CCNY locked out from 1946 tournaments

In 1946, CCNY returned to their previous level of success and entered its final regular season game with a record of 13-4.  Few sportswriters or fans gave CCNY a chance against the No. 1 ranked NYU team, which had a record of 18-1 and had won 13 consecutive games.  The build-up to the game reminded many writers of the 1934 CCNY-NYU game and “fans started camping out in front of the ticket booths” four hours before tickets went on sale at 9:00am.  The ticket demand led to nine arrests for “ticket speculation” and the temporary suspension of ticket sales at 9:20am because the “line had become so long and so out of hand.”  Eventually, “ten mounted policemen and a detail of foot police restored order.”  By 3pm, “16,000 tickets” had been sold.[1]

In a surprising upset, CCNY defeated NYU by a score of 49-44 and set off a wave of celebration.  According to the New York Times, “within fifteen minutes after the game ended, a band of about 1,000 C.C.N.Y. rooters massed near the Garden” and paraded through the streets with “a ‘casket’ painted in black and covered with NYU pennants and lettering.”  When the “marchers” reached Broadway, they “started a huge snake dance which caused a traffic tie-up and created an uproar as motorists sounded their horns in an effort to break through.”  The parade entered Times Square and “then headed for the Hudson [River] to dispose of the casket.”[2]

The intense celebration reflected the belief among CCNY students and fans that the victory would result in an invitation to the NIT.  Considering the school’s absence from post-season tournaments since 1942, many hoped this would revitalize the basketball program.  Yet, the day after CCNY’s victory, the NIT announced that Rhode Island State and not City College would be the tournament’s final entrant.  Students, furious with the decision, “assailed the tournament committee for what they termed publicity ‘exploitation’ in creating the impression that City would receive a berth if it defeated N.Y.U.”[3]  Students condemned Garden promoters and NIT officials for using the promise of a tournament berth to increase fan interest, and thus profit, in the CCNY-NYU contest.  Letters of protest to Ned Irish stated that the tournament committee should have named Rhode Island State before the game.  The ticket demand for the game, the celebration following the CCNY victory, and the angry response to the team’s exclusion from the tournament indicated the popularity of CCNY within New York basketball and the intense passions involved in college basketball at Madison Square Garden.

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[1] “Basketball Fans Stage Ticket Rush.” New York Times, March 6, 1946.

[2] “Times Square Parade Marks C.C.N.Y. Victory,” New York Times, March 8, 1946.

[3] “C.C.N.Y. Protests Choice of R.I. State,” New York Times, March 9, 1946.