News
Croft’s $100,000 Contract Cancels Canada’s Chances
Posted on November 12, 2022
The $100,000 question. How would Canada’s men’s national basketball team do at the 1970 FIBA Men’s World Championship’s to be hosted in Yugoslavia? The host country had 6-foot-11 centre Kresmir Cosic and the Soviet Union featured guard Sergei Belov. If Cosic and Belov had played in the NBA…both would have been household names today. The future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame members would be up against the defending champion Brazil ...
Canadian Women Cagers Strike Bronze Medal At 1967 Pan Am Games
Posted on October 18, 2022
“The Pan Am Games ended in disappointment. Sorry, I prefer not to visit that memory.” This was the text message reply to an interview request with one of the players of Canada’s men’s basketball team at the 1967 Pan American Games. Held in Winnipeg, Manitoba from July 24 to August 2, there were many a critic in regard to the Canadian Amateur Basketball Association (CABA) and the selection process of both Canada’s men’s and women’s hoop s ...
Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame Classes for 2021 and 2022 Announced
Posted on May 30, 2022
Canada Basketball is pleased to announce Stewart Granger (Player), Steve Nash (Player) and Angela (Johnson) Straub (Player), along with Michèle Bélanger (Coach), John Bitove (Builder), Rick Fox (Player), and Tony Simms (Player) will be inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame for the classes of 2021 and 2022, respectively. “On behalf of Canada Basketball, and players, coaches and fans of our game across the country, I would like to exten ...
Bobby Croft Canada’s Unsung Basketball Hero
Posted on May 18, 2022
It is hard to believe that Bobby Croft is not a member of the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame. This is in part due to the nomination process. His resume is impressive to say the least. As a Grade 11 student from Hamilton’s Hill Park Secondary School, he made the Canadian senior men’s national basketball squad. “I made the team I don’t know how. We went to South America for some games,” said the 6-foot-10 Croft in an interview with this scri ...
Canada At The 1964 Pre-Olympic Basketball Tournament
Posted on February 1, 2022
As had been the case many times in past international men’s basketball events, our Canadian rep at the 1964 Pre-Olympic Basketball Tournament (Pan Continental) had to raise their own funds to attend the September 25 to October 4 tournament in Yokohama, Japan. This non-funding action was set in motion by the Canadian Olympic Committee in that Canadian men had failed in 1960 Olympic pre-qualifying and had placed 9th at 1948, 1952 and 1956 Olymp ...
Lethbridge Nationals At 1963 World & Pan Am Championships
Posted on February 1, 2022
The Lethbridge Nationals men’s basketball squad would do double-duty in 1963, representing Canada at the Pan-American Games, April 20-May 5, 1963, in São Paulo, Brazil and the World Basketball Championships May 12- May 25, 1963 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They had qualified earlier in the year by winning the Canadian Amateur Men’s Basketball Championships – their fourth in five years – by defeating Montreal Yvan Coutou Huskies 85-65 on March 1 ...
Canada At The 1960 Pre-Olympic Basketball Tournament
Posted on February 1, 2022
The 1960 Pre-Olympic Basketball Tournament for men was held August 12-20, 1960 in Bologna, Italy with 18 teams competing…the top five teams advancing to the 1960 Summer Olympic Games to be held in Rome, Italy from August 25 – September 11, 1960. Majority of the members of Team Canada were from the 1960 Canadian National Senior Men’s Champion Tillsonburg Livingstons with pickups of John Kootnekoff from Port Alberni Athletics and Al Birtles from V ...
Canada At The 1959 Pan American Games
Posted on February 1, 2022
The 1959 Pan American Games, held from August 27 to September 6, 1959 in Chicago, United States was a chance to showcase Canadian basketball talent to our neighbours down south. Instead, at least according to Canadian head coach Lance Hudson, the selection committee came up short, literally. “We got no height to speak of. The selectors give me ten guys and eight of them are guards and little guards at that. Our one big guy is (6-foot-7) 18-year-old ...
Canada At 1959 FIBA World Championships
Posted on February 1, 2022
Heading to the 1959 FIBA World Championship in Temuco, Chile the Canadian men’s basketball representative was already under the gun for the selection of the team roster. Lance Hudson coach of Canada’s squad at the 1956 Olympics said this of the 1959 assembly: “This is the worst team to ever represent Canada in international competition.” Having to follow the formula, where the Canadian Senior Men’s Basketball Champion represents, head coach ...
Canada 1956 Men’s Olympic Basketball
Posted on February 1, 2022
I was only 25 days-old when Canada took to the hardwood at the Royal Exhibition Building Annex in Melbourne, Australia for its first men’s basketball game of the 1956 Summer Olympics. With 15 teams competing in four groups, Canada was booked in Group B against France, Singapore and the Soviet Union. November 22, 1956 Canada 59 Russia 97 Canadian coach Lance Hudson referred to the huge loss as “stage fright.” Hudson had scouted the Russians prior ...