Milestone #9 - Southern Professional Basketball League (SPBL)

The Southern League was fairly interesting. I am kinda glad I looked into it because it has been pretty much ignored. Which makes sense, I guess, but it still has its place in history, and I haven't seen much research going into it. It still surprises me how little information is available on some people, even with what we have access to on-line. Maybe one day, all these blanks will be filled in.

Here is the SPBL by the numbers:


Number of SPBL players: 132
Unidentified/unknown whereabouts:16
Surviving SPBL players: 4 known (although I am not certain on John Hoffman). Of the sixteen unknown, it is possible there are a few who are still with us.The number of known survivors when I finished blogging about them was 5, but Julie Silverman died last week, so that leaves us with four.

Longevity:
Of the 132 players, 19 players (14.39%) lived to see the age of 90. Only 2 men (1.52%) died before the age of 50. (Numbers could obviously change as unknown players get identified.

Ray Woodward

Milton Raymond "Ray" Woodward


Born:
September 2, 1920
Laurel, MS

Died:
August 31, 2002
Port Neches, TX


Career
1942-43 Ole Miss (College)
1945-46 Ole Miss (College)
1946-47 Ole Miss (College)
1948-49 Laurel Oilers (SPBL)

Born to John and Maggie Woodward, Ray served during World War 2. He would play briefly for his hometown entry in the Southern Basketball League, the Laurel Oilers. He played minor league baseball for 6 years, pitching for the independent Tampa Smokers after a couple years in the Cubs farm system. He pitched very well with Tampa, winning 17 games in 1950 and 16 in 1951, but at 31 years of age he didn't get shot with a major league club.

He married Edna Yarbrough in 1948 and they had two sons.

Minor League Baseball Stats
https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=woodwa001mil

Source:


Stats:

Harold Wilt

Harold Charles Wilt


Born:
December 7, 1927
Knightstown, IN

Died:
April 15, 1995
Maury County, TN


Career
1943-44 West End High School - Nashville (High School)
1944-45 West End High School - Nashville (High School)
1948-49 Nashville Vols (SPBL)

Wilt, a Nashville local, was a basketball star on his high school team. He would play briefly for the Nashville Vols of the Southern League.


Source:


Stats:

T.J. Whittaker

Thomas Joseph "T.J." Whittaker, Jr.


Born:
June 30, 1926
New Orleans, LA

Died:
June 15, 1991



Career
1944-45 Jesuit High School - New Orleans (High School)
1948-49 New Orleans Sports (SPBL)

Whittaker made his name in high school on the baseball diamond. The pitcher and infielder would be signed by the New York Giants after leading his Jesuit team to the American Legion tournament in 1945. After being rocked in two appearances with the Giants' farm club in Class-B Trenton, he was shipped down to their Class-D team in Springfield, Ohio. He would win ten games there but would be let go at the end of the season. He would play basketball with the New Orleans Sports in 1948-49, averaging 6.3 points in the 26 games I could find a box score for.

Minor League Baseball Stats:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=whitta001tho

Source:


Stats:

Cliff Wells

W.R. Clifford "Cliff" Wells


Born:
March 17, 1896
Indianapolis, IN

Died:
August 15, 1977
Garland, TX


Career
1917-18 Bloomington High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1918-19 Bloomington High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1919-20 Bloomington High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1920-21 Bloomington High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1921-22 Columbus High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1922-23 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1923-24 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1924-25 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1925-26 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1926-27 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1927-28 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1928-29 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1929-30 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1930-31 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1931-32 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1932-33 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1933-34 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1934-35 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1935-36 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1936-37 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1937-38 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1938-39 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1939-40 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1940-41 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1941-42 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1942-43 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1943-44 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach
1944-45 Logansport High School - Indiana (High School) Head coach 
1945-46 Tulane University (College) Head coach
1946-47 Tulane University (College) Head coach
1947-48 Tulane University (College) Head coach 
1948-49 New Orleans Sports (SPBL) Head coach / player
1948-49 Tulane University (College) Head coach
1949-50 Tulane University (College) Head coach
1950-51 Tulane University (College) Head coach
1951-52 Tulane University (College) Head coach
1952-53 Tulane University (College) Head coach
1953-54 Tulane University (College) Head coach
1954-55 Tulane University (College) Head coach
1955-56 Tulane University (College) Head coach
1956-57 Tulane University (College) Head coach
1957-58 Tulane University (College) Head coach
1958-59 Tulane University (College) Head coach
1959-60 Tulane University (College) Head coach
1960-61 Tulane University (College) Head coach
1961-62 Tulane University (College) Head coach
1962-63 Tulane University (College) Head coach

NATIONAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME, 1972


Cliff Wells was a legendary coach from Indiana. He coached high school basketball many years in Indiana (winning two state titles.) He would coach at Tulane for 18 years before retiring. In his retirement from coaching, he worked at the Basketball Hall of Fame as a director. He would be inducted into the Hall of Fame himself in 1972.
Wells, while coaching the New Orleans Sports of the Southern League, appeared in one game on January 12, 1949, at the age of 52. Wells is the only player in the Southern Basketball League to be in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Wells died of a heart attack in 1977.

Source:
http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/cliff-wells/

Stats:

Sammy Trombatore

Samuel Joseph Trombatore


Born:
March 9, 1924
New Orleans, LA

Died:
July 26, 1991



Career
1940-41 St. Aloysius - New Orleans (High School)
1941-42 Loyola University - New Orleans (College)
1946-47 Loyola University - New Orleans (College)
1947-48 Loyola University - New Orleans (College)
1948-49 New Orleans Sports (SPBL)

Trombatore served in the U.S. Army during World War 2, and after the war, enrolled at Loyola in New Orleans. He played an important part on those talented Loyola teams after the war. After playing professionally with the New Orleans Sports of the Southern League, he worked as an Insurance Salesman for Delahoussaye Insurance for many years. He died of cancer in 1991.

Sammy married Edna and they had a son and two daughters.

Source:
"Fight, Grin and Squarely Play the Game" by Ramon A. Vargas and Peter Finney

Stats:

Wendell Shows

Wendell W. "Hooks" Shows


Born:
May 11, 1921
Laurel, MS

Died:
May 16, 2011
Pleasant Hill, CA


Career
1940-41 Louisiana State University (College)
1941-42 Louisiana State University (College)
1942-43 Louisiana State University (College)
1948-49 Laurel Oilers (SPBL)

Shows was born in Laurel, Mississippi, and went to LSU where he played basketball. He went into the USMC during World War 2, and after the war, he entered the insurance business. He would play pro basketball with the Laurel Oilers (as well as being head coach) before leaving the game to work as District Manager for Jefferson Standard Life in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. His career would take him westward to Denver, and later wound up in California, where he died at the age of 90.

Source:
Hattiesburg American, December 2, 1949


Stats:

Sterling Scott

Sterling Charles Scott


Born:
June 14, 1920
Mercer, KY

Died:
February 8, 2008



Career
1948-49 New Orleans Sports (SPBL)

Updated 10/31/2025

Sterling, standing 6'8, played basketball at Valparaiso and would wind up playing for the New Orleans Sports in the Southern League.

Source:


Stats:

Rivoli

Rivoli


Born:



Died:




Career
1948-49 New Orleans Sports (SPBL)

Nothing much given except last name in the box score from

Could be Riviello, Rivolo, Revoli... only Rivoli I found from New Orleans of the right approximate age is Rock Rivoli (1921-1987), but as of now, his identity is a mystery.


Source:


Stats:

Bob Pressley

Robert Gerald "Pap" Pressley


Born:
February 24, 1926
Booneville, MS

Died:
August 2, 1998



Career
1946-47 East Mississippi Community College - Scooba, MS (College)
1947-48 East Mississippi Community College - Scooba, MS (College)
1948-49 Laurel Oilers (SPBL)
1951-52 Delta State Teachers College - Mississippi (College)

From Booneville, Mississippi, the 6'3 Pressley went to East Mississippi CC after serving in World War 2. He would play basketball with the Laurel Oilers of the Southern League. He later played for Delta State, but in February of 1998, his eligibility was called into question due to his time with the Laurel Oilers. His argument in his favor was that although he was paid $270/month to play, he was not under contract and was an employee for the sponsoring company.

Bob was married to Faye Yarbrough and they had at least one daughter.


Source:


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Maurice Partain

Maurice Reams Partain


Born:
June 11, 1927
Dallas, AL

Died:
December 29, 2011
Hendersonville, TN


Career
1948-49 Nashville Vols (SPBL)

Born to Robert and Kittie Partain, Partain came out of high school and went right into baseball's minor leagues. He would play baseball for 5 years in the low minors, some times with the Reds organization. He would also play basketball with the Nashville Volunteers.

Minor League Baseball Stats
https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=partai001mau

Source:


Stats:

Joe "J.T." Parker

Joseph Thrasher "Buddy" "J.T." Parker, Jr.


Born:
November 4, 1921
Birmingham, AL

Died:
November 22, 1983



Career
1941-42 Louisiana Tech (College)
1946-47 Louisiana Tech (College)
1947-48 Louisiana Tech (College)
1947-48 Grayson's - Shreveport, LA (Independent)
1948-49 Birmingham Steelers (SPBL)

Parker, a 6'5 center for Lousiana Tech, entered the U.S. Navy in 1942. After World War 2, he was discharged and finished his schooling back at Tech. After graduating, he returned home to Birmingham, where he would play basketball for the Birmingham Steelers of the Southern League.
6'5 center at LA Tech

Buddy married Lois Branton in 1949.

Source:


Stats:

Oran McKinney

Oran Ernest McKinney


Born:
January 4, 1922
Boonville, IN

Died:
November 16, 2001
Lynneville, IN


Career
1939-40 Lynnville High School - Indiana (High School)
1940-41 Lynnville High School - Indiana (High School)
1942-43 Western Kentucky University (College)
1945-46 Western Kentucky University (College)
1946-47 Western Kentucky University (College)
1947-48 Western Kentucky University (College)
1948-49 Nashville Vols (SPBL)


McKinney, a 6'4, 220-pound player with Western Kentucky, saw his collegiate career interrupted with a stint in the U.S. Marines Corps during World War 2. He returned to WKU after the war and continue to star on the court. McKinney signed with the Baltimore Bullets in October of 1948, but he did not make the final cuts. He went on to play with Nashville in the Southern League that season.

He was married to Maureen Roberts.

Source:


Stats:

Dave Madison

David Pledger Madison


Born:
February 1, 1921
Brooksville, MS

Died:
December 8, 1985
Macon, MS


Career
1940-41 Louisiana State University (College)
1941-42 Louisiana State University (College)
1942-43 Louisiana State University (College)
1948-49 Laurel Oilers (SPBL)

Madison, a baseball pitcher by trade, played football and basketball as well as the national pastime while at LSU. He went into the military during World War 2, and after the war was signed by the New York Yankees. Assigned to the Class-A club in Denver, Madison was promoted to Kansas City in the American Association in 1948, where he went 14-9. That off-season, he played basketball with the Laurel Oilers of the Southern Basketball League. He averaged 5.8 points in 25 games I found box scores of. After throwing two more years with KC, he was brought up by the Yankees at the end of the 1950 season. He appeared in just one game for the pennant-winning American League team, but after the season he was recalled by the Army to head to Korea.

Madison returned state-side in the winter of 1951-52 and was sold to the St. Louis Browns. In August of 1952, the Browns traded him to the Detroit Tigers, where he would pitched though the 1953 season before being released. After two more year of organized baseball, Madison was out of baseball at the age of 34. He would manage a few years in the lower Yankees farm system and worked for many years as a scout. He died following a lengthy illness in 1985.

Major League Baseball Stats:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/madisda01.shtml


Source:


Stats:

Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis


Born:
December 14, 1926
Brooklyn, NY

Died:
June 9, 1976



Career
1943-44 Seward Park High School - New York (High School)
1944-45 Long Island University (College)
1945-46 Long Island University (College)
1947-48 Long Island University (College)
1948-49 Montgomery Rebels (SPBL)

Lewis, who was 5'11 and 170 pounds, was born to Max and Frances Lewis and played basketball at LIU. 

Source:


Stats:

Frank Jennings

Frank Jarvis Jennings


Born:
October 8, 1924
Laurel, MS

Died:
January 14, 2011
Venice, FL


Career
1942-43 Laurel High School - Mississippi (High School)
1946-47 Louisiana State University (College)
1948-49 Laurel Oilers (SPBL)

Born in Laurel to Warren and Talmidge Jennings, the 6'5 Jennings would graduate from Laurel HS in 1943 and attend LSU. He played for his hometown entry in the SPBL, the Laurel Oilers, in their only season in the league in 1948-49. Frank married Rose Mesuda in 1951 in Detroit

Source:


Stats:

Red Hultburg

Dr. James Eldon "Red" Hultberg


Born:
October 2, 1926
Burlington, IA

Died:
July 7, 2020
Metairie, LA


Career
1942-43 Warren Easton High School - New Orleans (High School)
1943-44 Warren Easton High School - New Orleans (High School)
1944-45 Loyola University - New Orleans (College)
1945-46 Loyola University - New Orleans (College)
1946-47 Loyola University - New Orleans (College)
1947-48 Loyola University - New Orleans (College)
1948-49 New Orleans Sports (SPBL)

Hultberg played baseball and basketball in high school before attending Loyola in New Orleans. After lettering for four years, he graduated and played with the New Orleans Sports while finishing dental school. He was a dentist for many years in Louisiana before retiring.

Red married Marion Simmons in 1949 and they had two daughters and a son, Jordy, who would play basketball at LSU.

Source:
"Fight, Grin and Squarely Play the Game" by Ramon A. Vargas and Peter Finney

Stats:

Hallie Hudson

Hallie E. Hudson


Born:
October 30, 1919
Enville, TN

Died:
June 9, 1997
Columbia, TN


Career
1947-48 Bethel University - McKenzie, TN (College)
1948-49 Nashville Vols (SPBL)
1950-51 Monsanto Chemical (Independent)

The 6'4 Hudson played baseball and basketball at tiny Bethel University in Tennessee. He would work for many years for Monsanto in Columbia, Tennessee, as a personnel director. Hallie was in the U.S. Army during World War 2.

Hallie married Claire Wiegel in 1946 and three had three daughters and one son.

Source:


Stats:

John Hoffman

John William Hoffman


Born:
November 30, 1923 ??
Buffalo, NY

 :




Career
(High School)
LIU before war?? (College)
1948-49 Birmingham Steelers (SPBL)

Might still be living

Minor League Baseball Stats
https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=hoffma003joh

Source:


Stats:

Bob Engle

Robert Herbert Engle


Born:
December 22, 1921
New York, NY

Died:
November 18, 1977
Montgomery, AL


Career
1939-40 George Washington High School - New York (High School)
1946-47 WMGY - Montgomery (Independent)
1948-49 Montgomery Rebels (SPBL)
1948-49 Boys' Club - Montgomery (Independent)

Engle graduated from Washington HS in New York City and signed to play baseball with the Philadelphia Phillies. He played two years in the Phillies farm system before World War 2 intervened and Engle went into the U.S. Navy. He spent part of World War 2 stationed in Panama. After the war, he returned to baseball, signing with the Montgomery Rebels baseball team. The 6'2 205-pound first baseman wound up taking to Montgomery, playing basketball for a local semi-pro team and meeting his wife, Dorothy. In 1947, he was named the playing - manager with nearby Andalusia team, and batted .308 and was named to the all-star team. The Detroit Tigers picked him up and he went to their Class-D affiliate in Thomasville, Georgia. After the 1948 season, Engle found himself playing basketball with the Montgomery Rebels of the Southern Basketball League. He would play one more season of minor league baseball before the Tigers hired him to manage their team in Butler, Pennsylvania, but he was let go after a 13-19 start.

Engle was active in the Montgomery athletic scene, starting work at the Boys Club in Mongtomery in 1954. He would eventually become the director at the Boys' Club in Montgomery. In November of 1977, Engle went to the club to jog in the gymnasium. He suffered a massive heart attack and died almost immediately. He was 55 years of age.

Bob married Dorothy Green (1922-2001) in 1946 and they had two sons.

Minor League Baseball Stats
https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=engle-001rob

Source:
Montgomery Advertiser, November 19, 1977

Stats: