Ken Norton

Kenneth Anthony Norton


Born:
May 7, 1914
New York, NY

Died:
July 11, 1996
Hendersonville, NC


Career
1931-32 Jamaica High School - Queens (High School)
1932-33 Jamaica High School - Queens (High School)
1934-35 Long Island University (College)
1935-36 Long Island University (College)
1935-36 Long Island Pros (Independent)
1936-37 Long Island University (College)
1936-37 New York Jewels (ABL)
1937-38 New York Jewels (ABL)
1937-38 New York Hokoahs (Independent)
1941-42 Albany (NYSL)
1946-47 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1947-48 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1948-49 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1949-50 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1950-51 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1951-52 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1952-53 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1953-54 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1954-55 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1955-56 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1956-57 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1957-58 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1958-59 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1959-60 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1960-61 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1961-62 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1962-63 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1963-64 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1964-65 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1965-66 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1966-67 Manhattan College (College) Head coach
1967-68 Manhattan College (College) Head coach

Norton was not only a basketball player at LIU, but also was a talented pitcher for the baseball team. He would play pro basketball for a few seasons around New York, including two seasons with the Jewels. Norton would be hired to succeed Honey Russell as the head basketball coach at Manhattan college in 1946, and in 22 seasons there he would accumulate a record of 310-205 with 2 trips to the NCAA Tournament and 8 NIT berths. He would also coach baseball, and was named Athletic Director, a post he held until his retirement in 1979.

While at Manhattan in 1951, one of his players, Junius Kellogg, informed Norton that he had been approached by former Manhattan player Henry Poppe with an offer to shave points in an upcoming game against DePaul and lose by at least 10 points. Norton and Kellogg went to the police, and the police told Kellogg to pretend to go through with the bribe. This lead to the arrest of Poppe and others and was the start of the point-shaving scandal of the 1950's that not only destroyed the athletic programs at schools like CCNY, but changed the face of the sport forever. (Incidentally, Manhattan upset DePaul, 62-39, and the gamblers lost their money. New York, with basketball flourishing at schools like CCNY, LIU and NYU, was the center of the basketball universe. After the scandal, the New York luster was all but gone.

Norton suffered a heart attack in 1996 while at his summer home in Henderson, North Carolina. He was taken to the hospital and was undergoing heart surgery when he died. He was survived by his wife, Dorothy.

Source:
Obituary, NY Times.com, July 16, 1996
Obituary, NY Daily News, July 16, 1996
Junius Kellogg Obituary, Chicago Tribune, Spetember 17, 1998

Stats:
http://probasketballencyclopedia.com/player/ken-norton/