Canadian basketball pioneer Ben Newman poses for a portrait in the 1940s.
Back to November 1, 1946. It costs $2.50 to watch the Toronto Huskies and New York Knickerbockers play at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. If you’re taller than 8 feet (the height of Huskies big man George Nostand), you’re in luck. The entrance is free.
Unbeknownst to those in attendance, the game would make history β not just for Toronto, but for what would become the National Basketball Association. The first league game (the ABA, at the time) was established.
One of the key members of the operation was Ben Newman.
Newman owned 25% of the Huskies at just 26 years old, with three Canadian national championships under his belt. He coached the Merritton-Hayes Hellcats (1944 and 1945) and their junior team, the Hellkittens (1945) to victory before his successes gained international attention.
Newman’s initiative to hold charity basketball games at Maple Leaf Gardens set the stage for future professional basketball events in Canada. He even paid for the hardwood floor, despite a lack of financing.
While the Huskies’ long tenure with the ABA was brief – the results of Newman’s efforts to grow the game are present in Canadian basketball and beyond.
His grandson, Jordan Williams, spoke to NBA.com about Ben Newman’s career and legacy.
Editor’s note: The following conversation has been condensed and edited.
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Newman’s time with the Huskies sparked a milestone in Canadian basketball.
NBA.com: How did Newman’s love for the sport come about? And how did it grow so fast?
Jordan Williams: It started with a bet. It was a bet between three kids sitting around and he said, βThere’s no such thing as a bad boy or a bad girl. I’ll prove it to you. If a child takes up sports, he will turn out to be an excellent person in business and in life.”
And there he thought [the idea] to build a top national team to win. [He] he wanted the best NCAA players because [he] He wanted kids to look up to them to see that you could excel in sports and education.
Then, after winning the first title, he fielded the HellKittens, who ended up winning the national competition as well. And what I love about this story, as he was most proud of the younger ones, because he said later in life, everyone in that group became successful in life.
He didn’t care about winning, he cared about the bottom line and proving that it’s true β there is no such thing as a bad boy or girl.
What do you think gave him that confidence to accomplish all these feats in his career?
I firmly believe it was an organized sport. That’s where you get your confidence from. I can tell you personally, from my own experience, I was a meek little kid, but once I got into organized sports, boom, you get your voice. And I guarantee you it was the same way.
He said that after Sunday school he would meet up with his friends and play ball. And then he did organized soccer, lacrosse, track. I guarantee you, that’s where a lot came from.
Yes, there is some of it in your bones. But it takes that teamwork and that leadership and being a part of something bigger than yourself to do that and get that attitude.
What would you say is the most surprising piece of information you found?
I think just his age and sensitivity and everything he’s accomplished and everything he’s given up for the family. He gave up his passion for the Huskies.
After the Huskies, how did Canadian basketball continue to grow?
After the three championships they started putting nets in all the arenas in the churches. And attendance grew exponentially for the next 25 years, which was amazing. So without Benny doing what he did, getting that interest, he helped grow it [the game].
Even the idea that organized basketball was something you had to participate in didn’t exist before Ben. You can make a big argument that his three titles, the Huskies and his commitment to kids [through] Basketball scholarships have grown the game, always helping it move forward.
The team’s creation and participation in the inaugural NBA season marked a major milestone in Canadian basketball history, so there is clear cause and effect.
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Toronto honored the inaugural Huskies organization at the Air Canada Center hardwood in 2016.
What do you think your grandfather would think of Canadian basketball today?
I adore it. He is so enthusiastic, so supportive. He would ask, what can I do to help? Without participating, he made it abundantly clear. Shortly before he died, there were some rumblings of a new franchise, and he made that very clear [that] it depends on the next generation. But he would watch it [NCAA] 100% tournament. He always watched the tournament. He would criticize. He would have an opinion.
He would be thrilled by her involvement and multiculturalism. And that a kid in Mississauga, Scarborough or North Vancouver sees someone who looks like him performing at the highest level. I think that’s what it all boils down to.
How did your research and learning more about your grandfather strengthen your connection with him?
I Always telling people, is this an opportunity for me to figure out who I am and where I fit in this family? And the more I dug into it, I met a person that I personally connect with, and this incredible person that I never knew before. What’s great about this project is that I discovered him from high school to the end of his life, so it’s a complete story.
I had to discover who I am as I discovered [him].