1948-49 Martinsburg Legionnaires (ESABL)

1948-49 MARTINSBURG LEGIONNAIRES 
EASTERN STATES AMATEUR BASKETBALL LEAGUE
Northern Division
1-12 .077, 7th place

(2-12 after adding a forfeit after season finished)

Martinsburg team never managed to put anything together, only winning a single game on the court all year.

Head Coach:

• 
  

PLAYERS:

Dyke Aston (April 5, 1925- April 15, 1991)

David Fowler (December 1, 1929 - May 15, 1990)

Len Frick/Flick/Fick 

Gerald Gano (September 3, 1927 - March 3, 2014)

Jim Heflin 

Glenn Kline (November 13, 1925 - May 9, 1996)

R Kline 

Charlie Manor (September 20, 1929 - December 14, 2021)

Ralph Morris 

Sonny Shober 

Paul Thompson (September 23, 1927 - February 19, 2005)

Frank Walper (February 12, 1923 - April 10, 2005)

1948-49 Letterkenny / Scotland Generals (ESABL)

1948-49 LETTERKENNY / SCOTLAND GENERALS

Ray Schellhase

EASTERN STATES AMATEUR BASKETBALL LEAGUE
Northern Division
5-9 .357, T-5th place

The Letterkenny team was comprised of military personnel from the supply and training depot in town. They never really were a threat, finishing in a tie for fifth place.  Slim Sommerville averaged over 16 points a game as the club's high scorer.

Head Coach:

• Ray Schellhase (February 16, 1925 - November 12, 2012)

Dick Booz

PLAYERS:

Dick Booz (July 7, 1927 - June 28, 2009)

Elman Brindle (July 4, 1925 - April 27, 2016)

Merle Etter (October 16, 1924 - August 16, 1990)

Bob Fahnestock (December 31, 1927 - August 24, 2016)

Charles Fleming (December 13, 1926 - December 21, 2021)

Mearns Fuller (September 4, 1921 - January 13, 2017)

Tom Geiman (January 21, 1927 - March 27, 2010)

Bill Gipe (June 23, 1923 - December 24, 2010)

Wayne Hartman (March 8, 1925 - December 31, 1997)

Turk Keltner (October 18, 1924 -  March 10, 1988)

Bob Fahnestock

Don Rook (November 16, 1921 - June 12, 2023)

Slim Sommerville (July 2, 1929 - January 7, 2009)

G. Steve Waltz (July 12, 1920 - October 20, 2009)

Clinton Watson (November 23, 1921 - October 4, 1983)

Parker Watson (January 27, 1927 - July 8, 1986)

Jack Young (December 22, 1926 - April 11, 2018)

Bill Gipe

Steve Waltz

Elman Brindle

Merle Etter

Slim Sommerville

Jack Young

Tom Geiman

Charles Fleming

Wayne Hartman

1948-49 Harrisburg Modern Army and Navy (ESABL)

1948-49 HARRISBURG MODERN ARMY AND NAVY
EASTERN STATES AMATEUR BASKETBALL LEAGUE
Northern Division
9-5 .643, 3rd place

Playing out of a military installation, the Harrisburg team, comprised largely with servicemen, got off to a hot start, wining six out of their first seven games. However, when the calendar turned to February, the team hit a lump, losing three straight and with a loss in their closing contest, missed a shot at the playoffs.

Head Coach:

• Joe Mulligan (October 23, 1912 - September 25, 1989)   Also played. See below

PLAYERS:

Dave Conrad (March 10, 1929 - January 1, 2017)

Danny Ernst (b. November 22, 1922)

Harry Hafer (May 27, 1925 - November 5, 1988)

Al Hench 

Clarence Hummel (April 1, 1925 - May 3, 2004)

Dave McWhite (November 6, 1919 - December 8, 1997)

Joe Mulligan (October 23, 1912 - September 25, 1989) 

Bob Nicholson (August 17, 1928 - January 18, 1994)

Newman Silks (October 21, 1927 - January 24, 2014)

Frank Towe (March 9, 1922 - April 23, 1994)

Marvin Walter  (June 4, 1927 - September 17, 2024)

Charles Weller 

Charles Weller

Marvin Walter

Dave Conrad

1948-49 Hanover A.A. (ESABL)

1948-49 HANOVER A.A.

EASTERN STATES AMATEUR BASKETBALL LEAGUE
Northern Division

5-9, .353, T-5th place

Mert Becker and Howard Trite were the high scorers for the Hanover Athletic Association, but with the exception of a 4-1 stretch in mid-season, they failed to make a real dent in the league. 

Head Coach:

• Ray Gray (May 13, 1901 - September 11, 1974)

PLAYERS:

Ken Baublitz (October 3. 1927 - January 11, 2011)

Berl Biddle

Mert Becker (June 12, 1926 - September 6, 2011)

Berl Biddle (October 9, 1928 - December 6, 2006)

Chick Czyzewicz (October 12, 1924 - January 14, 2001)

Bill Fuhrman (October 2, 1921 - August 25, 1986)

Dave LeFevre (February 11, 1930 - January 7, 1996)

Karl Meyers (July 18, 1915 - March 25, 1984)

Frankie Noonan (January 2, 1922 - July 18, 1995)

Dick Reese (September 28, 1930 - July 8, 2016)

Bill Seibert (February 12, 1925 - May 18, 2018)

L.B. Sheppard (July 22, 1922 - June 15, 1949)

Bob Stonesifer (January 26, 1930 - December 8, 2014)

Jack Stonesifer (b. April 15, 1929)

Phil Stonesifer (June 1, 1931 - February 6, 2013

Howard Trite (May 27, 1927 - September 26, 2019)

Dave LeFevre

Red Weaver (August 25, 1929 - July 26, 1970)

Karl Meyers

Bill Fuhrman

Chick Czyzewicz

Jack Stonesifer

Phil Stonesifer

1948-49 Hagerstown Fairchild Aircraft Packets (ESABL)

1948-49 HAGERSTOWN FAIRCHILD AIRCRAFT PACKETS
EASTERN STATES AMATEUR BASKETBALL LEAGUE

Southern Division
8-5, .538, T-1st place

Stewart C. Paxton

(7-6, .538 before game reversals) 

Divisional playoff - Defeated Frederick, 63-57

Championship - Lost to Chambersburg, 3-0

The Fairchild Aircraft squad appeared to be the class of the Southern Division, winning their first five game. However, their fortunes changed quickly, slumping to the end by going 2-6 in their last 8. (One game vs Alexandria would be reversed in their favor, and they would finished tied for first place. They defeated Frederick in a one-game playoff to earn a spot in the finals. They would get swept by Chambersburg rather decidedly.

Head Coach:

• Stewart Paxton (November 18, 1905 - May 25, 1979)

PLAYERS:

Vic Barnhart (September 1, 1922- April 13, 2017)

Jim Brode (June 6, 1923 - December 17, 1997)

Bob Carey (July 5, 1927 - March 2, 1992)

Art Deems (December 31, 1922 - April 16, 2012)

Jack Forsythe (March 14, 1930 - March 19, 2011)

Sam Hankey (May 7, 1923 - July 31, 2019)

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

Paul Holmes (May 7, 1921 - November 23, 1950)

Chub Keller (June 19, 1917 - November 28, 1991)

Max Kendall (November 4, 1920 - June 12, 2008)

Eugene Marlowe (January 3, 1923 - January 17, 1994)

Peck Martin (July 23, 1927 - June 15, 2007)

Joe Palkovitz (May 9, 1926 - August 20, 2019)

Reno Powell (July 14, 1921 - August 16, 2002)

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 (September 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)

Sterling Scott (SPBL) Identified

 

Southern league player Sterling Scott identified as Sterling Charles Scott, Valparaiso player from 1946.

Sterling Scott (1920-2008)

1950-51 Eastern Basketball League - Connecticut - Revisit

 Additions

Bristol

Foster is Joe "Chuck" Foster

Joyce is corrected to Mike Joyce

Hartford:

Added Johnny Barker

Manchester

Joyce corrected to Mike Joyce

Identified John Letvinchuk

Head coach corrected to John Falkowski

Meriden

Identified John Gaffney, Ed DiPersio

Torrington

Added Andy Hricko

Schick is Al Shiels

Identified Tom Gibbons

Wallingford

Added Joe "Chuck" Foster

Identified Frank O'Shea, Joe Di Stanislo, Milt Woolman

Added Frosty Frauham as coach

1949-50 Eastern Basketball League - Connecticut - Revisit

Some additions:

Bristol:

Raff is Bob Rafianello

Rosen is Norm Rosen

Danbury:

Added Ace Lengyel, Billy Smith, Sal Bafuma, Ed or John Ochman

Manchester:

Added Tommy Mason, Moe Felis, Norm Burke

Removed Bob Stefanowski (May 24, 1930 - November 27, 2022) (did not play in league game) and Bruce Gehrke

Meriden:

Added Jim Teagle, Connie Zimmer, Bob Jankowski, Bruce Gehrke

Middleton:

Added Larry Lohneiss, Bob Shea, John Seagrust, Sal Bafuma

New Britain:

Added Kelly Brofman, Jacovsky, Al Vieira, Pete Labanowski

Torrington:

Hawron is Jim Hanrahan

Added Adda Krulicki, Sam Ponzi, Frank Samele, Rosenko, Ed Krulicki, Luke Sapan

Wallingford

Added Wee Dinnie, Joe Stepanski, Weiss

Identified Allen Friedman and Nat Miller

Waterbury:

Added McGrath, Tom Gallagher, Pete Labanowski, Barnett, Ed Whalen, John Dolan, Cory, Emil Mele, Norm Brucker

Ed Anderson Identified

The 6'6 Ed Anderson was quite a mystery. All I really knew was his height and race and that he went to Long Island University.  I stumbled across an article recently that mentioned his hometown was Ansonia, Connecticut. I quick search of military draft records yielded one Edward Anderson from Ansonia who was the correct race and 6'4 at the age of 18. It must be the right guy.

Another ABL and New York Rens player identified.

Ed Anderson (1925-2007) 

Jack Speirs

John Jamieson Speirs, Jr 

Born:
June 28, 1925
New London, CT

Died:
July 8, 2002
New Lime, CT


Career
1939-40 Old Lyme High School - Connecticut (High School)

1940-41 Old Lyme High School - Connecticut (High School)

1941-42 Old Lyme High School - Connecticut (High School)

University of Connecticut (College) ???

1948-49 Middletown Guards (EBL-Ct)

1949-50 Middletown Guards (EBL-Ct)

Source:


Stats:

Tony Sisti Identified

A recent search for Sisti turned up his fraternity records that also mention Seton Hall and Semi-Pro basketball. It also mentioned he was a member of the harness racing hall of fame which then made it easy for him to be found.

Tony Sisti (1925-2005)

1948-49 Eastern Basketball League - Connecticut - Revisit

Some additions:

Bridgeport:

Added Julie Pereiro

ID'd Tony Rodrigues

Bristol:

Added Walt Kresge, Buzz Barton, Payne, Bob Rafaniello

Removed Ray Dombroski

ID'd Paul Nicoletti, Fred Rosi

Corrected Tom Markham's ID and merged with Tom Henry

Danbury:

Added Johnny Barron, Bruce Gehrke, Bob Gersten, Little John Wilson, Gaynor, Johnny Mills

Manchester:

Added Bob Ermisch, Johnny Gorman

Corrected Lloyd Wilson to Floyd Wilson, John Hazen to Bob Hazen

Middleton:

Added Tody Coleman, Iggy Kania

ID'd Jack Speir

New Haven:

Added John McHugh, Mickiewitz, Peterson, Ronnie and Wally Camp

Torrington:

Added Joe Deutsch, Jinx Oneglia, Brpnc Callahan, Burns, Leo Gottlieb

ID'd Clayton "Slim" Garrett

Coach corrected to Andy Pavlicovic

Wallingford

Added Ken Joost, Albert Vieira

Identified Al Skiff as pseudonym for Danny Finn

Added coaches Joseph Hugret and Fred Ferrie

1947-48 Eastern Basketball League - Connecticut - Revisit

Some additions:

Bridgeport Springwoods:

Added Bobby Lynch

Bristol:

Added George Ferrie, George Milhaven

Danbury:

Added Hasbell, Johnny Mills, Frank Reilly, Howie Sarath, Phil Wrona, Earl Yost

Identified Billy Smith

Naugatuck:

Added John Blazic, Henry Loman, Gene Czaplicki, Walter Yackowski, Krause, Frank Wojack

Identified Lefty Farrar, Ziggy Korowotny, Orky Garlinky

New Haven:

Added Wehr

Stamford:

Added Mike Arce, Julie Markiewicz, Lou Stowe

Torrington:

Added Joe Deutsch, Pat Riera, Ray Zucco, Jinx Oneglia, Eddie Sullivan, Chet Jaworski

ID'd Lloyd Miller, Gene Hayes, Art Jasmin

Wallingford:

Added Jack Curry, Bullet Jackson,  Jack O'Brien, Wheaties Perreault, Joe Wolcheski

Identified Harry Judenfriend