1949 NBA Pistons vs Knicks Rare Full Game
NY Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Full Game Highlights Video: May 25, 2026
Date May 25, 2027
By: Mr. Fat Hat
Title: The Knickerbockers
The New York Knickerbockers advanced to the 2026 NBA Finals by winning the first four games of the 2026 Eastern Conference Playoffs Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday the Memorial Day Weekend Holiday. The Knicks dominated every game in the series from start to end.
The NY Knicks return to the NBA Finals after a 27 year hiatus. The world of basketball will now witness the return of the game to its roots as the Knicks attempt to win the crown jewels of an NBA Championship Trophy and Gold Diamond rings!
New York City is well know as the ‘Capitol of Basketball’ with a deep rich history reaching into the 1946 origins of the NBA, and to the first professional professional basketball teams and players from 1900 -48 .
Today, the New York City NBA basketball team is globally known as the New York Knicks. The current teams’ nickname ‘Knicks’ stems from the organization’s actual original name Knickerbockers. The name “Knickerbockers” comes from the loose-fitting pants rolled up just below the knee, which were worn by Dutch settlers who colonized New Amsterdam (now New York) in the 1600s. The first basketball players of the 20th century (1900’s) wore knickerbockers as basketball uniforms. The original first use of the name Knickerbockers goes back to the 1858 New York Baseball team. These New York baseball players set the ‘knickerbocker pants fashion style’ – used by athletes for next 60 years. Yes, the NYC sports scene was setting fashion long before Spike Lee.
The modern day NBA basketball New York Knickerbockers officially shortened their name to the New York Knicks before the start of the 1949–1950 NBA season. Fans and the media had already been using “Knicks” as a shorthand nickname since the franchise was founded in 1946.
New York City, NY, as hosting one of the very first professional basketball teams and a National Basketball Association (NBA) original pillar organization, has a long history and connection to the game. For many decades, NYC was famous for having the best professional players and the best amateur players in their many famous outdoor park games. Ruckers Park, the Greenich Village Chain Court and many more locations became famous hoops locations throughout the entire world.
Dozens of globally famous players have roots into the famous outdoor park tournaments. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Irving top the list of hundreds of great players who came from the street game of New York … … .
The First NYC Champions the 1949 New York Knicks:
Coached by Joe Lapchick, the Knicks finished the 1949–50 season with a 40-28 record, placing 2nd in the Eastern Division and making it to the Eastern Division finals. Their roster featured notable players like Carl Braun, Harry Gallatin, and Dick McGuire
They city holds proud and rightful ownership to the game of basketball’s origins. But don’t dare mention it to a proud current day Knick fan in New York City, but the very first NYC professional basketball team was called the NY CELTICS. Yes, it is true and factual … the 1918 New York Celtics were NYC’s first professional basketball team.
A good understanding of how professional basketball teams operated and made money in the 1910 to 1930 time period can be found in a review of the 1918 (New York ) NY Celtics.
There is NO team organizational relationship to the current day Boston Celtics with the early NY Celtics. Coincidentally they share a nickname. But in today’s NBA, the Knicks and Celtics remain strong rivals, so be very careful what you say about the NY Celtics in the presence of Knick fans. Asking the nickname of the first pro team in NYC, does, however, make a great trivia question or a good bar bet in New York City, if you are willing to take the risk.
The Original 1918 N.Y Celtics were a barnstorming professional American basketball team. At various times in their existence, the team played in the American Basketball League, the Eastern Basketball League and the Metropolitan Basketball League.
The N.Y. Celtic’s roots lay in the New York Celtics team that disbanded during World War One. In 1918, James Furey assembled his own team around a nucleus of those truly “original” Celtics, adding other players mostly from the West Side of New York City, and defiantly called his new squad the Original Celtics. Initially, they played in various struggling professional leagues, before becoming primarily a touring squad, which traveled up to 150,000 miles a year while completing a 150–200 game schedule. They won about ninety percent of their games and finished 1922–23 with the unbelievable record of 193–11–1.
Compare that playing schedule to today’s new age pampered NBA player requirement for off rest days .
After a World War II hiatus of professional basketball, in 1946 many of the NYC pre-war basketball financiers and executives created the current day NBA organization the New York (Knicks) Knickerbockers.
Next month in June, during the 2026 NBA finals games, the NY Knicks will not be wearing ‘Knickerbockers’ , but the team will always be the New York Knickerbockers to basketball fans worldwide!
Mr. Fat Hat’s: A Deep History into the Game of Basketball:
The NY Knicks will open the finals game 1, on June 3, 2026, on the road against the Western Conference Playoff winner, the San Antonio Spurs. .
The Knicks are set to start the the 2026 Finals conceding home court advantage to their opponent. The Western Conference team will begin the best of seven game series at home, as they have had a better regular season record than the NY Knickes.
2026 NBA Finals Scheduled Games:
[ Game 1 / Date: June 3, 2026 / Game 2 / Date: June 5, 2026 / Game 3 / Date: June 8, 2026 / Game 4 / Date: June 10 2026 / IF Required – Game 5 / Date: June 13, 2026 /If required – Game 6 / Date: June 16, 2026 / If required – Game 7 / Date: June 19, 2026]
Western Conference Team San Antonio Spurs
Date May 25, 2027
The New York Knickerbockers Sweep Into the 2026 NBA Finals
PODCAST – The Kickabockers – 2026 NBA Finals & Playoffs / Podcast #5
Mr. Fat Hat
Title: The Knickerbockers
Today, the New York City NBA basketball team is globally known as the New York Knicks. The current teams’ nickname ‘Knicks’ stems from the organization’s actual original name Knickerbockers. The name “Knickerbockers” comes from the loose-fitting pants rolled up just below the knee, which were worn by Dutch settlers who colonized New Amsterdam (now New York) in the 1600s. The first basketball players of the 20th century (1900’s) wore knickerbockers as basketball uniforms. The New York Knickerbockers officially shortened their name to the New York Knicks before the start of the 1949–1950 NBA season. Fans and the media had already been using “Knicks” as a shorthand nickname since the franchise was founded in 1946.
The original name Knickerbockers goes back to the 1858 New York Baseball team. These players set the Knickerbocker pants fashion style.
The New York Knickerbockers advanced to the 2026 NBA Finals by winning the first four games of the 2026 Eastern Conference Playoffs Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday the Memorial Day Weekend Holiday. The Knicks dominated every game in the series from start to end.
The NY Knicks return to the NBA Finals after a 27 year hiatus. The world of basketball will now witness the return of the game to its roots as the Knicks attempt to win the crown jewels of an NBA Championship Trophy and Gold Diamond rings!
New York City is well know as the ‘Capitol of Basketball’ with a deep rich history reaching into the 1946 origins of the NBA, and to the first professional professional basketball teams and players from 1900 -48 .
New York City, NY, as hosting one of the very first professional basketball teams and a National Basketball Association (NBA) original pillar organization, has a long history and connection to the game. For many decades, NYC was famous for having the best professional players and the best amateur players in their many famous outdoor park games. Ruckers Park, the Greenich Village Chain Court and many more locations became famous hoops locations throughout the entire world.
Dozens of globally famous players have roots into the famous outdoor park tournaments. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Irving top the list of hundreds of great players who came from the street game of New York … … .
The First NYC Champions the 1949 New York Knicks:
Coached by Joe Lapchick, the Knicks finished the 1949–50 season with a 40-28 record, placing 2nd in the Eastern Division and making it to the Eastern Division finals. Their roster featured notable players like Carl Braun, Harry Gallatin, and Dick McGuire
They city holds proud and rightful ownership to the game of basketball’s origins. But don’t dare mention it to a proud current day Knick fan in New York City, but the very first NYC professional basketball team was called the NY CELTICS. Yes, it is true and factual … the 1918 New York Celtics were NYC’s first professional basketball team.
A good understanding of how professional basketball teams operated and made money in the 1910 to 1930 time period can be found in a review of the 1918 (New York ) NY Celtics.
There is NO team organizational relationship to the current day Boston Celtics with the early NY Celtics. Coincidentally they share a nickname. But in today’s NBA, the Knicks and Celtics remain strong rivals, so be very careful what you say about the NY Celtics in the presence of Knick fans. Asking the nickname of the first pro team in NYC, does, however, make a great trivia question or a good bar bet in New York City, if you are willing to take the risk.
The Original 1918 N.Y Celtics were a barnstorming professional American basketball team. At various times in their existence, the team played in the American Basketball League, the Eastern Basketball League and the Metropolitan Basketball League.
The N.Y. Celtic’s roots lay in the New York Celtics team that disbanded during World War One. In 1918, James Furey assembled his own team around a nucleus of those truly “original” Celtics, adding other players mostly from the West Side of New York City, and defiantly called his new squad the Original Celtics. Initially, they played in various struggling professional leagues, before becoming primarily a touring squad, which traveled up to 150,000 miles a year while completing a 150–200 game schedule. They won about ninety percent of their games and finished 1922–23 with the unbelievable record of 193–11–1.
Compare that playing schedule to today’s new age pampered NBA player requirement for off rest days .
After a World War II hiatus of professional basketball, in 1946 many of the NYC pre-war basketball financiers and executives created the current day NBA organization the New York (Knicks) Knickerbockers.
Next month in June, during the 2026 NBA finals games, the NY Knicks will not be wearing ‘Knickerbockers’ , but the team will always be the New York Knickerbockers to basketball fans worldwide!
Mr. Fat Hat’s: A Deep History into the Game of Basketball:
Date May 25, 2027
The New York Knickerbockers Sweep Into the 2026 NBA Finals
Podcast
PODCAST – The Kickabockers – 2026 NBA Finals & Playoffs / Podcast #5
The New York Knickerbockers baseball Team 1958
A good understanding of how professional basketball teams operated and made money in the 1910 to 1930 time period can be found in a review of the N.Y. Celtics, no relationship to the Boston Celtics.
The Original N.Y Celtics in were a barnstorming professional American basketball team. At various times in their existence, the team played in the American Basketball League, the Eastern Basketball League and the Metropolitan Basketball League.
…………………
The N.Y. Celtic’s roots lay in the New York Celtics team that disbanded during World War I. In 1918, James Furey assembled his own team around a nucleus of those truly “original” Celtics, adding other players mostly from the West Side of New York City, and defiantly called his new squad the Original Celtics.
Initially, they played in various struggling professional leagues, before becoming primarily a touring squad, which traveled up to 150,000 miles a year while completing a 150–200 game schedule. They won about ninety percent of their games and finished 1922–23 with the unbelievable record of 193–11–1.
The team’s first dominant players were “Dutch” Dehnert, a 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) standing guard who some credit with introducing the modern concept of pivot play. and Nate Holman.
… … … the team took over the Atlantic City franchise when it was 4–7 and won five of six games before the Eastern League folded in January, 1923.
…………..
They also competed in the Metropolitan League but dropped out of the league during the 1st half after going 12–0.
Other outstanding individual players on these squads were “big man”, Joe Lapchick; John Beckman, George “Horse” Haggerty; John “Pete” Barry; and speedy Davey Banks.
1925–1930: ABL Dominates
American Basketball League owners proclaimed league success during the League meeting inthe summer of 1926.
But ABL directors banned the league from playing games against the N.Y. Celtics, drying up some of their most lucrative exhibition dates.
The Celtics joined the newly organized National Basketball League. The new league operated solely in and around the metropolitan New York City, but despite its geographical limitations was stocked with some of the best players in the country. After pulling off a coup by signing the Original Celtics, the NBL brashly raided ABL rosters for additional players.
————T
Top stars of this era were: Rody Cooney, Teddy Kearns and Bob Grody, George Preston Marshall, Elmer Ripley and Tillie Voss.
Notable players: Rusty Saunders, Ray Kennedy and George Glasco, Cookie Cunningham Gil Ely., George Artus, Tom Barlow, Stretch Meehan, Soup Campbell, and Chickie Passon, Benny Borgmann, Honey Russell,
The Celtics easily disposed of the weakened Cleveland team in three straight games to take the ABL championship.
The rival leagues ABL and NBL fought each other for the best players and teams
in order to stay in business.
In 1926, the American Basketball League, the ABL, exercised their dominance and took control of professional East Coast – Mid West Basketball.
In 1929 everything changed in the entire world, game attendance plummeted and, further deflated by the Great Depression, the ABL folded after the 1931 season.
New York Celtics Video/Film footage 1929
Michael Jordan
Jordan in 201 |
Gambling
During the 1993 NBA playoffs, Jordan was seen gambling in Atlantic City.[359] The previous year, he admitted that he had to cover $57,000 in gambling losses,[360] and author Richard Esquinas wrote a book in 1993 claiming he had won $1.25 million from Jordan on the golf course.[361]
In 2005, Jordan discussed his gambling with Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes and admitted that he made reckless decisions:
Yeah, I’ve gotten myself into situations where I would not walk away and I’ve pushed the envelope. Is that compulsive? Yeah, it depends on how you look at it. If you’re willing to jeopardize your livelihood and your family, then yeah.
When Bradley asked him if his gambling ever got to the level where it jeopardized his livelihood or family, Jordan replied: “No.”[306] David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA, denied in 1995 and 2006 that Jordan’s 1993 retirement was a secret suspension by the league for gambling,[362][363] but the rumor spread widely.[364] In 2010, Ron Shelton, director of Jordan Rides the Bus, said that he began working on the documentary believing that the NBA had suspended him, but that research “convinced [him it] was nonsense”.[364]
Return to the NBA (1995)
The Bulls went 55–27 in 1993–94 without Jordan in the lineup[78] and lost to the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs.[135] In March 1995, Jordan decided to quit baseball because he feared he might become a replacement player during the Major League Baseball strike.[136] During the 1994–95 season, Jordan returned to the Bulls midway through the season. On March 18, 1995, Jordan announced his comeback to the NBA in a two-word press release: “I’m back.”[137] The next day, Jordan took to the court with the Bulls to face the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, scoring 19 points.[138] The game had the highest Nielsen rating of any regular season NBA game since 1975.[139] Although he could have worn his original number even though the Bulls retired it, Jordan wore No. 45, his baseball number.[138]
In the 1970s, the NBA experienced a significant era defined by a lack of a clear dynasty and a rise in organized crime connections. Because gambling was a foundational pillar of mob revenue, notorious mafia figures, including associates of the New York crime families, attempted to infiltrate the sport to fix games and expand their underground networks.
The most notable ties between the mob and basketball from this era involve both fixed games and mob debts:
- The Boston College Point-Shaving Scandal (1978–79): Orchestrated by Lucchese crime family associate Henry Hill and Jimmy Burke, this scheme involved paying Boston College players to manipulate point spreads rather than final outcomes, which successfully evaded detection.
- The NBA Referee Allegation: During the same BC point-shaving plot, Hill claimed to have an NBA referee in his pocket who officiated games at Madison Square Garden. The ref had reportedly racked up massive horse-racing debts to the mob.
- Jack Molinas: A prominent fixer with deep ties to the Genovese crime family, Molinas heavily influenced the collegiate and professional careers of notable players. While his original collegiate fixing scandal happened prior, Molinas’s heavy involvement in illegal sports betting and subsequent murder in 1975 reflected the dark reach of mob debt in basketball during this period.
Would you like to know more about the Boston College scandal or other historical
Victor Wembanyama embraced a strict 10-day physical and mental training retreat at China’s historic Shaolin Temple. Guided by 34th-generation warrior monks, the 7’5″ Spurs star meditated for up to 90 minutes at a time, practiced kung fu, and completed challenging night-hikes in total darkness to build emotional resilience
In the early 1950’s – Gambling was prevalent throughout society.
For professional and college players of the game, there was a lot more money in cheating than playing basketball games. The Mafia took the black hand and almost destroyed the NBA. Nobody would eventually watch rigged games. Eventually, after years of corruption, things changed … but fixing games and lottery picks has reappeared throughout the history of the NBA.
Mafia returns
NEW YORK (AP) — Decades after a crackdown by prosecutors decimated the ranks of the New York Mafia, the indictment of an NBA coach, a player and nearly three dozen others in a betting scandal highlighted the mob’s persistence and adaptability to changing times and technology.
Four of New York’s five organized crime families allegedly participated in the sophisticated rigging of high-stakes poker games that one investigator said were “reminiscent of a Hollywood movie.”
The mobsters are accused of pocketing some of the $7 million that was fleeced from unsuspecting victims who were drawn to poker tables in Las Vegas, Miami, Manhattan and Long Island’s seaside playground for the rich and famous.
Former federal prosecutor Mitchell Epner said the indictments offered a reminder that La Cosa Nostra is “still very real” and that like any organization that has been attacked, “the mob has adjusted.”
Brooklyn case reveals Mafia is less visible but still alive
The mob has shrunk considerably since the days when John Gotti Sr. ran the Gambino family, once one of the most powerful and feared crime organizations in the U.S.
Back then, the dapper Gotti smiled and waved to courthouse spectators, winning the moniker of “The Teflon Don” from New York’s tabloid newspapers after a string of acquittals.
The Mafia and its violent mystique were a cultural phenomenon, featured in films such as “The Godfather” and “Goodfellas,” which paid tribute to a brazen $6 million robbery at Kennedy International Airport, and later in the television hit “The Sopranos.”
In the 1980s, federal prosecutors, including future New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, launched a crackdown, using racketeering laws that carried life sentences and capitalizing on an erosion of the Mafia’s code of silence.
Dozens of “made men” went to prison, and the mob structure built around social clubs was largely dismantled. Gotti, who was eventually convicted, died of cancer in 2002 while serving a life sentence.
“I’m of a sufficient age to remember Giuliani claiming that organized crime is dead,” said David Shapiro, a former FBI agent and assistant prosecutor who now lectures at New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
While “the structure has changed, the leadership has changed, the methods of governance have changed, they’re still around because there are still people to be fleeced. It’s just not nearly as a centralized, as open, as organized,” Shapiro said.
There are occasional reminders that the Mafia lingers. Six years ago, the reputed boss of the Gambino family, Francesco “Franky Boy” Cali, was shot to death in front of his Staten Island home. But the mob’s relative lack of visibility does not mean it’s gone away.
Jerry Capeci, an expert on the mob who writes the ganglandnews.com web column, said the Mafia remains a force in the gambling world.
“They’re not as out there as they used to be, and they stopped killing people. But they’re still around,” he said.
Mafia was in familiar territory with corrupt poker games
In the Brooklyn prosecution, the Mafia played a major role in the high-end poker games, with mobsters posing as ordinary players at the tables and providing the muscle to collect debts, prosecutors said.
The victims, including one who lost $1.8 million, were drawn to the games, usually Texas Hold ’Em, that seemed exclusive because former professional athletes played at the tables too.
But federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say the ex-athletes and all the other players were in on a ruse, using technology to rig the outcome.
THE ORIGINS OF BASKETBALL
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