Martin Feinberg, the American who organized the first trip to the United States for a French team

Martin Feinberg, born in 1926, of good height for the time (1.90 m), was in the 50s one of the first American players of the French first division. Sports historian Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff reminds us of this in an article for Franceussports.

This New Yorker played for the University of Michigan where he trained as a pilot, and after serving in the Korean War, he traveled to Paris in 1954 to take courses at the university. He settled in the Latin Quarter and was invited to join the Paris University Club. He scored 18 points for his first game, and was surprised by the habits of his new teammates.

“We stopped for lunch and what do I see? Those guys who drink wine! We couldn’t smoke or drink alcohol when I was playing basketball in America, and these guys were drinking wine! I was just amazed. ”

The American remembered the very special atmosphere that reigned at the PUC at the time.

“The songs were completely anti-clerical, anti-police. But they were ready to do anything [pour créer une atmosphère] – they did crazy things! ” Whenever the PUC played its interurban rival, the Racing Club de France in the Bois de Boulogne, the Bull’s Eye Orchestra played in the stands to create an atmosphere. “There was a lot going on when we were playing a game,” Feinberg said.

Very interesting fact: Feinberg organized the first two trips to the United States for a French team. The Pucistes sailed from Le Havre to New York on December 28, 1955. They played a series of matches against AAU and NCAAA teams in the Midwest, including Wheaton College, Lake Forrest College, Marquette University and the University of Baltimore.

“Personally, I was trying to teach them how to have a good time, have fun, see the basketball infrastructure in America and meet other students. My goal wasn’t to win… I loved the United States and wanted them to learn basketball and the Americans. ”

Six years later, then PUC coach, Feinberg organized another trip to the United States. The Pucistes came back with manuals on the techniques and tactics of basketball made-in-USA, which they studied and disseminated within the French community.

Photo: Basketball Museum