Schatzman, Marv

Marvin Schatzman

While in college at St. Louis University, Schatzman converted to Roman Catholicism, his future wife's religion. He does not consider himself Jewish, but we include him on the site because he was born a Jew.
On November 21, 1980, Schatzman, a member of the St. Louis 1948 NIT championship team, and his wife Carol were survivors of the MGM Grand fire in Las Vegas. The disaster was the second-worst hotel fire in history; the tragedy took 87 lives and forced hotels to take tougher safety standards. The Schatzmans testified that during the MGM fire, they were blinded by smoke, causing them to stumble through the stairwells and crawl over dead hotel guests. Both Marv and Carol have had their lives shortened due to the smoke and toxins they inhaled while escaping. Five months after the fire, the Nevada Legislature passed a bill mandating sprinkler systems in all hotels, motels, office buildings, and apartments higher than 55 feet. In 1980, there were no smoke detectors in any MGM rooms (the hotel had no sprinkler system either), now every hotel room in the country has at least one.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. Feb. 18, 1927

Career Highlights:
Schatzman played for St. Louis in the late 1940s and was a member of the 1947 team that had an outstanding record of 18-1. In 1948, the Billikens had a regular season record of 21-3 and went to the NIT. Marv averaged 8.3 points per game and St. Louis defeated Bowling Green 69-53, Western Kentucky 60-53, and then trounced NYU (led by Dolph Schayes) 63-52, in the final. The following year, St. Louis finished 22-3 and was ranked No. 3 by the Associated Press but lost to Bowling Green 80-74 in the first round of the NIT; Marv scored 10 points in the game.
In 1949, Schatzman was drafted by the St. Louis Bombers, but he played his only season in the NBA for the Baltimore Bullets. In 1949-50, he played in 34 games, scored 115 points and had 38 assists, but the Bullets had a record of 25-43 and missed the playoffs.

Career Dates:
Schatzman played at St. Louis University from 1947-1949. Marv also played in the NBA with the Baltimore Bullets 1949-50.

Physical description:
6'5", 200 pounds

Career Statistics:
In the NBA:
Games: 34
Points: 115
Points Per Game: 3.4
Field Goals Made: 43
Field Goals Attempted: 174
Field Goal Percentage: .247
Free Throws Made: 29
Free Throws Attempted: 50
Free Throw Percentage: .580
Rebounds: not available
Assists: 38
Assists Per Game: 1.1
Personal Fouls: 49

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References:

encyclopedia of JEWS in sports, by Bernard Postal, Jesse Silver, and Roy Silver (New York: Bloch Publishing Co., 1965)
The Official NBA Encyclopedia: Third Edition, edited by Jan Hubbard (New York: Doubleday, 2000)
Ronald Encyclopedia of Basketball, edited by William G. Mokray (Ronald Press: 1962)
The Modern Encyclopedia of Basketball, edited by Zander Hollander (New York: Doubleday, 1979)