Known as "the Houdini of the Hardwood," Bob Cousy (born 1928) was a pioneer in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Many consider him the definitive point guard and an excellent playmaker, one of the best ever to play the game of basketball.

Cousy was born on August 9, 1928, in New York City. He was the son of French immigrants from Alsace, Joseph and Julliette (nee Corlet) Cousy. His father was a taxi driver and airline worker, while his mother worked as a secretary and language teacher. Cousy spent his early years in the East Side of Manhattan. He participated in such sports as stickball, boxball, and the stealing of hubcaps, but not basketball.

When Cousy was 12, the family moved from Manhattan to St. Albans, Queens. There, he learned to play basketball for the first time when he was 13. His early years were inauspicious. While attending St. Albans' Andrew Jackson High...