Skip to main content Search this website
OPEN DAILY 10AM - 4PM, BACKPACKS & LARGE BAGS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE MUSEUM
1-877-4-HOOPLA
Mobile navigation toggle icon
Photo of Tom Barlow

Thomas B. "Tom" Barlow

When Thomas Barlow played basketball, the game was fast, rough, tough, and played in cages. In 1922 when Barlow and the Eastern League's Trenton Tigers played against the Original New York Celtics at Madison Square Garden, promoters displayed a seven-foot cutout photograph of Barlow with the caption, "Caveman Barlow Plays Here Tonight." Barlow was not seven feet tall. He only played that big. At 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, the then-gigantic Barlow was a strong defender, scorer, and rebounder, attaining stardom from 1912 through 1932. Barlow was basketball's first true enforcer and played on at least a dozen professional teams - frequently on two or three teams simultaneously. Barlow is most noted for his contributions with the Eastern League's Tigers, the SPHAs of the Philadelphia League, and the Philadelphia Warriors of the American Basketball League.

Enshrined

1981

Born

July 09, 1896 Trenton, NJ

Died

September 26, 1983

College

Rider Moore Stewart Business School

Professional Career

Philadelphia Warriors Philadelphia Sphas Trenton Tigers Passaic Cith Athletic Assoc Paterson Silk Socks Philadelphia Case Philadelphia DeNeri Philadelphia Holy Name Trenton Potters Trenton Bengals Wilkes-Barre Barons Baltimore Orioles Camden Athletics Greenpoint Knights Syracuse All-Americans Trenton Royal Bengals

Career Stats

THE 1st ENFORCER OF BASKETBALL
3 PROFESSIONAL TEAMS
PLAYED ON SIMULTANEOUSLY
BEAT ORIGINAL CELTICS AND
NY RENS, THE 2 TOUGHEST
TEAMS AT THE TIME