Tombstone
Formed: May 10, 1946 (As Eastern Professional Basketball League)1Morgan Heads Court League, AP via The Gettysburg Times, May 14, 1946
Re-Branded: May 10, 1970 (Eastern Basketball Association)2Sports Flashes, The Youngstown Vindicator, May 11, 1970
First Games: December 1, 19463Eastern Cage League Maps 90-Game Card, AP via The Reading Eagle, Oct. 8, 1946
Last Game: April 1970
Seasons: 29
States: 4
(CT, DE, NJ, PA)
Leadership
Trophy Case
Editor's Pick
Boxed Out
Remembering The Eastern Professional Basketball League
In Boxed out of the NBA: Remembering the Eastern Professional Basketball League, Syl Sobel and Jay Rosenstein tell the fascinating story of a league that was a pro basketball institution for over 30 years, showcasing top players from around the country. During the early years of professional basketball, the Eastern League was the next-best professional league in the world after the NBA. It was home to big-name players such as Sherman White, Jack Molinas, and Bill Spivey, who were implicated in college gambling scandals in the 1950s and were barred from the NBA, and top Black players such as Hal “King” Lear, Julius McCoy, and Wally Choice, who could not make the NBA into the early 1960s due to unwritten team quotas on African-American players.
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Background
Coming soon…
Eastern Professional Basketball League Franchise List
[etable]
| Franchise | Years Active | Championships |
|---|---|---|
| Allentown Jets | 1958-1970 | 1962, 1963, 1965, 1968, 1970 |
| Allentown Rockets | 1946-1947 | NONE |
| Asbury Park Boardwalkers | 1966-1968 | NONE |
| Baltimore Bullets | 1958-1961 | 1961 |
| Berwick Car Builders | 1949-1954 | NONE |
| Binghamton Flyers/Trenton Pat Pavers | 1970-1974 | NONE |
| Binghamton Triplets/Pottsville Maroons | 1946-1947 | NONE |
| Bridgeport/Binghamton Flyers | 1967-1970 | NONE |
| Camden Bullets | 1961-1966 | 1964 |
| Carbondale Celtics/Scranton Miners | 1954-1970 | NONE |
| Easton Madisons | 1956-1961 | 1960 |
| Easton Madisons/Trenton Colonials | 1961-1969 | NONE |
| Harrisburg Capitols | 1952-1953 | NONE |
| Harrisburg Patriots | 1965-1967 | NONE |
| Harrisburg Senators | 1947-1951 | 1949 |
| Hartford Capitols | 1966-1970 | NONE |
| Hazleton Mountaineers | 1946-1952 | NONE |
| Hazleton Pros | 1953-1962 | NONE |
| Johnstown C-J's | 1965-1966 | NONE |
| Lancaster Red Roses | 1946-1970 | NONE |
| Lancaster Rockets | 1949-1953 | NONE |
| Lebanon Seltzers | 1952-1954 | NONE |
| New Haven Elms | 1965-1967 & 1968-1969 | NONE |
| Philadelphia Lumberjacks | 1947-1948 | NONE |
| Pottsville Pros/Packers | 1947-1952 | 1952 |
| Reading Keys | 1946-1958 | 1948 |
| Reading Merchants | 1951-1952 | NONE |
| Reading Rangers | 1949-1951 | NONE |
| Rochester Colonels | 1958-1959 | NONE |
| Scranton Miners | 1954-1970 | 1957 |
| Springfield Hall of Famers | 1968-1969 | NONE |
| Sunbury Mercuries | 1947-1971 | 1951 |
| Trenton Capitols/New York-Harlem Yankees ( | 1955-1956 | NONE |
| Trenton Colonials | 1961-1969 | NONE |
| Wilkes-Barre Aces | 1952-1953 | NONE |
| Wilkes-Barre Barons | 1946-1947 & 1954-1970 | 1947, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1969 |
| Williamsport Billies | 1947-1964 | 1950, 1953, 1954 |
| Wilmington Blue Bombers | 1963-1970 | 1966, 1967 |
| Wilmington Jets | 1957-1958 | NONE |
| York Victory A.C. | 1948-1951 | NONE |
9 Responses
You’re missing quite a few teams on this list. Having enjoyed the Harrisburg Patriots, who played in the cavernous PA Farm Show Arena during the mid-60s, I got to see the Wilkes Barre Barons, Hamden Stags, and Johnstown C.J.s among others.
Michael is correct. I attended several Harrisburg Patriot games at the Farm Show Arena. I have a program with Jim Boeheim’s autograph when he played after graduating from Syracuse.
As far as Im concerned the most talented and successful team ever to play in the league is hands down
ALLENTOWN JETS. Some really GREAT PLAYERS through the years but always tough guys who knew how to win.
Did Sonny Hill play in this league? What team
I miss the days of the Eastern Pro League was a big Sunbury Mercuries fan and i miss the players i got to know and watch. Got to see some great Basketball in that League with talent that was just fantastic. thanks
My dad worked the the 24 second clock for the Trenton Colonials. Team had Walter Dukes,Bob ” butterbean ” Love & George Lehmenn to name a few. I had the job of setting up chairs. Easy job to see some great hoops. Great memories
Wilkes Barre and Scranton were great games. Scranton played in the CatholicYouth Center. WB had a guard Danny Finn who could throw it in from half court. Saw a Scranton guard save the ball from OB under the WB basket then whip a pass behind his back full court for an easy layup. At the end of the games the CYC was filled with cigarette and cigar smoke. Great memories.
Easton-Phillipsburg Madisons played in the Easton Pa. High School and Phillipsburg N.J. High School gyms from 1956-62. Became the Trenton Colonials. Saw some former NBA greats and many others banned from the NBA as well as those college players still trying and playing. Have the “King Lear’s Fountain” (Hal “King”Lear) sign from the Easton gym somewhere (I think).
We’re producing a documentary film about the Eastern League based on our book Boxed Out of the NBA. Ted Leonsis, owner of the Washington Wizards and Capitals, is backing the project and is our Exec Producer. We need film footage of Eastern League games, photos, and mementos. Email me at [email protected] if you have some we can use in the film. Thanks!