Russ Herrmann

Russell Charles Herrmann


Born:
September 27, 1914
Philadelphia, PA

Died:
July 28, 1976
Wynnewood, PA


Career
1934-35 Brown Prep - Philadelphia (High School)
1935-36 Bryn Mawr (Independent) 
1935-36 McGovern's Sons - Chester, PA (Independent)
1937-38 Penn AC - Philadelphia (Independent)
1938-39 Lancaster Red Birds (Independent)
1938-39 J.G. Brill  - Philadelphia (Independent)
1939-40 Philadelphia Athletics (Independent)
1940-41 Penn AC - Philadelphia (Independent)
1941-42 Penn AC - Philadelphia (Independent)
1942-43 Ford Local - Philadelphia (Independent)
1943-44 Ford Local - Philadelphia (Independent)
1944-45 Ford Local - Philadelphia (Independent)
1944-45 Wilmington Bombers (ABL)
1945-46 Narbeth - Pennsylvania (Independent)
1946-47 Lancaster Red Roses (EPBL)

Herrmann attended Brown Prep before a decade-plus of semi-pro basketball and baseball around Pennsylvania. He was a high scoring star in Philadelphia industrial leagues, and would play one game for the Wilmington Bombers in the ABL and also played for Lancaster in the Eastern League. He later worked as an expediter and dispatcher and was a member of the UAW. Herrmann died in 1976 st the age of 61.

Herrmann's older brother Alfred was also a Philly-area basketball and baseball player.

Source:


Stats:

John Van Belle

John Thomas Van Belle


Born:
January 21, 1921
Philadelphia, PA

Died:
March 8, 2000
Jenkintown, PA


Career
1938-39 St. Joseph's Prep - Philadelphia (High School)
1941-42 St. Joseph's University - Philadelphia (College)
1942-43 St. Joseph's University - Philadelphia (College)
1944-45 Traux Field - Wisconsin (Military)
1946-47 Wilmington Bombers (ABL)

A graduate of St. Joe's Prep and University, he served in the military during World War 2. Van Belle played one game with the Wilmington Bombers.

He was married to Elizabeth Hatcher and they had two daughters.

Source:


Stats:

Ed Poker

Ed Poker
born Edward Joseph Pokropski


Born:
October 30, 1917
Philadelphia, PA

Died:
October 8, 1991
Sicklerville, NJ


Career
1946-47 Wilmington Bombers (ABL)
1946-47 House of David (Independent)
1947-48 House of David (Independent) 
1948-49 House of David (Independent)

Born to Joseph and Mary Pokropski, Ed would later go by the name the "Ed Poker" while playing semi-pro basketball and baseball around the Philadelphia area. He played basketball with the House of David team a few years as well as with the Wilmington Bombers in the ABL.

Ed worked for many years as a steelworker and a machinist.

He married Mary Zindell (1919-1976) in 1939 and they had six daughters and two sons. His second wife, Josephine, died only a month before Ed's sudden passing in 1991.


Source:
Courier Post, October 6, 1991

Stats:

Babe Nagle

Gerald Joseph "Babe" Nagle


Born:
August 30, 1921
Wilmington, DE

Died:
May 31, 1994
Wilmington, DE


Career
1937-38 Salesianum High School - Wilmington, DE (High School)
1938-39 Salesianum High School - Wilmington, DE (High School)
1946-47 Wilmington Bombers (ABL)
(EBL) ??

Nagle graduated from Salesianum HS in Wilmington and served in the Navy during WW2. After the war, he played basketball professionally with the Wilmington Bombers (and maybe the Eastern League.... not sure yet). Nagle worked for many years as a Sheet Metal Worker and eventually would be elected to the Wilmington City Council, serving from 1965-1976. He died of heart failure in 1994.

He married Elizabeth Conley (1924-1996) in 1947.

Source:
The News Journal (Wilmington, DE), June 3, 1994

Stats:

Jack McCloskey

John William McCloskey


Born:
September 19, 1925
Mahanoy City, PA

Died:
June 1, 2017
Savannah, GA


Career
1943-44 University of Pennsylvania (College)
1946-47 Hazleton Mountaineers (EPBL)
1946-47 Wilmington Bombers (ABL)
1947-48 Lancaster Red Roses (ABL)
1947-48 Lancaster Red Roses (EPBL)
1947-48 University of Pennsylvania (College) Freshmen - Head coach
1948-49 Lancaster Red Roses (EPBL)

1948-49 Pottsville Packers (EPBL)

1949-50 Pottsville Packers (EPBL)

1950-51 Cheltenham Aces (Main Line League)
1950-51 Pottsville Packers (EPBL)
1951-52 Sunbury Mercuries (EPBL)
1952-53 Philadelphia Warriors (NBA)
1952-53 Sunbury Mercuries (EPBL)
1952-53 Collingswood High School - New Jersey (High School) Head coach
1953-54 Sunbury Mercuries (EPBL)
1954-55 University of Pennsylvania (College) Freshmen - Head coach

A three-sport star in high school (football, baseball and basketball), McCloskey entered the Navy's V-12 program after high school and was sent to the University of Pennsylvania. He played basketball while there. and after the war would play basketball professionally through the mid 1950's. During this time, he would also coach basketball and played minor league baseball.McCloskey was named the MVP of the Eastern League in 1952-53 and 1953-54 before ending his days on the court. However, his involvement in the game itself remained. He continued to coach and would evenutally move into management. In late 1979, McCloskey was hired as the GM for the then-floundering Detroit Pistons. By the end of the 1980's, he had rebuilt the team into a powerhouse, with two NBA championships and multiple appearances in the Conference Finals. He would later leave the Pistons to work as GM for the Minnesota Timberwolves before retiring.

McCloskey died from complications of Alzheimer's Disease in 2017 at the age of 91.

He was married to Leslie.

Minor League Baseball Stats:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=mcclos012---

Source:
Standard Sentinel (Hazleton, PA), June 4, 1954
Obituary, NY Times

Stats:
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mccloja01.html
https://www.justsportsstats.com/basketballstatsindex.php?player_id=mccloja01

Harry Markellos

Harry Anthony Markellos


Born:
February 6, 1923
Philadelphia, PA

Died:
January 11, 2010



Career
1940-41 Northeastern High School - Philadelphia (High School)
1941-42 Northeastern High School - Philadelphia (High School)

Loyola University - Maryland (College) ??
1946-47 Wilmington Bombers (ABL)
1946-47 Link Belt - Philadelphia (Independent)

The 6', 160-pound athlete from Philly attended Northeastern HS and later served in Army during World War 2, He supposedly went to Loyola, but haven't confirmed it.

Markellos played pro basketball with the Wilmington Bombers in 1946-47. He also played minor league baseball and semi-pro football.


Minor League Baseball Stats
https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=markel002har

Source:


Stats:

Bruce Lindsay

Bruce Carleton Lindsay


Born:
August 30, 1916
Columbia, PA

Died:
February 14, 1991
Wilmington, DE


Career
1934-35 Wilmington High School - Delaware (High School)
1937-38 University of Delaware (College)
1938-39 University of Delaware (College)
1946-47 Wilmington Bombers (ABL)

Lindsay was the captain of the basketball team at the University of Delaware, and after school he served in the U.S. Army during World War 2. He was awarded the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Defense Service Medal and the European African Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon. After the war, he went into teaching and coaching, but also played three scoreless games for the Wilmington Bombers in 1947. He would later become a high school athletic director as well as basketball official for many years before retiring in 1974.

Bruce and his wife, Dorothy, had a son and three daughters.

Source:
News Journal (Wilmington, DE), February 15, 1991

Stats:

Jim Hoerst

James Paul Hoerst


Born:
October 31, 1922
Philadelphia, PA

Died:
December 17, 1971
Philadelphia, PA ??


Career
1940-41 La Salle University (College) Freshmen
1946-47 Wilmington Bombers (ABL)

Jim entered the army in the summer of 1943, serving his country in World War 2. The brother of Wilmington Bombers head coach Frank Hoerst, Jim joined the club in January of 1947 and averaged 4.6 points in 14 games.

Jim was married to married Madeline Dyal.

Source:


Stats:

Bill Landis

Bill Charles "Tall Timber" Landis, Jr.


Born:
June 25, 1925
Fountain Hill, PA

Died:
September 26, 1997
Quakertown, PA


Career
1942-43 Quakertown High School - Pennsylvania (High School)
1943-44 Albright College - Reading, PA (College)
1944-45 Albright College - Reading, PA (College)
1946-47 Reading Keys (EPBL)
1946-47 Wilmington Bombers (ABL)

The 6'7, 190 pound Landis starred on the court at Quakertown HS, and by the time he finished at Albright college, had grown to 6'9 and 215 pounds.

Landis signed with the Philadelphia Warriors of the BAA in October of 1946 but was waived and wound up with the Bombers in the ABL. He played five games for the Bombers, putting up 26 points. He left basketball and worked for many years in the maintenance department of the Reading Railroad.

Source:
Morning Call (Allentown, PA) September 27, 1997

Stats:

Jim Kiernan

James (F.?)Kiernan (Jr?)


Born:

New York, NY

Died:




Career
1936-37 St. Simon High School - New York City (High School)
1937-38 St. Simon High School - New York City (High School)
1938-39 St. Simon High School - New York City (High School)
1939-40 Georgetown University (College)
1940-41 Georgetown University (College)
1941-42 Washington Brewers (Independent)*

1941-42 Glens Falls Liona - New York (independent)  
1946-47 Paterson Crescents (ABL)
1946-47 Wilmington Bombers (ABL)

Kiernan, from the Bronx, left Georgetown in 1941. He played pro basketball and also pitched some minor league baseball that year, first with Brattleboro and then in Bennington (both clubs are in Vermont.) He later pitched for Bridgeport (Connecticut) in 1947.

6'0 

* The Brewers were a member of the ABL at this time, but it does not appear like Kiernan played in any league games; only in exhibition games.

Source:


Stats:

Frank Hoerst

Frank Joseph "Lefty" Hoerst, Jr.


Born:
April 11, 1917
Philadelphia, PA

Died:
February 18, 2000
Maple Shade, NJ


Career
1933-34 Northeast Catholic High School - Philadelphia (High School)
1934-35 Northeast Catholic High School - Philadelphia (High School)
1935-36 LaSalle University (College) Freshmen
1936-37 LaSalle University (College)
1937-38 LaSalle University (College)
1938-39 LaSalle University (College)
1946-47 Wilmington Bombers (ABL) Head coach

Born to Frank and Alice Hoerst in Philly, Hoerst played baseball, basketball and football at Northeast Catholic and would go on to play baseball and basketball at LaSalle. A hard-throwing pitcher and also a two-time captain of the basketball team, Hoerst would probably have pursued a basketball career professionally if a true organized and financially stable league existed at the time of his graduation. Instead, he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies after graduating and spent the 1939 season their Class D affiliate in Mayodan, North Carolina. The southpaw pitched well enough to be invited to spring training in 1940 and made the major league club. He appeared in six games with the Phils before being sent down to Pensacola, where he finished the season with a 16-7 record. He returned to the Phillies in 1941 and stayed through 1942 until the U.S. Navy called. He served through World War 2 and returned to the Phillies after the war. He stayed with the Phillies through the end of 1947 when he was sold to Memphis. In winter of 1946, he signed on to coach  the Wilmington Bombers basketball team in the ABL. Frank's brother Jim played for Frank that year. Frank would coach the LaSalle freshmen team that season, too.

After a couple years in Memphis, Hoerst was done with the game, having compiled a 10-33 record in his time with the Phils. He would later coach LaSalle's baseball team and work as an NBA referee. He worked at Gretz Brewery and rose from sales manager to Vice President, and started his own company which specialized in the manufacturing of a light-weight building material called vermicutlite.

Source:
SABR Biography

Stats:

Don Gleasner

Donald George Gleasner


Born:
December 30, 1922
Wilmington, DE

Died:
May 3, 2011
East Hampton, NY


Career
1938-39 Wilmington High School (High School)
1939-40 Wilmington High School (High School)
1940-41 Morris Harvey College - West Virginia (College)
1941-42 Morris Harvey College - West Virginia (College)
1942-43 Morris Harvey College - West Virginia (College)
1943-44 University of Pennsylvania (College)
1945-46 University of Maryland (College)
1945-46 St. Helena - Wilmington (Independent)
1946-47 Wilmington Bombers (ABL)

Born to Leo and Eleanor Gleasner in Wilmington, Delaware, Don was a natural and well-known athlete in his hometown. Gleasner, at 6'2 and 193 pounds, played basketball, football and baseball in high school and in college. He went to Morris Harvey (now the University of Charleston in West Viriginia) before entering the U.S. Navy. He played baskeball at Penn while in the navy's V-12 program. and served as a naval pilot during World War 2. After the war, he went to the University of Maryland and the urging of the Naval Academy's coach. He played his three sports at Maryland, and not only was he drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 28th round, but signed with the ABL's Wilmington Bombers and with baseball's Boston Red Sox. 
Gleasner played with the Bombers in their final ABL season. He started playing with the Brattleboro (Vermont) club in the Red Sox farm system in 1946, and in 1947 moved over to their Class-B affiliate in the Piedmont League in Roanoke. He never progressed higher in the minor leagues than Roanoke, leaving the Red Sox system after the 1948 season. He went to Asia and created an import business and was among the first entrepreneurs to introduce pre-finished plywood to America.

He married Patti Siceloff in 1947 and they had two sons and a daughter.

Minor League Baseball Stats
https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=gleasn001don

Source:
News Journal (Wilmington, DE), December 3, 1941
News Journal (Wilmington, DE), July 25, 1946
Obituary, East Hampton Star, May 12, 2011

Stats:

Buzzy Gillen

Eugene Edward "Buzzy" Gillen


Born:
August 13, 1918
Wilmington, DE

Died:
January 4, 2008
Wilmington, DE


Career
(High School)
1933-34 Salesianum High School - Wilmington, DE (High School)
1934-35 Salesianum High School - Wilmington, DE (High School)
1934-35 Jackson Street Reapers - Wilmington, DE (YMCA)
1935-36 Salesianum High School - Wilmington, DE (High School)
1935-36 Jackson Street Reapers - Wilmington, DE (YMCA)
1936-37 Jackson Street Reapers - Wilmington, DE (YMCA)
1936-37 Beacom College (College)
1937-38 LaSalle University - Philadelphia (College)
1938-39 LaSalle University - Philadelphia (College)
1939-40 LaSalle University - Philadelphia (College)
1940-41 LaSalle University - Philadelphia (College)
1943-44 Mirimar - San Diego (Military)
1944-45 Mirimar - San Diego (Military)
1945-46 St. Helena - Wilmington (Independent)
1946-47 Wilmington Bombers (ABL)
1947-48 St. Patrick - Wilmington (Independent)
1947-48 CC Legal  - Wilmington (Independent)

Born to Frank and Jeannette Gillen, Buzzy graduated from Salesianum HS in Wilmington and spent one year at Beacom College before being offered a scholarship at LaSalle. He made the varsity team as a freshman, and after missing the first three games, he would play in every game through his senior year when he was the team captain. He signed to play with the Wilmington Bombers in November of 1941, but did not appear in a game and was off the Marines shortly after the season began. He served during World War 2 in the Pacific, playing for a couple of the teams there while stationed in San Diego and Oahu. After the war, he played basketball with the St. Helena Parish team in the semi-pro Catholic circuit before signing on with the Wilmington Bombers yet again in the fall of 1946. He played in 31 of the 35 Bombers' games that year, which was the final season in existence for the ABL club. He quite basketball and became an accountant for Dupont, retiring in 1980. He was elected to the  Delaware's Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, and died in 2008 at 89 years of age.

He married Pauline Ademski (d. 1986) in 1950. After her death, he would remarry to Dorothy Crowe Wilson and inherited four step-daughters.

Source:
Delaware Online / News Journal, January 7, 2008
Morning News (Wilmington, DE), November 24, 1941
Morning News (Wilmington, DE), May 13, 1999

Stats:

Bill Garry

William Garry


Born:



Died:




Career
St. Benedict's Prep - Newark, NJ (High School)
1946-47 Wilmington Bombers (ABL)
1948-49 St. Mary's High School - South Amboy, NJ (High School) Head coach
1949-50 St. Mary's High School - South Amboy, NJ (High School) Head coach
1950-51 St. Mary's High School - South Amboy, NJ (High School) Head coach
1951-52 St. Mary's High School - South Amboy, NJ (High School) Head coach 

Played one game for Wilmington and did not score. He played soccer (and basketball??) at Seton Hall, and later returned there to coach soccer.

Source:


Stats:

George Eyrich

George Lincoln Eyrich


Born:
March 3, 1925
Reading, PA

Died:
June 25, 2006
Reading, PA


Career
1946-47 Wilmington Bombers (ABL)

Eyrich began a baseball career in 1943, signing with the Philles as an 18-year old pitcher and was immediately added to the war-depleted roster. He pitched in nine games that summer before being inducted into the U.S. Navy. Following the war, he returned to the mound, in the Phillies affiliate in Utica, New York. That off-season, who played basketball for the Wilmington Bombers. He continued to play baseball through 1954, but never returned to the Major Leagues.

Major League Baseball Stats
https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=eyrich001geo

Source:


Stats:

Johnny Byrnes

John Michael Byrnes


Born:
September 14, 1920
Edelman, PA

Died:
December 28, 1992
Allentown, PA


Career
1938-39 Nazareth High School - Pennsylvania (High School)
1939-40 Nazareth High School - Pennsylvania (High School)
1940-41 YMCA - Nazareth, Pennsylvania (Independent)
1941-42 YMCA - Nazareth, Pennsylvania (Independent)
1946-47 Wilmington Bombers (ABL)

A pitcher and football player as well as a basketball player in high school, John lead his school to the 1940 state championship. In the 1938-39 season, his grades were not high enough to make him eligible to play on the school team, so he played in the local YMCA league with older players. Once his grades got back up, he returned to the school team but was declared ineligibile for the year due to his YMCA stint. He enter the USMC to serve his country in World War 2, seeing action in various battles in the South Pacific. After the war, he played semi-pro baseball

John's brother Henry also played with John in Nazareth.

Source:
Morning Call (Allentown), December 9, 1946
Morning Call (Allentown), December 30, 1992

Stats:

Bob Boylan

Robert Leo Boylan


Born:
April 11, 1920
Wilkes-Barre, PA

Died:
May 9, 2013
Cherry Hill, NJ


Career
1936-37 Coughlin High School - Wilkes-Barre, PA (High School)
1940-41 St. Joseph's University - Philadelphia (College)
1941-42 St. Joseph's University - Philadelphia (College)
1942-43 St. Joseph's University - Philadelphia (College)
1943-44 St. Anne's XIII Corps - Wilmington (Independent)
1943-44 Great Lakes (Military)
1946-47 Wilmington Bombers (ABL)
1946-47 Lancaster Red Roses (EPBL)
1946-47 St. Joseph's University - Philadelphia (College) Assistant coach
1947-48 Lancaster Roses (ABL) 

Boylan left school to serve in Navy during World War 2, and as a small boat captain took part in various invasions in the Philippines. The 6'2, 185-pound Boylan played basketball while in the military, and after his discharge in August of 1946, he played professionally with the Wilmington Bombers while taking an assistant coaching job at St. Joseph's. I am not sure how long he stayed coaching there. He would later become an FBI agent, working out of the field office in his hometown of Wilkes-Barre.

He married Claire Murphy in 1952 and they had three sons and one daughter.

Source:
legacy.com

Stats:

Franny Bock

Francis Joseph Bock


Born:
September 29, 1921
Baltimore, MD

Died:
October 2, 2006
Baltimore, MD


Career
1937-38 Calvert Hall High School - Baltimore (High School)
1938-39 Calvert Hall High School - Baltimore (High School)
1940-41 Loyola University - Maryland (College)
1941-42 Loyola University - Maryland (College)
1942-43 Loyola University - Maryland (College)
1942-43 Local 33 - Baltimore (Independent)
1945-46 Fourteen Holy Martyrs - Baltimore (Independent)
1946-47 Wilmington Bombers (ABL)
1946-47 Baltimore Bullets (ABL)
1947-48 Harrisburg Senators (EPBL)

Born to Victor and Marie Bock, Franny and played basketball at Calvert Hall HS. He was a long-time teammate of his brother, Vic. They were paired up not only in high school, but college, semi-pro and professionally. He later officiated basketball games around Baltimore, collegiate and prep. Like his brother, Bock had issues with his heart, but unlike his brother, he managed to live a long life despite his ailment, dying at 85 in 2006.

He married Evelyn Totolski and they had two sons and one daughter.

Source:


Stats:

1946-47 Wilmington Bombers (ABL)

1946-47 WILMINGTON BOMBERS
AMERICAN BASKETBALL LEAGUE (II)
Southern Division
15-20 .429, 5th place


Head Coaches

• Frank Hoerst (April 11, 1917 - February 18, 2000) 11-17
• John P. "Jocko" Collins (November 13, 1905 - March 2, 1986)  4-3

PLAYERS: 

• Franny Bock (September 29, 1921 - October 2, 2006)

Biography

• Vic Bock (August 31, 1920 - September 3, 1951)

Biography 

• Bob Boylan (April 11, 1920 - May 9, 2013)

Biography

• Johnny Byrnes (September 14, 1920 - December 28, 1992)

Biography 

• Paul Chadick (May 25, 1918 - December 28, 1999)

Biography 

• Ken Corley (May 10, 1920 - June 27, 1984)

Biography

• George Eyrich (March 3, 1925 - June 25, 2006)

Biography

• Bill Garry 

Biography

• Buzzy Gillen (August 13, 1918 - January 4, 2008)

Biography

• Don Gleasner (December 30, 1922 - May 3, 2011)

Biography

• Jim Hoerst (October 31, 1922 - December 17, 1971)

Biography 

• Paul Kessy (May 17, 1915 - January 3, 1971)

Biography

• Jim Kiernan 

Biography 

• Herm Knuppel (August 23, 1916 - August 16, 1997)

Biography 

• Bill Landis (June 25, 1925 - September 26, 1997)

Biography

• Bruce Lindsay (August 30, 1916 - February 14, 1991)

Biography

• Ed Lyons (July 1, 1926 - October 28, 2011)

Biography

• Harry Markellos (February 6, 1923 - January 11, 2010)

Biography 

• Jack McCloskey (September 19, 1925 - June 1, 2017)

Biography 

• John Murphy (September 13, 1924 - January 29, 2003)

Biography

• Babe Nagle (August 30, 1921 - May 31, 1994)

Biography

• Ed Poker (October 30, 1917 - October 8, 1991)

Biography

• John Van Belle (January 21, 1921 - March 8, 2000)

Biography

Stamm

Stamm


Born:



Died:




Career
1945-46 Wilmington Bombers (ABL)

Played one game for the Bombers, March 2, 1946. He scored no points, and no information with regards to his identity is known.

Source:


Stats:
http://probasketballencyclopedia.com/player/stamm/