Star college basketball player, outstanding high school coach, prolific inventor of sports aids, Wilbur Crisp lived 44 years of his life in Little Falls, N.Y. In 1967 the high school gymnasium was named after him.

Wilbur C. Crisp was born in 1891 in Camden, N.J. He was raised in Cortland, N.Y. where he was an outstanding basketball player in high school and at Cortland Norman School. Later, at Syracuse University, he was considered the best of his era, leading the Orangemen to their only undefeated season.

After graduating with a major in chemistry in 1916, Crisp started a career in that field. Gradually, however, he gravitated to high school coaching and teaching (science and mathematics) starting at Canastota in 1919 and arriving at Little Falls in 1926. After 21 seasons, with an overall record of 263-127 and a New York State Championship in 1929-30 in basketball, Crisp took a hiatus from coaching. He returned at age 62 in 1953 for six more seasons for a record of 71-40 and three straight league championships in 1956, 1957 and 1958. His total record at Little Falls for 27 seasons was 334-167.

Wilbur Crisp used his scientific talent to invent a remarkable number of sports aids, not just for basketball, but for wrestling, boxing and horseshoes as well. He founded Mohawk Valley Sports, Inc., to manufacture and distribute these items. They include an adjustable basketball backboard, basketball blinders, basketball and wrestling scorebooks of radical design, basketball foul indicator, a wrestling timer, wrestling anklets (red and green to assist scoring and coaching) and the "David Harum" stake holder for horseshoe pitching.

He died in 1969, one day before his 78th birthday.