Hank Rosenstein, Player in First N.B.A. Game, Dies at 89

Mar. 3 -- Hank Rosenstein, who played in what is considered the National Basketball Association’s first game, in 1946, as an original member of the New York Knicks, died on Saturday in Boca Raton, FL at 89.

Rosenstein was a 6-foot-4-inch, 185-pound center and forward who starred at Boys High School in Brooklyn and at City College before joining the pros.

He was a member of the newly christened Knickerbockers when they faced the Toronto Huskies before an estimated crowd of 8,000 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on Nov. 1, 1946. At the time, New York and Toronto were members of the Basketball Association of America, and this was the league’s first game. The B.A.A. would merge with the National Basketball League in 1949 to form the National Basketball Association.

The N.B.A., tracing its roots to those two earlier leagues, today considers the Toronto contest its inaugural game. New York won the game, 68-66.

Michael Jordan-Bulls DVDs carries Jordan complete game DVDs, such as his 69-point game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, his 55-point "double-nickel" game vs. the Knicks in Madison Square Garden, and his 59-point masterpiece against the Pistons, among many others.