Lefft's defense on Goldman -- who went on to play professionally for ten years -- allowed the Violets to win the game and thus capture the mythical Eastern and Metropolitan championships. NYU became the first New York City school to go undefeated in 25 years.

Prior to the contest, some people (including future Hall of Fame promoter Ned Irish) wanted the match moved to Madison Square Garden to accommodate the approximately 15,000 fans who wanted tickets to the game, but a scheduling conflict did not allow the switch. The NYU-CCNY game proved without a doubt that college basketball was popular in New York and could make money for promoters and schools. The following year, the famed doubleheaders began at Madison Square Garden. These games became widely popular and successful and eventually led to national post-season competitions like the NIT (National Invitational Tournament) and NCAA tournament.

Origin:
New York

Career Dates:
Lefft played center at NYU from 1932-1934.

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