Stanley H. Lorber, 97, Warriors and 76ers team physician

BACK IN THE LATE '50s, Stanley H. Lorber, a distinguished Philadelphia physician and a basketball fan, paid a call on Eddie Gottlieb, then the owner of the Philadelphia Warriors.

Lorber felt that the Warriors needed a team physician. Gottlieb agreed, and Dr. Lorber became the first team doctor in the NBA.

Those were the days of "Jumpin' Joe" Fulks and Paul Arizin, and later the legendary Wilt Chamberlain, who scored his unbeatable 100 points in a game on March 2, 1962, the Warriors' last season in Philly before moving to San Francisco.

Lorber stayed on as the team physician after the Syracuse Nationals came to town the following year and morphed into the 76ers. He held the job for 25 years, and was able to wear two NBA championship rings.

Stanley H. Lorber, a physician and researcher in the field of gastroenterology, a professor at the Temple University School of Medicine for 43 years, and an Army veteran of World War II, died Nov. 24 a day after his 97th birthday. He was living in Palm Beach, Fla., but had lived most of his life in Elkins Park.

As a Temple professor, Stan enjoyed taking students out to dinner, and then to a 76ers game.

After moving to Florida, Stan became a leading community activist in Palm Beach, where he was named an honorary director of the Palm Beach Civic Association.

"Stan cared deeply for the town of Palm Beach," the association wrote in a tribute. "He was always positive, upbeat and quick with a humorous story or an anecdote that applied to the topic at hand.

"During his lifetime, he developed a large group of devoted admirers who valued his intellect, grace and style. He had an amazing bedside manner that endeared him to others. He was gentle, caring and always willing to listen; the consummate old-school physician who was truly interested in people and their concerns."

Stan was the father of Jeff Lorber, a leading keyboardist, composer and record producer.

Stanley Lorber was born in Queens, N.Y., the youngest of the four children of Martha and Samuel Lorber. The family moved to Philadelphia when he was young, and he became an outstanding athlete at the University of Pennsylvania.

He excelled in football and lacrosse, and was named honorable mention on an All-American football team.

He received his medical degree from the Penn School of Medicine and entered the Army. He served as a flight surgeon in the European Theater and attained the rank of captain.

Stan then joined the Temple University School of Medicine. He was professor of medicine, and for 25 years, the chief of the gastroenterology section.

"Thanks to his visionary leadership, the section achieved national esteem," the Palm Beach Post wrote in an obituary.

"His own research produced important contributions to the understanding of gastrointestinal physiology, and he authored more than 140 scientific articles and numerous textbook chapters."

He also made presentations before the 1970 Nobel Symposium in Stockholm.

Stan consulted for the Navy, Veterans Administration and Federal Drug Administration, among others.

"A highly respected clinician, he was revered by his patients, whom he always treated with respect, patience and warmly delivered care," the Post wrote.

"He was a man of powerful intellect, personal charm, along with uncommon generosity."

On his retirement, Temple created the Stanley H. Lorber Chair in Medicine in his honor.

His first wife, Selma, died in 1983. He later married Dorothea Lorber.

Stan played golf nearly every day, well into his 90s. He was former president of the Banyan Golf Club in Palm Beach.

Besides his wife and son, he is survived by a daughter, Betty; his wife's daughter, Kathleen; nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by another daughter, Susan.

Services: Were in Palm Beach, Fla.