Red Klotz

Klotz was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, into a Jewish family. He began playing basketball at age 12. He attended South Philadelphia High School where he led the school team to city basketball championships in 1939 and 1940, both times earning Philadelphia Player of the Year honors. He attended Villanova University on an athletic scholarship, playing on the undefeated freshman basketball team. He left college for World War II, serving stateside. ==Career==

Klotz "played for a number of teams in those early and turbulent days of professional basketball", according to Joe Posnanski of Sports Illustrated. He also played in six playoff games, scoring six points. At , he is tied as the fourth-shortest person to play in an NBA game, and the shortest to play on a championship team. Washington Generals Klotz played for the Philadelphia Sphas of the ABL until 1947; the team had beaten the Harlem Globetrotters on more than one occasion. In 1995 Klotz "disbanded" the Generals and formed the New York Nationals to take their place, to erase their record and "change their luck". The Generals remained a separate organization from the Globetrotters until 2017, three years after the passing of Klotz. Klotz claimed the team still tried to win every game. ==Achievements==

Klotz was inducted into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. He became the first non-Globetrotter to receive the Globetrotters' "Legend" award on March 10, 2007. Red has stated he has lost over 13,000 games in his coaching career. In 2009 the Philadelphia Sportswriter's Association presented Klotz with the "Living Legend" award, previously given to such Philadelphia notables as Robin Roberts, Chuck Bednarik, Harry Kalas and Wilt Chamberlain. The Globetrotters inducted Klotz into their Legends Ring, the team's version of a hall of fame, in 2007. He remains the first non-Trotter so honored. In 2011, the Trotters and Generals retired Klotz's number 3 jersey and raised a banner honoring him to the rafters at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Klotz's biography, ''The Legend of Red Klotz: How Basketball's Loss Leader Won Over the World, 14,000 Times'', was published in November 2013. ==Personal life==

Klotz was married. He attributed much of his success to his wife, Gloria. He died at age 93 in Margate City, New Jersey, where he had long kept his office. ==BAA career statistics==

Regular season Playoffs ==See also==