Basketball Hall of Famer Al Cervi dies at age 92
Al Cervi, a Buffalo native who went on to a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame career in the National Basketball Association, died early Monday in a Rochester hospice. He was 92.
Cervi was a Buffalo teenage sports prodigy in the Depression years. However, he made his greatest fame in Rochester, his home for the last 58 years, and Syracuse, where he coached the Nationals to the NBA championship in 1955.
He was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.
As an NBA coach, Cervi had an overall record of 326-241, 33-26 in playoffs. He scored 1,591 points in 202 regular-season games as a player and averaged 8.0 points in 27 playoff games.
NBA Commissioner David Stern called Cervi a pioneer who was "instrumental in helping lay the groundwork for today's NBA, first as a star player and then as a championship-winning coach."
A scrappy 5-foot-11, 170-pounder known for his tenacious defense, Cervi captained the baseball and basketball teams at Buffalo's East High and made All-City in both sports. He dropped out of school after the 11th grade and played nine games for the Buffalo Bisons of the National Basketball League as a 20-year-old.
After service in the Army Air Corps, Cervi joined the Rochester Royals of the National Basketball League and played on the 1945-46 NBL championship team that included Bob Davies, Red Holzman, pro football's Otto Graham and Kevin "Chuck" Connors, who went on to fame as TV's "Rifleman"
Cervi was Most Valuable Player and led the NBL in scoring in 1946-47. He jumped to rival Syracuse of the NBL in the 1948-49 season and became player-coach of a team that included future Hall of Famer Dolph Schayes. After the season the NBL merged with the Basketball Association of America to form the NBA.
With Cervi setting the tone, Syracuse became a notoriously difficult place for visiting teams. The Nats made the NBA playoffs six seasons in a row, winning it all in 1955.
Cervi left the Nats after 12 games of the 1955-56 season, but returned to coach the Philadelphia Warriors in 1957-58.
By then he had begun a career as area manager of a trucking line in Rochester.
He is survived by his wife Ruth, a son, two daughters and four grandchildren.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments