Inductees

George Goldman was a local basketball star in Kansas City, Missouri from 1909 to 1912 who played for the Kansas City Athletic Club. C.E. McBride (MSHOF 1956) once commented that it was common for him to score 50 points in a single game. Goldman was six feet, two inches, weighed 180 pounds at the height of his career, and could play with both his right and left hands. Sports historian Tham Campbell stated that Goldman was the best basketball scorer ever seen.

In the 1930s, Goldman became the first director of the Kansas City Municipal Auditorium and was responsible for starting the yearly tradition of the city playing host to the Big 8/Big 12 Finals. He was also instrumental, along with James Naismith and Emil Liston, in forming the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, now headquartered in Kansas City.

Later in life, Goldman continued his public service, first as a city councilman and then as mayor pro tem of Kansas City for four years. He was also a close friend of President Harry Truman and spent much time visiting him in his home in Independence. He was also the first Jewish person in the United States to receive the Benemerenti Medal, awarded to him by Pope Pious XII for his charitable work with the Catholic Youth Organization in Kansas City. Additionally, the Cherokee community near Grand Lake, Oklahoma, made him an honorary chief for his contributions to them.