1947-48 Hazleton Mountaineers (EPBL)

1947-48 HAZLETON MOUNTAINEERS
EASTERN BASKETBALL LEAGUE - PENNSYLVANIA

18-10 .643, 3rd place

Semi-finals: Defeated Pottsville, 2-1

Finals: Lost to Reading, 1-2

Looking to improve on the past season, Hazleton started the season with a 44-36 loss at Harrisburg. Head coach Frank Serany immediately released almost his entire roster, letting go of Tommy Gorman, Hal Korovin, John Kostic, Billy Letcher, and Eddie McCluskey and bringing back Rookie Brown and Pete Yousaitis as well as signing a new batch of players like Bink Manning and Moon Mullen. It still took a little while for the new-look lineup to pick things up, only winning 3 games at the end of calendar year 1947. But after that 3-5 start, Hazleton would go 6-2 in both January and February and win 9 of eleven before losing the season finale at Pottsville. They entered the playoffs and defeated those same Pottsville Packers in a hard-fought best of three that went all three games. In the championship against Reading, Hazleton defeated Reading, 61-53, in the opener at home, but would lose games 2 and 3 on the road, ending the season as the runner-up. 

Head Coach:

• Frank Serany (May 4, 1911 - April 27, 1982) Also played. See below

PLAYERS:

Tommy Bell (September 11, 1922 - December 17, 1949)

William "Rookie" Brown - (February 15, 1925 - May 22, 1971)

Joe Chepulis (July 26, 1917 - June 25, 2009)

Tommy Gorman (March 16, 1919 - August 11, 1986)

Bernie Griggs (October 1, 1977 - June 27, 2001)

Louis Hilf (March 24, 1920 - May 27, 2002)

Hal Korovin (April 19, 1925 - June 5, 2021)

John Kostic (April 5, 1926 - October 17, 2011)

Billy Letcher (February 10, 1929 - October 21, 2010)

Bink Manning (August 29, 1920 - April 7, 1986)

Johnny Mascavage (January 14, 1918 - April 12, 1990)

Eddie McCluskey (January 29, 1926 - March 2, 2016)

Moon Mullen 

Fred Paine (December 7, 1925 - October 26, 2004)

Emil Piestrak (December 19, 1918 - June 7, 2011)

Ossie Prokopic (December 21, 1919 - March 19, 2010)

Gene Resnick (December 26, 1924 - December 13, 2019)

Pete Schneider (June 29, 1919 - September 22, 1996)

Frank Serany (May 4, 1911 - April 27, 1982)

Leroy Watley (March 11, 1925 - January 15, 1996)

Pete Yousaitis (September 10, 1917 - December 23, 1995)