Nat Holman (1896-1995)
Teams coached: CCNY Beavers
CCNY record: 405-150 (.730)
Overall record: 405-150 (.730)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 1 (1950)
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 2 (1947, 1950)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 2 (1947, 1950)
- NIT Championships: 1 (1950)
- NIT Appearances: 4 (1941, 1942, 1949, 1950)
- Metro NY Regular Season Champion: 1 (1950)
- Helms Foundation National Championships: 1 (1950)
Awards:
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 1964)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
1958-1959 | CCNY |
1954-1956 | CCNY |
1919-1951 | CCNY |
Nat Holman Facts
- Nat Holman
- Born October 19, 1896
- Died February 12, 1995
- Hometown: New York City, New York
- Alma Mater: Savage School for Physical Education (BA, 1917) / New York University (MA)
- Grew up on the Lower East Side in New York and played basketball for the NYU Violets
- After getting his master’s from NYU, Holman started a long professional career
- Played for the Original Celtics, a barnstorming team based in NYC, before and during his coaching career
- Also played in the ABL for teams based out of Brooklyn, Syracuse and Chicago
- In 1919, Holman became the head basketball coach at City College of New York (CCNY)
- Coached the CCNY Beavers, who played at college basketball’s top division, for a total of 36 seasons
- Was successful in the pre-NCAAT/NIT seasons, as well as throughout the 1940s and 1950s
- Went to the NIT four times and the NCAA twice, reaching the NCAA Final Four twice
- Won both the NCAA Tournament and NIT in 1950, the only coach/team to ever do that
- The CCNY program was involved in a multiple-school point shaving scandal in 1951, though Holman himself was cleared of wrongdoing
- Multiple Beavers’ players were arrested and eventually the school de-emphasized athletics (they are now Division III)
- Holman was suspended for the 1951-52 but later returned for brief stints as head coach before retiring for good in 1959
- Finished his career with an overall head coaching record of 405-150, winning 73% of his games at CCNY
- Travelled internationally as an ambassador for the game, including trips to Israel, Canada, Japan, Turkey, Mexico and Taiwan
- Served for eight years as President of the United States Committee Sports for Israel
- Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 1964
- Also a member of the International Jewish Sports HOF (c/o 1979), New York Basketball HOF and CCNY HOF
Nat Holman Coaching Tree
- Red Holzman (New York Knicks, Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks)
- Floyd Layne (CCNY)
- David Polansky (CCNY)