Shimon Shelah

Shimon Shelah’s parents were sportspeople who settled in Israel following their appearance at the Maccabiah Games. Thus Shimon took up sport, particularly basketball, at a young age and spent most of his youth and senior career with Hapoel Tel Aviv BC. He also represented Israel at several major international tournaments, including the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, where his nation was eliminated in the qualifying round. At EuroBasket 1953, he helped his squad place fifth, while at the 1954 World Championships they were eighth.

Having already coached during his playing career, Shelah took up that activity full time following his retirement in 1959. He was appointed the head coach of Hapoel Tel Aviv and led them to Israeli Premier League titles in 1960, 1961, 1965 and 1966, in addition to consulting them to their win in 1969. He also coached for the national team starting in 1965, with his greatest achievement being an Asian Games gold medal in 1966 and silver medal in 1970. He was also a long-time coach of, and advocate for, disabled athletes in wheelchair basketball.