New York Knickerbockers or New York Knicks are one of the eleven teams who played in the 1946-47 BAA season. The team now competes in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Alongside Boston Celtics, they are one of the two original NBA teams still operating from the original city. The New York Knickerbockers and Brooklyn Nets are the two teams who compete from New York. How did they recieve their name? “The Knickerbocker“
The term “Knickerbocker” traces back to the 1600s. In the mentioned century, Dutch settlers arrived in the New World (New York) and they had a specific style of pants which extended just until the knees. This style was referred to as knickers or knickerbockers. Also Read: 5 Highest Scoring Games in NBA History
The Origin of the Term “Knickbockers”
The American author Washington Irving popularised the term “Knickerbocker” through his fictional character Diedrich Knickerbocker. The said character was a Dutch historian in Irving’s satire called The History of New York. It slowly began to be a term for the Dutch settlers in the Big Apple. The Illustrations became popular and Father Knickerbocker became a symbol synonymous to the city.
The term Knickerbocker became very much linked to so many New York things like Knickerbocker Beer by Jacob Ruppert and gossip columnists Cholly Knickbocker. The name made an entrance into the sports world in 1845. Alexander Cartwright named his Manhattan-based baseball team the New York Knickerbockers or the Knickerbocker Nine. The name held onto them even after base of operations shift in 1846 to Hoboken in New Jersey.
The Selection of the Name New York Knickerbockers
The name came out of a hat. We were all sitting in the office one day – Irish, Lester Scott and a few others on the staff. We each put a name in the hat, and when we pulled them out, most of them said Knickerbockers, after Father Knickerbocker, the symbol of New York City. It soon was shortened to Knicks
Late Madison Square Executive Fred Pedesta
The founder Ned Irish and others put out a hat in the middle and pulled out names in which Knickerbocker had absolute majority. This name eventually shortened to the Knicks.
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