Mally (Morris) Johnson Identified

A newspaper article from 1931 mentioned his hometown, and it was easy from there.

Mally Johnson
1908-1969

Milestone #1

It took over a year (I started this blog on July 2, 2015), but I have finished going through every season of the NBL and identified all that I could. I will now go back and go through some of the mystery players with fresh eyes, and access to new sources of data that I did not have when I started, so hopefully I will be able to gain more information on the identities of some of these mystery players of the NBL. I will also update the pages to make them look a little better and add more pictures if I can find them. I will only add post if I identify someone either previously unidentified or incorrectly identified. For things like adding photos, birth places, teams played, etc, I will only update the post and not call it out in a new blogpost. Or maybe I will store those up for one big blog post, I don't know.

But so far, here is the NBL by the numbers:

Number of NBL players:  773
Unidentified/unknown whereabouts: 70
Surviving NBL players: 17 confirmed, with three more who were alive in the last 5 years but not sure if they are still around.

Longevity:
Of the 773 players, 12.68% of the NBL players are known to have lived to see the age of 90. 3.88% died before the age of 50. (I expect the 3.88% to rise some as these unknown players are found. A few of them are probably obscure because they died young.) To compare the same 12 year period with other sports:

MLB Longevity (1938-1949)
Under 50   5.84%
Over 90     12.75%

NFL Longevity (1938-1949)
Under 50   7.95%
Over 90     8.79.%

NHL Longevity (1938-1949)
Under 50   6.96%
Over 90     4.64%

NBL Longevity (1938-1949)
Under 50   3.88%
Over 90     12.68%

Thanks to John Grasso and Jay LaFountaine for their help and support, and to the family members of some players who gave us help.

Paul Yesawich

Paul Joseph Yesawich, Jr.


Born:
November 27, 1923
New York City, NY

Died:
December 13, 2017
New Smyrna Beach, FL


Career
1939-40 Brooklyn Tech - New York (High School)
1940-41 Brooklyn Tech - New York (High School)
1941-42 Niagara University (College)
1942-43 Niagara University (College)
1943-44 Hobart College (College)
1946-47 Niagara University (College)
1947-48 Niagara University (College)
1948-49 Syracuse Nationals (NBL)

Born in New York, Yesawich played basketball at Niagara during which he also served as a Navy Scout (now known as the Navy Seals) in the U.S. Navy during World War 2. During his V-12 training, he played basketball for Hobart College. After graduation from Niagara in 1948, he played with the Nationals briefly while continuing his education at Niagara, graduating with a Masters in 1950. He went on to Cornell Law School and after being admitted to the car, he went into private practice in New York City. In 1955, he moved to Cortland, New York, and became a partner at Folmer, Ryan, Fenstermacher & Yesawich. In 1971, Governor Rockefeller appointed Yesawich to the New York State Supreme Court, and he retired from the bench in 1999. He lived in Homer, New York and currently lives in Florida.

He married Elizabeth Larkin in 1948, and they had three children.

Source:
New York Courts Biography
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 29, 1941
Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY), January 26, 1944
Troy Record (Troy, NY), January 26, 1944

Stats:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/nbl/players/y/yesawpa01n.html
http://www.justsportsstats.com/basketballstatsindex.php?player_id=yesawpa01

Sonny Wood

Robert "Sonny" Wood


Born:
December 31, 1922
New York

Died:
July 11, 1970



Career
1941-42 Benjamin Franklin High School - New York (High School)
1941-42 New York Rens (independent)
1942-43 Washington Bears (independent) 
1943-44 New York Rens (independent)
1945-46 New York Rens (independent)
1946-47 New York Rens (independent)
1947-48 New York Rens (independent)
1948-49 New York Rens (independent)
1948-49 Dayton Rens (NBL)
1949-50 New York Harlem Yankees (ABL)
1950-51 Saratoga Harlem Yankees (ABL)

He served in the army during World War 2.


Source:


Stats:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/nbl/players/w/woodro01n.html

http://www.justsportsstats.com/basketballstatsindex.php?player_id=woodso01

Eddie Wollen

Elmore "Moe" "Ed" Wollen


Born:
May 1909


Died:




Career
1947-48 Harry Hopkins AVC (Independent)
1947-48 Crescent AC (Independent)
1948-49 Harlem Yankees (NYSL)
1948-49 Dayton Rens (NBL)

Either from Memphis, TN or NYC. No clue to his identity. No one by that name found on ancestry.com that fits.

Updated 5/10/18
Found more articles that refer to him as "Moe" Wollen, and another article called him "Elmore 'Moe' Wollen. From Brooklyn. Better leads, but still no positive identification. Last name could be Wallens, Wollens or shortened from something very length like Waollenschlager. Highly doubtful he is Ed Whalen from LIU, since Whalen played at LIU in 1948-49.

Updated 10/22/19
Saw he is listed as Elmore "More" Woolen, born to George and Francis Woolen in North Carolina in 1909. Brother John, Sister Hanner (or Hannes)




Source:


Stats:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/nbl/players/w/wolleed01n.html
http://www.justsportsstats.com/basketballstatsindex.php?player_id=wolleed01

Kayo Wnorowski

Casmier Valentine Wnorowski 
aka Casmier Wayner, Casmier Waner, Chuck Waner, Kayo Waner


Born:
October 4, 1921
Schenectady, NY

Died:
April 15, 1998
Schenectady ??, NY


Career
Mount Pleasant High School - Schenectady, NY (High School)
1942-43 Siena College - New York (College)
1946-47 Schenectady Comets (NYSL)
1947-48 Schenectady Comets (NYSL)
1948-49 Schenectady Comets (NYSL) 
1948-49 Denver Nuggets (NBL)

Born in Upstate New York to Polish immigrants Konstanty and Frances Wnorowski.

Served in the U.S. Army during World War 2.

Source:


Stats:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/nbl/players/w/wnoroca01n.html
http://www.justsportsstats.com/basketballstatsindex.php?player_id=wnoroka01

Murray Wier

Murray Neal Wier


Born:
December 12, 1926
Grand View, IA

Died:
April 6, 2016
Georgetown, TX




Career
1941-42 Grandview High School - Iowa (High School) ??
1942-43 Grandview High School - Iowa (High School) ??
1943-44 Muscatine High School - Iowa (High School)
1944-45 University of Iowa (College)
1945-46 University of Iowa (College)
1946-47 University of Iowa (College)
1947-48 University of Iowa (College)
1948-49 Tri-Cities Blackhawks (NBL)
1949-50 Tri-Cities Blackhawks (NBA)
1950-51 Waterloo Hawks (NPBL)
1951-52 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) JV Head coach
1952-53 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1953-54 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1954-55 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1955-56 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1956-57 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1957-58 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1958-59 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1959-60 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1960-61 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1961-62 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1962-63 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1963-64 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1964-65 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1965-66 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1966-67 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1967-68 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1968-69 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1969-70 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1970-71 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1971-72 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1972-73 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1973-74 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1974-75 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach
1975-76 Waterloo East High School - Iowa (High School) Head coach


Wier was born and raised in Grand View, and attended nearby Muscatine High School. A four-year starter at Iowa, he played professional basketball for three seasons. He went to be a very successful head coach at Waterloo East, compiling a 372-149 record. He was also the athletic director there.

Source:
Obituary
WCF Courier Obituary

Stats:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/nbl/players/w/wiermu01n.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/wiermu01.html
http://www.justsportsstats.com/basketballstatsindex.php?player_id=wiermu01