1944-45 Updates

Here is a little more information added to our NBL players debuting in 1944-45:

1944-45 Updates

Brenner:
Added middle name
Corrected birth date

Bytzura:
Added birthplace, death place, photo

Churchfield:
Added birthplace, middle name

Evans:
Added middle name

Haines:
Added birthdate

Hoffman:
Added Middle name

Holm:
Corrected birthplace

Lucas:
Added birthplace

Mills:
Added place of death and birth

Otway:
Added middle name

Proksa:
Added Middle name

Schrecker:
Added middle name

Tidrick:
Corrected date of death
Added location of death

Urso:
Added middle name, birthplace

Vaniel:
Added birthplace, middle name

Vukosic:
Added birthplace, place of death

Warnke:
Added Birthplace, middle name

Johnny Stevenson (John Stephans, Pittsburgh Raiders)

Originally listed as John Stephans, I saw on the Pro Basketball Encyclopedia that they had him as a long-time Pennsylvania player Johnny Stevenson. After going through some old newspapers from the era, I am inclined to agree, given the circumstances.

Johnny Stevenson
1913-1998

Jim Glass (1944-45 Fort Wayne) Identified

I was still not sure which guy is right, I looked at James Lowell Glass again, and got the name of  his parents and sister, thinking that maybe I can find a link to Jim from there. Mom (Christenia) and pop (Ned) didn't lead to much, but I find his older sister, Avanell, went to South Side High School, which we know the 6'8 (or 6'9 or 6'10, depending on which newspaper you read) attended. That is good enough for me to identify the correct Jim Glass.

Jim Glass
1920-1969

Tom Becker (1944-45 Cleveland) Identified

Found Thomas W. Becker from Dover. He fits the bill, played HS basketball at Dover HS, played around at Akron and found his way to Cleveland. Good fit, declaring it so.

Tom Becker
1923-1991

1943-44 Updates

Few more biographical updates, this time for the players from the 1943-44 NBL season

1943-44 Updates

Osiewalski:
Added middle name

Reiser:
Corrected birthplace, place of death

Swihart:
Corrected birth date, death date

Tezynski:
Added birthplace

1942-43 Updates

Few more biographical updates, this time for the players from the 1942-43 NBL season

1942-43 Updates

Barnett:
Added birthplace, middle name

Buehler:
Added middle name

Doerner:
Added middle name

Gerber:
Added middle name

Gray:
Added middle name

Kramer:
Added middle name
Added birthplace

Lorendo:
Added middle name

B Price:
Added middle name

Regh:
Added middle name

Schwartz:
Corrected birthdate

Schulz:
Added birthplace, middle name

Strong:
Corrected middle name

Wast:
Added middle name, birthplace

1941-42 Updates

Few more biographical updates, this time for the players from the 1941-42 NBL season

1941-42 Updates

Alvarez:
Added city of birth

Debnar:
Added city of birth

Dietz:
Added middle name

Dro:
Added middle name

Glenn Edwards:
Name corrected to Gran Edwards

Elser:
Added middle name

Engdahl:
Corrected Death location

Englund:
Added middle name

Epperson:
Added middle name, corrected birthplace

Griffith:
Added middle name, birthplace

HUber:
Added middle name

Morse:
Added middle name

Norris:
Added middle name

O'Brien:
added middle name

Riska:
added birthplace

Sachs:
Added middle name

Schall:
Added middle name

1940-41 Updates

So here are some a few small updates from the 1940-41 NBL debut players I found since first going through the players a while ago.

1940-41 Updates

Amsden:
Added place of death

Bowman:
Added nickname "Wink", and photo

DuCharme:
Added middle name, location of birth

Hapac:
Added middle name

Hecomovich:
Added location of birth

Jennings:
Added city of birth, death

McDonald:
Added exact birthdate, place of death, middle name

Piana:
Added middle name, place of birth

Rivlin:
Added middle name

Ruh:
Corrected location of death, added middle initial

Sadowski:
Corrected location of birth and death
Confirmed his years in the ABL was him, and not the other Ed Sadowski

Szukala:
Added middle name

Tollstam:
Added middle name, photo

Wiggers:
Corrected birthplace

Wink Bowman (Hammond) Identified, aka Art Bowman

Thanks to a photo I saw while hunting down Tom O'Toole I was able to ascertain that the player previously listed as Art Bowman is actually W.C. "Wink" Bowman.



Originally listed as Art Bowman, a Hammond team photo I found listed him as "Wink" Bowman. Using the name Wink, I quickly found Wendell C. "Wink" Bowman from Monticello, IN. His obituary said he went to St Joseph's (like the newspaper article about the basketball player named "Wink") and his obituary in the Rensselaer Republican said he played professional basketball. Another mystery player identified.

Wink Bowman
1916-2001

Bill Sumerix (Hammond) Identified, aka Bill Summers

One of my better finds, if I do say so myself!

It turns out that the guy listed as "Bill Summers" is actually "Bill Sumerix."

Played one game with Hammond. His name was previously listed as Bill Summers, but the boxscore of the game from the Akron Beacon Journal indicated it was actually Sumerix and he had been a well-known basketball player around the Akron area for many years. The trail was a little hard to follow, but I was able to piece together a little bit of his playing career, and eventually found his parents, Clyde and Lillie. Clyde was a notable bowler in the area, too. A little more poking and I found where he worked, and a birth announcement for his daughter. His wife, Bernice, died in 1990, and her obituary said Bill was deceased. His father's obituary said he was alive, putting him as dying between 1971 and 1990. Plus, his dad's obituary also said he was living in Jenkinstown, Pennsylvania. Back to ancestry, where I got a full identity.
Bill Sumerix
1912-1978

Tom O'Toole (Hammond) Identified

From Akron, O'Toole played one game for Hammond, joining the team briefly (along with Bill Sumerix) for one road game in Akron following the resignation of two of the club's players just days before: Ralph Vaughn and Bill Behr. O'Toole and Sumerix were referred to as "ancient Akron stars" in the newspaper article.

When I found Thomas Patrick O'Toole (1913-1983), it put him out of Akron, which matched and made him likely. But what sealed the deal for me was he worked at General Tire in Akron, where Bill Sumerix worked. That is enough for me to say that this is our guy.

Tom O'Toole
1913-1983

Splinter Johnson (Hammond) identified

I found his obituary, which gave me all I needed. It also lead me to the fact that another mystery player, Art Bowman, went by the name "Wink" so hopefully that will help with him.

Splinter Johnson
1920-2002

Jim Higgins (Hammond) Identified

There is a James C. Higgins who pitched in the minor leagues in the late 30's and early 40'. The southpaw is listed as being 6'7 and 220 pounds. He played out east mainly in the Athletics' farm system, but spent the 1940 season with Appleton in the Wisconsin League. A newspaper article from August 31, 1940, says he is 6'8. This puts him in proximity of being able to suit up one time for Hammond. I am very sure it is him.

I found a Jim Higgins who played at Olney HS in 1935-36 and was a center. The Decatur Herald confirmed that the Olney center decided against attending Northwestern to play basketball, and instead signed with the St. Louis Browns of the American League

Jim Higgins
1918-2002

Jim Brown (Detroit Eagles) Identifield

Actually, we knew his full name before, but "Jim Brown" is common name to search, but found his military records so we got his birthplace and birth date, and his SSDI record had his death date, but no location of death yet.

Jim Brown
1912-1991

1939-40 Updates

So here are some updates from the 1939-40 NBL debut players I found since first going through the players a while ago.

Batterman:
Added middle name

Carp:
Added exact death date

Dembo:
Added middle initial, photo

Goff:
Added ISU coaching info

Hamilton:
Added middle name, birth place

Hanisko:
Added middle name, state of birth, photo

Hogan:
Added middle name

Hutchins:
Added state of birth

Lillge:
Added city of birth and city of death

Nagode:
Added location of death, birth

Novak:
Added middle name

Oram:
Added Birth city, middle name

Hale Swanson:
Added city of birth, middle name

Thompson:
Added middle name

Vocke:
Corrected city of birth

Wintermute:
Added middle name

Tommy O'Brien (Akron) Identified

I found his obituary in a 1955 newspaper from El Paso. He sadly died at the young age of 39.

Tommy O'Brien
1916-1955

Ray Hayes (Chicago Bruins) Identified

I found his obituary in a 1986 newspaper from Des Moines.

Ray Hayes
1905-1986

1938-39 Updates

So here are some updates from the 1938-39 season of the NBL of information I found since first going through the players a while ago.

Birr:
Added photo

Crowley:
Corrected date of death

Dehner:
Added photo

Downey:
Corrected date of birth from SSDI, Vet. Dept records and Florida Death records

Dupee:
Added college and HS years

Fortney:
Corrected death date

Fowdy:
Added middle name, birth place

Frascella:
Added middle name, birth place, corrected death place.

Graf:
Added middle name, coaching information

Hesik:
Added place of birth, minor league baseball information

Lonsdorf:
Added an alleged college he attended

Migdal:
Added city of birth

McMichael:
Added middle name

Nisbet:
Updated location of birth

Nowak:
Corrected date of death, added middle name

Rosenthal:
Added middle name

Roth:
Added middle name

Rudicel:
Added full name

Schuessler:
Added MIddle name, place of birth

Sines:
Corrected birth date

Spotovich:
Added coaching career

Watson:
Still trying to track down his name and birth/deathdates.

Wendt:
Added middle name

Jim Currie Identified

After tips from others, and finally going back with my ancestry.com membership, I was able to iron out the identity of Jim Currie. I'd like an obituary, but am very certain this is him, nonetheless.

Jim Currie
1916-1987

Bob Johnson (Akron 1938) Identified.

There were two players named Bob Johnson on the 1937-38 Pitt team. Robert A. is the player who signed with Akron. From here, with some deep ancestry searches, found a death date, and then an obit. It mentions Pitt but not basketball, but I am pretty certain this is the right guy.

Bob Johnson
1917-2000

1937-38 Updates

I am now going through and filling in the blanks I missed the first time through, before I had access to ancestry.com and newspapers.com. I also found probasketballenclpedia.com, another great site. I used them to update some player's careers. They also have some player's birth and death dates I did not have before. I am not taking this biographical information as gospel, because some of them are not accurate, but I am using them as a lead and some have lead me to proper identification. Others, got me a little closer, but still no positive ID.

So here are some updates from the 1937-38 season of the NBL of information I found since first going through the players a year ago.


Arndt:
Added place of birth

Baird:
Added MIddle name, coaching career, photo

Bennett:
Added college info, may have died in Solvang, CA

Berens:
Added exact date of death

Betourne:
Added middle name, birth location, photo

Bloedorn:
Added middle name, place of death, photo
Extended biography
Corrected birth location

Bonn:
Corrected birthdate, originally belonged to different Herbet Bonn

Bower:
Added photo, coaching information

Cable:
Added middle name, birth location
Corrected Location of death
Updated photo

Campion:
Added middle name

Carnevale:
Added middle name, photo, minor league baseball stats

Coleman:
Added middle name, place of birth

Cope:
Correct death location

Crowe:
Added middle name, place of birth, photo

Elliott:
Added location of birth and death, middle name

Fechtman:
Added middle name, photo, coaching career

Ginsburg:
Added college and high school,  East Liverpool info

Grafft:
Added middle name, city of birth, photo

Gunning:
Added location of death, coaching career

Hamann:
Added coaching career

Hilgemann:
Removed Univer of Toledo from his career

Holmes:
Added more professional career, location of birth and death

Hoekstra:
Added photo

Hosket:
Added place of death

Hutchisson:
Added exact birthdate, location, and place of death. I.D. differs from other sites.

Stan Jackson:
Possibly Dr. Stan Jackson of Mt Morris, NY.

William Jesko
Added middle name, place of birth

Kessler
Added collegiate years

Kruse:
Added collegiate, high school years

Kweller:
Added middle initial

Lamme:
Added collegiate, coaching years, Minor Lague baseball career

Lawry:
Added middle name

Lindberg:
Some additional research has cast doubt on my identification

Lins:
Added middle name, location of birth and death

Loucks:
Added middle name, place of birth

Lytle:
Added middle name, birth place, high school

Malackany:
Added place of birth

Mealy:
Added college years, location of birth, photo.

Miller (Walt):
Added middle name, place of birth, coaching career

Moore (Dudey):
Added middle name

Morrison:
Added middle name, location of birth and death

Morstadt:
Added middle name

Ochsenhirt:
Added location of birth and death, photo

O'Donnell (Neil):
Added middle name

Ozburn:
Added middle name, birth place

Perigo:
Added middle name, corrected death location

Pitzer:
Added middle name, location of death

Preboske:
Added middle name

Reeves:
Birth year corrected to 1904

Reiter:
Added middle name

Rigg:
Added middle name, place of birth

Rush:
Added middle name

Sack:
Added middle name, state of birth

Schlechty:
Added middle name

Shamel:
Added middle name

Shoun:
Added middle name, corrected place of birth

Smith (Don)
Added middle name, place of death

Snyder:
Added birth place, corrected date of death, added photo

Sotak:
Added middle name

Stack:
Added location and exact date of death

Stammler:
Added middle name

Stark:
Added middle name, location of birth and death

Stirling:
Added middle name, exact date of death

Tamagno:
Added middle name

Wagner:
Added middle name

Jack Shaffer identified

I found his obituary in the Akron Beacon Journal from June 17, 1963

Jack Shaffer
1909-1963