Red Paris began life as David George Cohen. He  was small in stature and his talents were often overlooked because of his size. At Brooklyn Boys High School, he spent two years on the JV before making the varsity. He followed the same pattern at City College in New York where he again did not land a spot on the varsity until his junior season. By assured perseverance, Paris  established himself an important member of a team that posted a 23-9 record during his two varsity seasons. Prior to the start of his senior season at CCNY, Cohen changed his name to Red Paris. After graduatiotation, Paris embarked on a successful ten year pro basketball career that was earmarked by his dual reputations as one of the most skilled  long distance shooters  in the pro game and one of the games’ fiercest competitors.

Alva “Allie” Paine played football, basketball and baseball in high school. He earned a basketball scholarship to Oklahoma University where he played for four seasons: 1941, 1943, 1944 and 1947. His college career was interrupted  by two years service  in the Army during World War II. Paine guided the Sooners to two Big Six Conference titles in 1944 and 1947. As a junior  in 1944, he led the conference in scoring and was named a consensus First Team All-American selection. In his final season, he helped Oklahoma reach the 1947 NCAA championship game where they lost 58-47 to Holy Cross. After graduating from  college, Paine played professional basketball with Oklahoma City in the short-lived Professional Basketball League of America. In 1953, Paine became the basketball and baseball coach at  Phillips University in Enid Oklahoma.