"The Greatest Jewish Basketball Documentary Film in the World!"

New Documentary Explores History Of Jews and Basketball - Click Here to Listen to Director David Vyorst on NPR's "Tell Me More" with host Michelle Martin.

THE REVIEWS ARE IN - And the verdict is:

A “perception-altering new documentary”
-Gary Goldstein, The Los Angeles Times

“The First Basket is more than a triumphalist screw-you to those who think Jews don't play sports. . .David Vyorst's clear-eyed, jaunty documentary briskly walks us through the history of American Jews in basketball”
-Ella Taylor, The Village Voice

“An entertaining and informative sports doc that should find considerable exposure on cable channels after its theatrical run. . . its wonderful personal testimonies and wealth of archival footage provide a much needed sports history lesson.”
-Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

“An important historical document. . . engrossing and fun”
-Lewis Beale, Film Journal International

“comprehensive and entertaining . . .'The First Basket' is a rare documentary that not only provides context…but also is fun to watch.”
-Peter Ephross, The Jewish Daily Forward

For media inquiries, please contact:

info @ thefirstbasket.com

Click here to download press kit.

The Los Angeles Times
Honoring Hebrew Hoopsters
Honoring Hebrew Hoopsters - download pdf
By Gary Goldstein

The Hollywood Reporter
Film Review: The First Basket
By Frank Scheck

The Village Voice
David Vyorst Tracks the Jewish Experience Through Basketball in The First Basket
By Ella Taylor

Film Journal International
Film Review: The First Basket - Jews played professional basketball, who knew?
By Lewis Beale

The Pulp Movies Trailer Park

Jewlicious
The First Basket: Jews and Basketball

The New York Times
The First Basket: Immigrant Hoop Dreams
By Nathan Lee

The Jewish Daily Forward
Shooting Hoops: A Jewish History
By Peter Ephross

The New York Post
The First Basket
By Lou Lumenick

92Y Blog
From the Archives: Jumping Through Jewish Hoops

Moving Pictures Magazine
Calling the Shots on "The First Basket"
By David Vyorst

The Hollywood Reporter
Rockers, hoops on way
By Gregg Goldstein

Several of Schectman's teammates were Jewish, as were many other players during the era of semi-professional basketball and the early years of the pro game. For Vyorst, a native of Long Island, basketball is more than just a game: "It's part of the way the Jewish community became Americans." After 1950-when the basketball color line was broken and Jews moved out to the suburbs in droves-the number of Jewish pro players declined. But in the pre-NBA days, one of the most successful teams was the SPHAs of the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association, which won several championships in the old American Basketball League of the '30s and '40s. It was a rough-and-tumble time. Players competed on two or three teams for $8 to $10 a game. Many Jewish players anglicized their names to avoid anti-Semitism. But the players Vyorst interviewed for the film, which he hopes to release next year, remember the era fondly. "Basketball was our religion," says Hank Rosenstein, one of Schectman's teammates. Jews also filled the lanes on "club squads"-the International Ladies Garment Workers Union and Macy's both sponsored teams, Vyorst says. "If you live in a tenement on the Lower East Side," he explains, "you're not going to play polo." - Peter Ephross