The New York State Professional Basketball League (NYSPL) was a

professional basketball In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larg ...

circuit based in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The league was founded in 1946 and dissolved after three seasons in 1949.

History

The league formed in 1946 as an eight-team circuit. The first game was on November 20, 1946 in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

at the

Washington Avenue Armory The Washington Avenue Armory, officially known as the Washington Avenue Armory Sports and Convention Arena and listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Washington Avenue (Tenth Battalion) Armory, is now a multi-purpose arena on the c ...

between the Albany Senators and the Cohoes Mastodons. Albany lost their first two games, which led them to replace their

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...

for

Barney Sedran Barney Sedran (born Sedransky; nicknamed "Mighty Mite"; January 28, 1891 – January 14, 1964) was an American professional basketball player in the 1910s and 1920s who is in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Career Nicknamed "Mighty Mite", the New ...

. On December 28, 1947, league commissioner Frank Basloe announced an Oswego–Cohoes game was fortified by the latter team. Cohoes players were stranded in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

during a snow storm and were unable to make the game on time. The league wrapped its first half season on January 2, 1948. The Mohawk Royals set a league-high for points scored during a game on January 8, 1948 with 112 in victory over the Oswego Pontiacs. On January 21, 1948 the league assembled a New York State Professional Basketball League All-Star team to play the Utica Olympics. Jerry Rizzo joined the NYSPL Saratoga Indians following a suspension from the National Basketball League for a physical altercation with a

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

. Before the 1948–49 season the Utica Olympics announced their local fire department would not permit the team to play at the Utica Armory. The fire department eventually accepted plans by the team to admit a limited number of spectators to the venue. The 1949 championship series between the Mohawk Redskins and the Cohoes Mastodons was never completed. Players for both teams failed to report to the first championship game and several players for Mohawk and their coach Bernard Sarachek had signed with American Basketball League teams. League officials vowed to return for the 1949–1950 season, but it eventually disbanded due to high operating costs. The 1948–49 championship was awarded to the Cohoes Mastadons, who had the best regular season record.

List of teams

*Albany Senators (1946–47) → Albany Red Devils (1946–1948) * Albany–Troy Celtics (1947) → Glen Falls Commodores (1947–1949) * Cohoes Mastodons (1946–1949) *Gloversville (1946–47) * Harlem Yahkees (1948–49) * Mohawk Redskins (1946–1949) * Oswego Pontiacs (1947–48) * Saratoga Indians (1946–1949) * Schenectady Comets (1946–1948) *

Schenectady Packers The Schenectady Packers were an American basketball team based in Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 6 ...

(1948–49) * Troy Whirlwinds (1946–47) *

Utica Olympics The Utica Olympics, known also as Mohawk Valley Thunderbirds, were an American professional basketball team based in Utica, New York that were members of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1978 to 1980. The team was previously kno ...

(1946–1949)

Season-by-season standings

1946–47

;Regular season ;Championship *Utica Olympics defeated the Cohoes Mastodons—three games to none.

1947–48

;Championship *Mohawk defeated Utica—four games to none

1948–49

;Regular season ;Championship *Cohoes and Mohawk are declared co-champions after splitting one game apiece during the championship series. Players started to sign with other professional teams and the championship was declared a draw.

Notable coaches

* Tubby Raskin (1902–1981), basketball player and coach

References

;General reference * ;In-line citations {{reflist Sports leagues established in 1946 Sports leagues disestablished in 1949 Defunct basketball leagues in the United States 1946 establishments in New York (state) 1949 disestablishments in New York (state)