Irving S. Kosloff was a Philadelphia native with dreams of being a dentist. He was going to use his athletic scholarship to Temple University to pursue his degree.

However, after a knee injury, he dropped out due to the lack of funds. Later, he founded the Roosevelt Paper Company. Roosevelt Paper Company grew to a leader in the printing and packing paper industry.

In 1963, Kosloff took some of the revenue generated and purchased a professional basketball team named the Syracuse Nationals. He r