Born in Yonkers, New York to Czech immigrants, Lapchick as a boy helped his struggling family make ends meet by scrounging for coal near railroad tracks. At age 12 the youngster started playing basketball around his neighborhood, wearing a uniform his mother had made for him. Like many youngsters of the era, he stopped going to school after the eighth grade. While working as a caddie and in a factory, the 15-year-old found he could make $5 to $10 per night playing for local basketball teams. At age 19 he was suiting up for four different touring teams, such as the Holyoke Reds, Brooklyn Visitations, and Troy Trojans, and pocketing up to $100 per game. Basketball became his life.