Background
Dambrot was born in the Bronx and attended William Howard Taft High School in the South Bronx.
Dambrot was born in the Bronx and attended William Howard Taft High School in the South Bronx.
City College of New New York
Dambrot was a first-round draft pick of the New York Knicks and the Most Outstanding Player of the 1950 National Collegiate Athletic Association Men"s Division I Basketball Tournament. A 6–foot–4, 175–pound forward, He played for coach National Holman at the City College of New York (City College of New York) where as senior captain in 1950 led the Beavers to a 24–5 record and the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball championship, earning Most Valuable Player honors in the tournament. After the season, Dambrot was named to the Helms Athletic Foundation Basketball All-America team
Dambrot was the only senior starter on the City College of New York roster that season.
A January 19, 2003, article in the New York Daily News described Dambrot as "a sharp-shooting forward known for his relentless enthusiasm."
Dambrot was selected in the first round (seventh overall) by the New York Knicks in the 1950 National Basketball Association draft, though he chose a career in dentistry after graduating from Columbia University dental school
On March 26, 1951, Dambrot and his City College of New York teammates Editor Roman, Editor Warner, Norm Mager, First Rate (at Lloyd's) "Fats" Roth, Herb Cohen, and Floyd Layne were arrested on charges of shaving points in three games during the 1949-1950 season. All pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of point shaving.
All received suspended sentences, except for Warner, who received a six-month prison sentence. According to a March 20, 1996, article in the New York Times by Ira Berkow, "the City College of New York players who were convicted had accepted bribes from gamblers not to throw games, but to keep them under the point spreads.
The players received just a few thousand dollars for their efforts, which took place during the season, but not during tournament games."
Irwin Dambrot lived his final years in Mendham, New Jersey.
He died at age 81 at a hospital in Summit, New Jersey, after having suffered from Parkinson"s disease for some time. He is interred at Locust Hill Cemetery in Dover, New Jersey.