1950-51 Bristol Tramps (EBL-CT)

1950-51 BRISTOL TRAMPS
EASTERN BASKETBALL LEAGUE - CONNECTICUT
Finished: 7-10 .412, 5th place

The Bristol Tramps were just a shell of what they once were, winning only two of the first eight games. They caught a spark in January and won five straight, but then lost four straight before the team dropped from the league.

Head Coach: 

• Julie Larese (July 16, 1917 - May 17, 1998)

Bill Anderson

PLAYERS:

George Amsden (November 19, 1923 - October 3, 1974)
Bill Anderson (June 5, 1926 - September 12, 1984)
Puggy Bell (November 26, 1914 - February 19, 1985)
John Canavari (January 20, 1926 - March 17, 2001)
Bill Detrick (July 22, 1927 - September 19, 2014)
George Feigenbaum (July 2, 1928 - December 25, 2000)
Bob Fitzgerald (March 14, 1923 - July 23, 1983)
Jackie Foerst (June 8, 1927 - October 7, 2016)
Joe "Chuck" Foster 
Johnny Gozdenovich (March 8, 1924 - July 7, 1997)
Coulby Gunther (February 5, 1923 - July 14, 2005)
Howland  
Mike Joyce (March 24, 1926 - March 17, 1983)
Paul Labanowski (March 27, 1928 - March 7, 2002)
Roger LaFrance (February 18, 1925 - November 14, 1999)
Chubby Malinconico (November 16, 1921 - March 14, 2007)

Tom Markham aka Tom Henry (July 1, 1922 - January 2009)
Hank Massa (July 28, 1925 - May 19, 2015)
Mike McCarron (March 2, 1922 - October 2, 1991)
Hank Poppe (July 29, 1924 - May 6, 2000)
Eddie Rosmarin (September 14, 1924 - September 30, 2013)
Johnny Slab (May 1, 1920 - August 20, 1980)
Chris Viera 

Tom Viera   
Bill Wade (January 31, 1927 - August 30, 1991)
Preston Wilcox (December 27, 1923 - August 12, 2006)

I see a few things that indicate Puggy Bell may have been head coach, but not positive.

Bill Detrick

Eddie Rosmarin

1950-51 EBL-CT

The Eastern Basketball League of Connecticut was in a free-fall by the time the 1950-51 season came along. The league lost four teams during the previous season (although the Torrington Howards regrouped to rejoin the league in the fall of 1950) and the Middletown Guards left the league. They did pick up the Hartford Hurricanes who had left the American Basketball League after the 1949-50 season. The formerly successful Bristol Tramps team had fallen on very hard times, and the club quit the league with five games left.

The top four teams made the playoffs, and Manchester repeated as the champions, defeating Torrington in the championship series.

After this season, the league announced it was suspending operations for the 1951-52 season, but when the league tried to come back, it was even smaller in scope with lesser semi-pro teams. They had dropped from the Eastern Basketball Association, which now just consisted of the Eastern Professional Basketball League of Pennsylvania, with the third EBA league, the New York State League, having also dissolved a few season earlier.

The Middletown Guards team, which had left  the EBL in 1950, would continue on as an independent until the 1951-52 season when they were invited to join the American Basketball League to fill in the vacancy left by the folding of the Carbondale club shortly into the season.

Bristol Tramps *
Hartford Hurricanes
Manchester Nassiff Arms
Meriden Sons of Italy
Torrington Howards
Wallingford Vets


* - dropped before season's end

In Memoriam: Carl McNulty

Carl McNulty (1930-2020)

Former Purdue player and longtime Indiana high school basketball coach Carl McNulty has died. He was 89.

The native of Washington Township, Indiana, was a 1951 All-American and two-time team MVP for the Boilermakers (he still holds the single-game rebounding record with 27) before entering the military. He later played in one NBA game.

He coached 29 years at the high school level, 18 of them at Kokomo, where he won 13 sectionals. He finished with 413 coaching victories.

McNulty revealed the secret to IndyStar's Gregg Doyel about his rebounding ability: "Tipping."

When McNulty practiced as a kid -- in classic Indiana fashion on a rim hammered into the side of a barn -- he would shoot, and tip any missed shots.

It came in handy that night he set Purdue's record. He also scored 32 points against Minnesota.

“A lot of my rebounds that day were offensive rebounds," McNulty said. "Not sure I ever brought the ball down.”

McNulty also said he wasn't paid for his one NBA appearance with the Milwaukee Hawks, in which he scored two points: “I never asked the (Hawks) what I’d be making, and they never mentioned it.”

McNulty said he learned quickly that the NBA lifestyle wasn't for him, so he ended up coaching.

- Scott Horner, Indianapolis Star -

1949-50 Waterbury Coppers (EBL-CT)

1949-50 WATERBURY COPPERS
EASTERN BASKETBALL LEAGUE - CONNECTICUT

Finished: 3-5 .375, 7th place

Waterbury didn't play that poorly, but financially they couldn't piece it together and dropped on January 9, 1950. 

Head Coach: 

Paul Labanowski (March 27, 1928 - March 7, 2002) 1-1  Also played. See below.
Ralph Dolgoff (October 24, 1917 - April 20, 2009) 2-4. Also played. See below.

PLAYERS:

Barnett 
Mason Benson (May 11, 1927 - March 16, 2016)
Kelly Brofman (June 15, 1923 - July 25, 2011)

John Butler

Cory 

John Dolan (August 10, 1927 - May 16, 2019)

Ralph Dolgoff (October 24, 1917 - April 20, 2009)
Norm Drucker (July 4, 1920 - February 6, 2015)
Ike Dubow (January 15, 1922 - January 16, 1974)
Phil Farbman (April 3, 1924 - September 6, 1996)
Warren Fenley (February 8, 1922 - January 18, 2009)

Tom Gallagher (April 1, 1925 - June 10, 2013)
Sonny Jameson (November 9, 1926 - September 17, 1994)

Paul Labanowski (March 27, 1928 - March 7, 2002)

McGrath 

Emil Mele (August 7, 1923 - September 26, 1979)
Mel Rothbart (April 11, 1928 - November 7, 2019)
Spud Shapiro (January 1, 1925 - March 24, 2000)

Ed Whalen 

Emil Mele

John Dolan

1949-50 Wallingford Veterans (EBL-CT)

1949-50 WALLINGFORD VETS
EASTERN BASKETBALL LEAGUE - CONNECTICUT
Finished: 15-5 .750, 1st place
Semi-finals: Lost to Manchester, 2-0

Wallingford battled Meriden for the top spot all year, finally besting the Sons. They were upset in the playoffs by eventual champion Manchester.

Head Coach:

• George Feigenbaum (July 2, 1928 - December 25, 2000) 6-0  Also played. See below
• Danny Finn (May 29, 1928 - February 18, 2007) 9-5  Also played. See below

PLAYERS:

Wee Dinnie (March 17, 1923 - March 13, 2015)
Ralph Dolgoff (October 24, 1917 - April 20, 2009)
George Feigenbaum (July 2, 1928 - December 25, 2000)
George Ferrie (March 2, 1928 - October 18, 2011)
Danny Finn (May 29, 1928 - February 18, 2007)
Jack French (July 30, 1924 - November 29, 2004)
Allen Friedman (May 19, 1926 - December 12, 2010)
Barry Kreisberg (January 7, 1925 - December 29, 1997)
Nat Miller (January 13, 1926 - August 9, 2012)
Dan Quinn (May 30, 1925 - January 3, 2013)
Johnny Riccitelli (June 21, 1920 - November 7, 2010)

Joe Stepanski (April 9, 1928 - May 28, 2012)

Weiss  
Ed Whalen 

1949-50 Torrington Howards (EBL-CT)

1949-50 TORRINGTON HOWARDS
EASTERN BASKETBALL LEAGUE - CONNECTICUT

Finished: 2-13 .133, 8th place


Coached by Hartford basketball figure Abe Silverman (he may not have been the coach at the start of the season but he was the coach in their fourth game of the season. I am not sure). Torrington got beaten on a regular basis until folding on January 29, 1950.

Coach Abe Silverman

Head Coach:   

• Abe Silverman  (April 5, 1906 - September 2, 1997)
  

PLAYERS:

Ed Anderson (January 24, 1925 - December 12, 2007)
Johnny Cilfone (December 8, 1930 - March 12, 1973)
George Collins (January 17, 1925 - March 25, 1974)
Johnny Dobrutsky (Janusary 27, 1922 - March 1, 1996)
Len Doctor (July 23, 1922 - November 10, 2008)
Morris Felis 
Jackie Foerst (June 8, 1927 - October 7, 2016)
Slim Garrett (December 23, 1922 - May 4, 2002)
Jack Gimmler (July 27, 1927 - December 14, 1996)
Jim Hanrahan (September 14, 1923 - May 31, 2006)
Andy Hricko (April 16, 1930 - May 8, 2021)
Henry Jacocks (January 11, 1928 - February 25, 2003)
Ernie Johnson (June 16, 1924 - August 12, 2011)
Arnold Jones (b. March 2, 1921)

Adda Krulicki (September 26, 1928 - March 22, 2002)

Sam Ponzi (April 11, 1923 - February 4, 2017)
Marty Powers (March 27, 1928 - December 21, 1991)

Resenko

Frank Samele (January 8, 1923 - July 15, 1990)

Luke Sapan (December 7, 1920 - August 21, 1977)
Rollie Spino (June 9, 1929 - July 31, 2017)

1949-50 New Britain Rios (EBL-CT)

1949-50 NEW BRITAIN RIOS
EASTERN BASKETBALL LEAGUE - CONNECTICUT

Finished: 6-8  .429, 6th place


The Rios won their first game and then proceeded to lose the next five. They recovered somewhat, and improved to 6-8 until February 7, 1950, when the club withdrew from the league.

Head Coach: 




PLAYERS:

Kelly Brofman (June 15, 1923 - July 25, 2011)
Brownie Carroll (January 27, 1919 - February 16, 2010)
Tom Gallagher (April 1, 1925 - June 10, 2013)
Bill Goebel (September 16, 1921 - December 25, 1998)
Vic Hanson (February 29, 1928 - October 15, 1988)

Jacovsky
George Jarvis (August 6, 1923 - December 1, 2014)
Don Kotter (December 29, 1920 - November 11, 1985)
Dick Kraus (September 30, 1926 - February 2, 1995)
Joe Kubachka (March 21, 1924 - January 23, 2012)

Paul Labanowski (March 27, 1928 - March 7, 2002)
Emil Mele (August 7, 1923 - September 26, 1979)
John Seagrist (August 12, 1923 - September 9, 2019)
Red Speicher (September 20, 1923 - December 6, 2010)

Albert Vieira (May 14, 1926 - March 5, 2016)
Hal Warneke  
Jimmy Weston (November 2, 1922 - February 6, 1997)