Associated Press
Maurice Podoloff, center, at merger of NBL and NBA in 1949.

Associated Press
Maurice Podoloff with Bob Cousy in 1956.

Associated Press
Maurice Podoloff prior to college draft in 1958.

Associated Press
Maurice Podoloff providing President Harry S. Truman with season pass to Basketball Association of America season in 1949.

Associated Press
Maurice Podoloff with Stamford's Walter Kennedy, the second commissioner of the NBA, as he passed the baton in 1963.

Associated Press
The Maurice Podoloff trophy, presented annually to the NBA's Most Valuable Player.

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New Haven brothers Nate and Maurice Podoloff were brilliant men, and not just because both were Yale graduates. They had street smarts and savvy business instincts matched by few, if any, in the sports world.

Nate Podoloff held a degree in engineering. He designed and built the New Haven Arena, running the hub of city entertainment from 1927 until its doors were shuttered for good in 1972.

Maurice Podoloff, older than Nate by five years, assisted with the operation of the Arena and its hockey clubs but moved on to other things. He was president of the American Hockey League, and in 1946 also became president of a new venture, the Basketball Association of America. It led to a position as the first commissioner of the National Basketball Association, a post he held until 1963.

Read Chip Malafronte's complete story.

Winners of the Podoloff Trophy (NBA MVP)

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AHL induction video from YouTube.