Arnie risen: after almost cruising to an NBA finals sweep, the Rochester Royals found themselves in a fight for their lives in a historic Game 7 vs. the New York Knicks - The Game I'll Never Forget

Basketball Digest, May, 2002

Eventually the Royals moved to Cincinnati, then to Kansas City, then to Sacramento. With each move, the tradition erodes a little, getting lost with each relocation. But for me, I'll never forget the old barn, the city of Rochester, or winning that title.

As told to Chuck O'Donnell

Arnie Risen's NBL-NBA Career Statistics

                   G     MIN     FG%    FT%    REB     AST     PTS

Regular Season   760   12,690   .381   .691   5,011   1,058   9,239

Postseason        73    1,452   .385   .697     690     113     985

                 RPG    APG   PPG

Regular Season    9.7   1.7   12.2

Postseason       10.3   1.4   13.5
Arnie Risen's Most Memorable Game

NBA Finals, Game 7; April 21, 1951; at Edgerton Arena, Rochester, N.Y.

New York    16   18   26   15--75
Rochester   22   18   22   17--79

New York             FGM-A   FTM-A   REB   AST   PF   PTS

Vince Boryla          6-13     4-4     7     2    3    16
Harry Gallatin         5-8     2-3    10     1    4    12
Sweetwater Clifton    4-11     3-6     8     2    6    11
Max Zastofsky         7-14     2-3     1     2    2    16
Ernie Vandeweghe       2-6     1-2     3     5    5     5
Connie Simmons        4-15     3-5     8     3    6    11
Dick McGuire           1-1     2-2     4     4    5     4
Ray Lumpp              0-2     0-0     0     0    1     0

Totals               29-17   17-25    41    19   32

Rochester            FGM-A   FTM-A   REB   AST   PF   PTS

Jack Coleman           3-6     3-6     7     9    4     9
Amie Johnson           2-8     7-7    11     3    5    11
Pep Saul               0-0     0-0     0     1    0     0
Amie Risen            7-19   10-14    13     2    4    24
Joe McNamee            0-1     0-0     2     0    2     0
Bob Davies            7-19     6-7     3     0    0    20
Bill Calhoun           0-0     0-0     1     1    0     0
Bobby Wanzer          5-11     3-3    11     3    3    13
Red Holzman            1-1     0-0     0     0    0     2

Totals               25-65   29-37    48    19   18    79

Percentages: FG: .385; FT: .784;
Officials: Stan Stutz, Lou Eisendein, Attendance: 4,200.

RELATED ARTICLE: "It was nice of them to add me".

AS ONE OF BASKETBALL'S MOST DOMINANT A centers of the 1940s and '50s. Arnie Risen says he never dreamed of making the Hall of Fame, "Then again." he laughs. "there wasn't a Hall of Fame when I was playing. That came along a little later on

Over the years. Risen thought maybe he warranted inclusion in Springfield's shrine. His stats--12.2 ppg and 9.7 rpg in 760 career contests--were skewed because he played five seasons in leagues that would merge to form the NBA and then he played half his NBA career in a lower-scoring era. before the advent of the shot clock. But when the voters eventually looked past the numbers to see the agility and smooth moves he brought to the floor as a big man and the way he helped two teams win NBA titles, they saw a Hall-of-Famer.

"You always feel you should maybe be in there," says Risen, 78. "1 didn't think about it for years, but when I got on the ballot, I thought, `How could they not put a nice guy like me in there?' But t missed the first couple of years, and I had given up on it. I felt quite happy when I heard the news [of his election in 1998]. it's quite an honor. It was very nice of them to add me."