Waxman, Stan

Stanley Waxman

Waxman played basketball at Long Island University in the 1940s before playing professionally in the American Basketball League, the National Basketball League, the New York State Basketball League, and the Professional Basketball League (he was also a coach).

Birth and Death Dates:
unknown

Career Highlights:
A graduate of James Madison High School in New York, Waxman began his college basketball career at LIU in 1941-42 as a sophomore. He started on the LIU squad at guard for much of the season, joining fellow sophomores Howie Rader, and Lenny Rader (they were twins), junior forward Saul Cohen and 6'8" center Irv Rothenberg. They led the Blackbirds to a 24-2 regular season record and were invited back to the NIT (National Invitational Tournament). LIU had won the tournament the previous year. Waxman finished the season with 162 points, 11th most in the New York Metropolitan area.

Ranked No. 2 in the East by the New York Times, as the defending champions LIU was seeded No. 1 in the NIT (National Invitational Tournament). In the first round, they played No. 8 seed West Virginia and lost in overtime, 58-49; Waxman scored five points in the contest. Following the NIT, LIU played CCNY (City College of New York) in a charity game and lost the match, 42-34 (Waxman had two points in the game).

In late 1942, Waxman, Rothenberg, and both Rader boys enlisted in the U.S. Army. LIU coach Clair Bee said of his 1942-43 squad, "...this should have been the best LIU team I ever had. We had a team last year that lost only two games during the regular season, a sophomore outfit in the main...instead, the entire team is in the Armed Forces. The Rader twins and Waxman are at Mitchell Field..."

Waxman returned to LIU in 1945-46 and joined sharpshooter Jackie Goldsmith on the Blackbird varsity. Led by Waxman and Goldsmith, an All-America performer and the top scorer in the Metropolitan area, the Blackbirds finished the season with a record of 14-9. Waxman scored 182 points on the season, eighth most in the New York area.

After he graduated from LIU in 1946, Waxman turned professional and played in a number of pro leagues. In 1946-47, he played in the ABL (American Basketball League) and appeared in 11 games for the Elizabeth Braves, scoring 4.2 points per game. That year, Waxman also played in the NBL (National Basketball League) for the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. He appeared in 18 games for the Blackhawks and scored 128 points, but the team failed to make the playoffs with a regular season record of 19-25 and fifth place in the Eastern Division. One of Waxman's teammates on the Blackhawks was former high school and college teammates Howie Rader and Len Rader.

In 1947-48, Waxman played in the short-lived PBLA (Professional Basketball League of America) for the Louisville Colonels. In the first few weeks of the season, Waxman was the team's second-leading scorer with 9.7 points per game. Unfortunately, the PBLA, which had been started by Maurice White to showcase his best player, George Mikan, lasted only three weeks before it folded due to economic hardships (many of the owners overextended themselves with contracts).

While Waxman continued to play in the ABL in the late 1940s, appearing in two games for the Lancaster Roses in 1947-48, he also played in the New York State League for two seasons. In 1947-48, Stan played for the Utica Olympics, who finished 18-18. The following year, Waxman remained with the Olympics, who were 6-14 before folding in the middle of the season.

Origin:
New York

Career Dates:
Waxman played guard and forward at LIU in 1941-42 and again in 1945-46. He then played professionally in the NBL with Tri-Cities Blackhawks, the ABL with the Elizabeth Braves and Lancaster Roses, the NYSL for the Utica Olympics, and the PBLA with the Louisville Colonels.

Physical description:
5'11", 180 pounds

< Previous |  Next >