Ed Gottlieb

Edward Gottlieb
(The Mogul)

• Height 5' 8", Weight 175 lb.

• Born September 15, 1898 in Kiev Ukraine
• Died December 7, 1979 in Philadelphia, PA USA

Biographical Information

Eddie Gottlieb was much more famous as a basketball promoter than a baseball figure. He was involved in basketball from the Philadelphia SPHAs (South Philadelphia Hebrew Association) some 25 years before the formation of the NBA into the 1970s. He also was the coach, owner, and chief promoter of the Philadelphia Warriors. His Warriors won the first NBA title in 1947. For twenty-five years Gottlieb served as chair of the NBA Rules Committee.

In baseball, Gottlieb was the booking agent for the Philadelphia Stars and also served as a financial backer for team owner Ed Bolden. He brought in Negro League teams and barnstormers to face the Stars in the 1930s and 1940s. In the 1970s, Gottlieb served on the first Special Committee on the Negro Leagues.

In his youth, he had played with Harry Passon on SPHA baseball and basketball teams, and was Passon's associate when he opened a sporting goods store in 1920. The two worked together to promote semi-pro and black baseball teams in Philadelphia, until Passon decided to revive the Bacharach Giants while Gottlieb backed their rivals, the Hilldale Club.

He was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1972.

Further Reading

• Rich Westcott: The Mogul: Eddie Gottlieb, Philadelphia Sports Legend and Pro Basketball Pioneer, Temple University Press, Philadelphia, PA, 2008.