Berenson, Pete

Peter Berenson

A member of the CCNY (City College of New York) Athletic Hall of Fame, Berenson was an outstanding player, especially as a defender, for City College in the 1930s; they won 43 of 46 games during his three-year career. After graduating in 1934, Peter became a terrific scorer in the ABL (American Basketball League), the top professional league in the East in the years before the NBA.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. Oct. 16, 1912 - d. Jan. 6, 2000

Career Highlights:
During Berenson's career (he played forward), CCNY was consistently one of the top teams in the East, coached by legendary Hall of Famer, Nat Holman. Praised for his defensive abilities, Berenson joined the City College varsity team in 1932 as a sophomore when they were led by sophomore center Moe Goldman, junior guard Moe Spahn, and senior forward (and captain) Joe Davidoff. That year, City College went 16-1, won the mythical Eastern championship, and was considered one of the top ten teams in the nation (there were no official polls until the late 1940s).

The following year, City College defended their Eastern championship and had another outstanding season as they went 13-1 (their sole loss was to St. John's, 31-28). Although not rated as high as the year before, CCNY was still the best team in New York City, and only Duquesne could match their one loss record in the East. Berenson, who stepped into the starting lineup at forward, registered 33 points for the Beavers as he played in 14 games (he was seventh on the team in scoring).

In 1934, Berenson was outstanding all season long as he teamed with All-America center Moe Goldman and future City College Athletic Director Sam Winograd as the Beavers won their first 14 games of the season. In the season finale, they faced undefeated (and archrival) New York University in what was described as the most anticipated college basketball game in New York City history to that point (New York Times, March 3, 1934). In front of 5,000 frantic fans (three times that number tried to obtain tickets), Berenson scored only two points as NYU defeated City, 24-18, thus denying Berenson and his City teammates their third straight Eastern championship; it was only Berenson's third loss as a collegian. He finished the year, third on the team in scoring with 90 points in 15 games.

The overall play of City College was described as "woeful" by the press, although Berenson was praised for his defense and effort (only one other City player, Abe Weissbrodt earned praise from the writers). The game, although a disappointment in terms of competitive play, became a landmark event. Doubleheaders at Madison Square Garden began the following year because of the interest generated by the 1934 CCNY-NYU clash.

After graduating, Berenson played in the American Basketball League, one of the top professional leagues before the creation of the NBA. In 1936, he scored 259 points in 40 games for a 6.5 average (seventh in the league) for the Brooklyn Visitations (22-18). The Visitations made the playoffs by finishing in first place in the second half of the year with a 12-8 record; the league was set up so that the first-half winner faced the second-half winner in a playoff to determine the champion. In a seven-game playoff, the Visitations fell to the Philadelphia Sphas four games to three.

Over the next two seasons, Berenson played for the Original Celtics in the team's second go-round (they had disbanded in the late 1920s after the owner went to jail). In 1937, the Celtics (a barnstorming team) joined the ABL in the second half of the season and Berenson averaged 8.0 points (eighth in the league) in 19 games as the club had a record of 10-10. The following year, he averaged 8.5 (fourth), but the Celtics finished no higher than fourth place in either the first or second half of the year.

After the Celtics disbanded following the 1938 season, Berenson moved to the Kingston Colonials and continued to demonstrate his scoring prowess. He finished fourth on the team in scoring (162 points in 24 games for a 6.8 average) as the Colonials finished in first place (28-7), but lost to the Jersey Reds in the first round of the playoffs. Berenson then played for Troy in 1939-40 and appeared in 32 games for the 19-15 Haymakers, the last time he would appear in more than 20 games in one season. Berenson played parts of three more seasons in the ABL with the Washington Brewers in 1942, the New York Jewels in 1943, and the New York Gothams in 1945-46 before retiring from the game he played so well.

Origin:
New York

Career Dates:
Berenson played forward at CCNY in 1932-1934. He then played in the ABL with the Brooklyn Visitations in 1935-36, the Original Celtics in 1936-38, Kingston in 1938-39, Troy in 1939-40, Washington in 1941-42, and New York in 1942 and 1945-46.

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