SOUTHERN BASKETBALL LEAGUE
13-33 .283, 5th place
Coached by Lynn Dowdy, a professional baseball umpire, the Memphis Legionnaires started the season with six straight losses before upsetting Nashville on December 11. They struggled on the court and at the turnstyles, and were stumbling through a nine-game losing streak when the franchise was sold and moved to Mobile on January 14. Now known as the Mobile Gulls, the team, with Ocie Richie now as the head coach as well as a player, would fall to 4-18 before a four-game winning streak that brought a little life to the club. However, the bottom fell out after that short taste of victory and the Gulls dropped 11 of their next 12 en route to a 13-33 finish. Bob Murphy was the team's high scorer with 19.9 ppg and Russell Reid was another bright spot, averaging 16 points in the 38 games I have box scores for. The team would drop from the league after the season and would operate as an independent team for a couple more years.
Head Coaches:
- Lynn Dowdy (July 30, 1913 - March 15, 1977) 4-16
- Ocie Richie (November 16, 1921 - February 5, 2012) 9-17 Also played. See below.
PLAYERS:
- Harry Anderson (March 23, 1913 - June 15, 1996)
- John Barger (August 20, 1919 - October 3, 2004)
- George Blakemore (July 2, 1918 - March 15, 1988)
- Pete Deem (August 25, 1918 - September 19, 2005)
- Art Drago (April 10, 1921 - November 13, 1999)
- Harpe
- John Hitson (July 7, 1927 - January 10, 1999)
- Danny Long (July 23, 1925 - December 27, 2005)
- Claude Martin (September 8, 1918 - February 27, 2000)
- Bill Menton (November 3, 1919 - February 15, 2010)
- Bob Murphy
- Bill Pennebaker (October 12, 1922 - December 13, 2008)
- J.T. Rakestraw (February 25, 1920 - September 12, 1999)
- Bill Ramsey (February 20, 1920 - January 4, 2008)
- Russell Reid (February 1, 1920 - February 28, 2008)
- Ocie Richie (November 16, 1921 - February 5, 2012)
- Buck Tanner (August 1, 1924 - June 5, 1978)
- Cas Weinacker (January 2, 1921 - December 29, 2001)
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