Milestone #3 - PBLA

Milestone #3

I have completed my initial run through the Professional Basketball League of America, and it's 6-week existence in 1947. It was an interesting but forgotten league with large goals that quickly fell apart. (The Houston franchise only lasted two games before closing up shop.)

I will take another little break, and then head to a different era. I might return to the NBA and explore the first post-merger seasons of the early 1950's. Or maybe I will look at another early pro league. Not sure yet.

Here is the personnel of the PBLA by the numbers

Number of PBLA players:  163 (71 of which also played in the NBL, NBA and/or BAA)
Unidentified/unknown whereabouts:  6 (Some have good leads, others are total mysteries.)
Surviving PBLA players: 5, none of whom played in the NBL/BAA.


Longevity:
Of the 163, 12.27% of PBLA players are known to have lived to see the age of 90. 1.23% died before the age of 50. Hall of Famer Bobby McDermott was the first PBLA player to have passed, dying in 1963 at the age of 49. Clint Parmer is the youngest of the former PBLA'ers known to be alive, being just shy of his 91st birthday. His former teammate Philip Moore is the eldest, having turned 96 last fall.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it. Stay tuned for what's next.