Barsha was Jewish,[5][6] and his family immigrated from Russia to the United States when he was a small child. He attended Boys High School in Brooklyn, New York. During his senior year of high school, he changed his name from Abraham Barshofsky to John Barsha. According to OrangeHoops.org, he did it to "hide his participation in an unscheduled game that his basketball team played without the coach's knowledge".[7] He lived in Brooklyn, New York.[8]
He lettered four seasons for the football team from 1916 to 1919.[7] He was co‐captain of the 1918 Walter CampAll American football team and named an Honorable Mention.[13][8]
Barsha played guard on the basketball team. He played in 17 games, starting 16, during the 1917–18 college basketball season and averaged 2.0 points per game. The team finished with a 16–1 record and were later retroactively named national champions by the Helms Athletic Foundation. He played in 16 games, all starts, during the 1918–19 season and averaged 6.1 points per game. Barsha was the team's designated free throw shooter that season. He played in 18 games, all starts, during the 1919–20 season and averaged 3.5 points per game. He was a team captain that season. Barsha played in 51 games, starting 50, during his college basketball career and averaged 3.8 points per game.[7]
^ abcd"John Barsha". orangehoops.org. Archived from the original on October 28, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Barsha, John". jewsinsports.org. Archived from the original on October 28, 2017. Retrieved October 26, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Athlete and Scholar". The Buffalo Enquirer. March 26, 1920. p. 15. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
^"1920 Rochester Jeffersons"(PDF). kencrippen.com. Archived from the original on October 28, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)