Athletics were in the genes of Don Furth, a multi-sport letterman at at Brooklyn Prep who the Brooklyn Daily Eagle hailed as the greatest athlete in that school's history. The son of U.S. Olympic hurdler Solomon ("Happy") Furth, the younger Furth decided to attend Georgetown for baseball and basketball in the summer of 1952.

Furth initially decided to focus on basketball, but a knee injury 13 games into the 1953-54 season effectively ended his basketball career. He later played two seasons on the Georgetown baseball team.