Reuben “Ruby” Richman had a lifelong love of basketball and represented the Canadian national team as both a player and a coach. Before playing for the University of Toronto’s team Richman had an offer of a try-out with the Brookyln Dodgers, which he turned down to focus on his education. He represented Canada at five editions of the Maccabiah Games (1961, 1965, 1969, 1973, 1977), serving as the team’s player-coach at all of them apart from the 1961 edition. He also served as Canada’s player-coach for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg.
Richman served as the President of Basketball Canada in the mid-1970s where he helped to organise the basketball tournament at the 1976 Montréal Olympics. He worked with the NBA to bring the LA Lakers and the Kansas City Kings to play in exhibition matches in Toronto. Richman also served as the chair of the Canadian Olympic Basketball Committee, and the Canadian Olympic Association, before being inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame.
Canada