Chuck the Writer
04-26-2006, 08:09 PM
After much research and hard work, I have been able to recreate the entire 1946-47 Eastern Professional Basketball League season (what we know of as the CBA's first season of operation).
The CBA began from a meeting in June 1946, when several promoters organized a professional post-World War II league. The season had its early stars, Stan "Whitey" Von Neida of the Lancaster Red Roses was the league's first big scorer, and the Chanecka brothers helped the Wilkes-Barre Barons achieve a 15-0 perfect record at home.
The Hazleton Mountaineers were the first team in the league to have black players on their roster, four years before the NBA integrated their rosters. The Allentown Rockets struggled at the gate, but finished the season with special pro doubleheaders in which an Eastern League team would face a team from the American Basketball League. The Reading Keys got off to a slow start, but fought their way to the playoffs. The Binghamton Triplets moved after a 1-6 record to Pottsville PA, where they finished the season as the Maroons.
This 25-page PDF abstract is now available at my website, cbamuseum.com, for a nominal fee of $4 per download. It contains the entire season's abstract, including player statistics and scores, an interview with 1946-47 scoring champion Whitey Von Neida, and other unique information.
This abstract is part of the CBA Museum's ongoing project to restore the statistics of the Continental Basketball Association's earlier existence.
The CBA began from a meeting in June 1946, when several promoters organized a professional post-World War II league. The season had its early stars, Stan "Whitey" Von Neida of the Lancaster Red Roses was the league's first big scorer, and the Chanecka brothers helped the Wilkes-Barre Barons achieve a 15-0 perfect record at home.
The Hazleton Mountaineers were the first team in the league to have black players on their roster, four years before the NBA integrated their rosters. The Allentown Rockets struggled at the gate, but finished the season with special pro doubleheaders in which an Eastern League team would face a team from the American Basketball League. The Reading Keys got off to a slow start, but fought their way to the playoffs. The Binghamton Triplets moved after a 1-6 record to Pottsville PA, where they finished the season as the Maroons.
This 25-page PDF abstract is now available at my website, cbamuseum.com, for a nominal fee of $4 per download. It contains the entire season's abstract, including player statistics and scores, an interview with 1946-47 scoring champion Whitey Von Neida, and other unique information.
This abstract is part of the CBA Museum's ongoing project to restore the statistics of the Continental Basketball Association's earlier existence.