1948-49 Greencastle VFW (ESABL)

1948-49 GREENCASTLE VFW

EASTERN STATES AMATEUR BASKETBALL LEAGUE
Southern Division
7-6, .538, T-4th place

Largely made up of players from a military supply depot, Greencastle was looking like as contender after wining seven of their first 10, but a three-game losing streak to close the campaign knocked them out of the running.

Head Coach:

  

PLAYERS:

Bill Baer (January 1, 1928 - May 6, 1981)

Wib Bear (March 17, 1925 - October 5, 2008)

Bill or Bobby Grove  

Hoffman  

Shad Hunt (January 9, 1926 - January 22, 1997)

Henry Keller (February 14, 1930 - February 6, 2011)

Toby McDonald (February 16, 1931 - April 7, 2009)

Brad Myers (b. February 14, 1930)

Dizzy Overcash (January 1, 1922 - July 19, 1983)

Parr 

Bill Peck (December 19, 1928 - June 26, 1998)

Sonny Rowe (December 20, 1928 - September 28, 2012)

Mark Sellers (November 12, 1930 - March 15, 2010)

Frank Shinham (Septmeber 29, 1925 - June 9. 1991)

Smith 

Sower  

Gerald Warren (June 17, 1928 - November 19, 2010)

Putters Zimmerman (April 11, 1927 - May 12, 2013)

1948-49 Frederick Moose (ESABL)

1948-49 FREDERICK MOOSE
EASTERN STATES AMATEUR BASKETBALL LEAGUE
Southern Division
8-5, .615, T-1st place

Divisional playoff - Lost to Hagerstown, 63-57

Paced by minor league baseball star Slugger Rice, the Frederick Moose were a strong club that would finish in a tie with Hagerstown for the Southern Division title. In a one-game playoff, the Mosse would fall to Hagerstown to end their season.

Head Coach:

• Ed Albaugh  

PLAYERS:

Bill Bruchey (September 15, 1918 - December 1, 1994)

Pete Demchak (December 22, 1919 - May 1, 1979)

Deacon Dutrow (July 6, 1920 - January 7, 1988)

Nield Gordon (November 17, 1930 - May 2, 2022)

Bud Hoffman (December 25, 1923 - March 2, 1997)

Luke Murray (July 10, 1917 - April 27, 1996)

Slugger Rice (September 6, 1917 - June 8, 1979)

Jim Sparks (March 14, 1922 - September 4, 1995)

Dick Vaughan (January 8, 1928 - December 11, 2009)

1948-49 Chambersburg Cardinals (ESABL)

1948-49 CHAMBERSBURG CARDINALS

EASTERN STATES AMATEUR BASKETBALL LEAGUE
Northern Division
13-1, .929, 1st place

Championship - Defeated Hagerstown, 3-0

An absolute powerhouse, the Cardinals rolled through the regular season with the only blemish being a 2-point loss in Harrisburg. They would outscore their opponents by an average of 17 points and in the championship series pounded Hagerstown in three straight games, the last two being 39 and 24-point margins. Joe Howard of Gettysburg College lead the team with 14.2 point per game while Jack Dorsey chipped in 12.2 PPG.

Jack Dorsey

Co-Head Coaches:

L. Kenneth Barbour (May 16, 1904 - March 9, 1968)

Robert Rines (March 1, 1914 - April 16, 2004)

PLAYERS:

Jack Dorsey (March 12, 1926 - December 1, 2002)

Don Flory (December 30, 1929 - September 1, 2007)

Jim Gillespie (July 9, 1929 - November 1, 2003)

Jack Goulding (September 17, 1929 - December 5, 1995)

Bert Henry (May 22, 1929 - November 12, 2012)

Joe Howard (June 4, 1928 - December 17, 1993)

Nick Koutris

Nick Koutris (June 4, 1927 - February 13, 1989)

Merle Leisher (July 6, 1929 - December 23, 2012)

Clarence Lesher (July 9, 1927 - March 21, 2001)

Ted Lesher (October 12, 1926 - November 9, 2021)

Dick Naugle (January 13, 1930 - December 20, 2011)

Clarence Zweizig (March 23, 1921 - June 23, 1985)

Jim Goulding

Jim Gillespie

Merle "Doggie" Lesher

Dick Naugle

Clarence Lesher

Joe Howard

1948-49 Alexandria WASCO Bullets (ESABL)

1948-49 ALEXANDRIA WASCO BULLETS
EASTERN STATES AMATEUR BASKETBALL LEAGUE

Southern Division
7-6, .538, t-4th place

(10-3, .769, before game reversals) 

At the end of the season, player eligibility issues surfaces league wide and a bunch of games had their results reversed and turned into forfeits. Alexandria was involved in 5 such games, both on the winning and losing side. The reversed scores downgraded their 10-3 finish into a 4th place finish and missing the playoffs.

Head Coach:

• Mike Patterson  
  

PLAYERS:

Aud  

Nose Burling (October 27. 1922 - January 2, 1995)

Cranford

Jack Haggerty

Jimmy Higgins (October 28, 1923 - July 7, 2014)

Laekhart 

Tommy McGuire  

Phillips  

Bill Rorer (January 28, 1930 - March 14, 2019)

John Smerick (April 10, 1918 - October 21, 2004)

Duky Washington 

Jack Washington 

1948-49 Eastern States American Basketball League (ESABL)

The Eastern States American Basketball League was formed in 1948, featuring 16 semi-pro teams split into two divisions. As seemed to be the case with most smaller semi-pro leagues, some teams were very successful at the gate while others faltered and failed to finish the season. After the inaugural season, the Eastern States League would re-organize as the Penn-Maryland League and run two more years before folding. A team from Fort Royal in Virginia disbanded before the seas0on even started.

Northern Division

• Chambersburg Cardinals
• Hanover AA
• Harrisburg Modern Army and Navy
• Letterkenny / Scotland Generals
• McSherrystown Knights of Columbus
• Progress Susquehanna Boosters
• Steelton Friendly Tavern Five
• York Howard Cleaners

Southern Division

• Alexandria WASCO
• Frederick Moose
• Greencastle VFW
• Hagerstown Fairchild Aircraft Packets
• Martinsburg Legionnaires
• Rockville Stars
• Waynesboro VFW
• Winchester Royals

New updates, identifications, corrections, December 2025

Taking some time and looking back to fill in some holes or close some things out.

DETAILS ADDED:

Dave Laub, ABL - Died April 3, 2025

Clint Parmer, PBLA - Died March 3, 2025

PROPERLY IDENTIFIED:

Pat Walsh, NEBL / Boston Goodwins - Patrick Joseph Walsh

CORRECTED:

NEW LEADS UNRESOLVED:

Bob Murphy (SPBL, AAU) Identified

 Identified as Robert Thomas Murphy, star athlete from Redwood City, California.

Bob Murphy (1928-2013)