Maurice Podoloff

Maurice Podoloff ( born August 18, 1890 in Jelisawetgrad, Russia, † 24 November 1985) was an American lawyer and sports manager. After 1909, he dropped out of high school, it drove him to Yale, where he graduated in 1915 his law studies. From 1938 to 1952 he was president of the American Hockey League and was instrumental in the successful establishment of new franchises and the expansion of the league. Podoloff was one of the founding fathers of the National Basketball Association and its predecessor league Basketball Association of America. Between 1949 and 1963 he was the first president of the NBA. In 1954 he drew the public's interest in the fledgling league, by setting his first television contract perfectly.

According to him, today the trophy for the title of MVP is named. On April 25, 1974 was inducted into the Naismith Podoloff Hall of Fame basketball. In January 2011 Podoloff was inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame.