Melvin M. Hirsch (July 31, 1921 – December 1968) was an American professional basketball player."Mel Hirsch Stats". Basketball Reference. Accessed on June 16, 2017. He played for the Boston Celtics of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which would later become the National Basketball Association (NBA), for 13 games in the 1946–47 season. At 5 feet 6 inches tall, he was the shortest player in NBA history until Muggsy Bogues 40 years later. He is the third shortest NBA player of all time, after Bogues and Earl Boykins.
A stand-out player at Brooklyn College, Hirsch graduated in 1943 and served in the US Army Air Corps as a Navigator on C-47 aircraft in the 13th Troop Carrier Squadron in the South Pacific. He played on the squadron's officer's basketball team."The Thirsty 13th," by Seth Washburne, published 2011.
Hirsch died in December 1968, aged 47, from leukemia.
BAA career statistics Legend GP Games played FG% Field-goal percentage FT% Free-throw percentage APG Assists per game PPG Points per game
Regular season Year Team GP FG% FT% APG PPG 1946–47 Boston 13 .200 .500 .8 1.5Career 13 .200 .500 .8 1.5
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