Deitchman, Sam

Samuel Deitchman

Deitchman, who was the co-captain of the 1942 CCNY (City College of New York) team with future Hall of Fame coach Red Holzman, was a versatile player. During his career, Samuel played guard, forward, and center, and led the Beavers to back-to-back appearances in the NIT (National Invitational Tournament), the most prestigious postseason tournament of the time.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. Feb 10, 1921 - d. Dec 18, 1991

Career Highlights:
During Deitchman's sophomore season (1940), City College had a losing record (7-8) entering their final game of the season with archrival NYU (New York University). Deitchman and the Beavers were heavy underdogs against the undefeated Violets (18-0), but defied the odds and shocked over 15,000 fans at Madison Square Garden by defeating NYU, 36-24. The New York Times stated, �There have been upsets before, but never one in this ancient series quite to compare with this�had to be seen to be believed, and even then it strained credence to the breaking point.� Deitchman, a starting forward, scored one point in the game as CCNY sucessfully avoided coach Nat Holman�s (a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame) first losing season (Holman began coaching CCNY basketball in 1920).

In 1941, Deitchman helped lead CCNY back to the top of college basketball with a 15-4 record and an invitation to the NIT (National Invitational Tournament). In the tournament, the Beavers defeated Virginia 64-35 in the first round (Deitchman scored one point), before falling to Ohio University in the semifinal game, 45-43 (Deitchman scored two points). In the consolation game, Deitchman was held scoreless, but City defeated Seton Hall 42-27 to finish third; Seton Hall had won 43 straight games before losing to LIU in the semifinals.

In 1942, Deitchman co-captained City College alongside starting forward Red Holzman (future Hall of Fame coach of the New York Knicks). With the aid of All-Met senior guard, Sonny Hertzberg, CCNY finished the season with a 16-2 record and were ranked No. 4 in the East by the New York Times. The Beavers returned to the NIT as the No. 3 seed, but lost to Western Kentucky in the first round (49-46) as Deitchman played but did not score. In the NIT that season, the top three seeds lost in the first round and the lowest seed (No. 8 West Virginia) won the tournament.

Origin:
New York

Career Dates:
Deitchman played guard, forward, and center at CCNY, 1940-1942.

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