2013-14 FACT BOOK
Lou Bender 1932CC
Class of 2010, posthumous
A basketball pioneer during the Great Depression, Lou Bender was a scoring machine during a time when scoring was at a premium. The master of the two-handed set shot, Bender led the 1930 and 1931 Columbia teams to consecutive Eastern Intercollegiate League titles and helped popularize basketball in New York City during the Great Depression. A New York City native, Bender attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx before coming to Columbia. In January 1931, former mayor Jimmy Walker organized a college basketball tripleheader to raise money for unemployment relief. In one game of the tripleheader at the old Madison Square Garden, Bender led all scorers with eight points as Columbia defeated Fordham, 26-18. The event, which also featured Manhattan, NYU, St. John’s and City College, raised $22,000.
A three-time All-Eastern League honoree, Bender was also a two-time All-American for the Lions. He was the league’s leading scorer in both of Columbia’s championship seasons in 1930 and 1931, averaging just shy of 10 points a game. “I give Lou a lot of credit, because those were the days before the shot clock was invented, so 10 points a game was quite a feat,” former St. John’s coach Lou Carnesecca said in an interview with The New York Times. “In those days, if you missed a shot, you might not see the ball again for a month.” Bender earned his law degree from Columbia Law School in 1935 and went on to play professional basketball for the original Celtics, the Union City Reds and Boston Trojans of the American Basketball League, the precursor to today’s National Basketball Association. Bender finished his basketball career with the independent New York Whirlwinds in 1941 and later became a defense attorney. He passed away in 2009 at the age of 99 at his home in Florida, survived by his wife Jean, a Barnard graduate, his four children and 11 grandchildren.
John J O'Brien 1938 Class of 2010, posthumous
Known as “Columbia Jack,” John J. O’Brien was the true “jack of all trades.” A twotime All-American in basketball at Columbia, O’Brien followed in Lou Bender’s footsteps to make the decade of the 1930s a landmark era for Columbia Basketball. O’Brien was the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League scoring champion in 1937 and was named All-American in 1937 and 1938. O’Brien turned pro in 1940 and played professional basketball for the New York Gothams, Brooklyn Visitations and Baltimore Bullets of the American Basketball League, the precursor to today’s National Basketball Association.
O’Brien transitioned easily into his role as player/coach for the Hartford Hurricanes in the late 1940s and then became a renowned and respected professional basketball official. A renowned advocate for youth sports, O’Brien helped lead the charge to reinstitute football at his alma mater, Windsor (Conn.) High School. He was also recognized in the Windsor community for spearheading youth and adult recreational programs in baseball and flag football. Honored by the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame and the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame as one of top 25 athletes of the first half of the 20th century, O’Brien was one of the best all-around athletes of his time. O’Brien lived in Windsor until his death in June 1994
Gerald Sherwin 1955CC Class of 2010
Gerry Sherwin has been a fixture in Columbia’s athletics department for a lifetime and everyone who has known Gerry is better for it. Sherwin was a men’s basketball manager as an undergraduate in Columbia College and also played baseball. He was heavily involved at WKCR-FM, where he hosted a nightly sports program and broadcasted several of Columbia’s intercollegiate contests, ranging from football to fencing. It was after his 1955 graduation where Sherwin did his best work. After serving in the United States Army for two years, Sherwin began a renowned career in communications and marketing. He held
64
columbia MEN’S BASKETBALL
senior positions with Grey Advertising, 1010 WINS Radio and Bozell Advertising, to name a few. In those spots, he got to know many people while still holding strong to his Columbia Blue connections. Sherwin has served with many of Columbia’s alumni groups. He is the President Emeritus of the Columbia College Alumni Association, Chair of the Columbia College Admissions Recruitment Committee, President of his beloved Class of 1955, Chairman Emeritus of the Men’s Basketball Alumni Advisory Committee and Past President of Columbia’s Varsity C Club. During that time, Sherwin has mentored hundreds of Columbia student-athletes, helping guide students in looking for a career, while remaining a vocal supporter of all of Columbia’s varsity teams.