1899 MSBL Season
6 teams competed during the regular season
Hudson (Mass.) finished in 1st place to claim the championship
League President
RetroSeasons
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Massachusetts State Basketball League (MSBL)
1898-99 MSBL Season Overview
Hudson and the two teams in Marlboro emerged as the top contenders. Captain Joe Rodger and talented teenager Frank Leighton led Hudson up front. Elwin Green jumped center, while his brother Harlow teamed with Jack Porter in the backcourt. Porter, the league’s best all-around player, was a capable scorer and bruising defender. Marlboro BBA featured the league’s top scorer (with 5.6 points per game) George Rogers and the famed Boston-area star Billie Knox. Their cross-town rivals at the Marlboro YMCA were led by Joe White, who was one of the league’s best-liked players despite his tenuousness style of play. Hudson won the championship with an 8-2 record followed by the two Marlboro squads with identical 6-4 marks. The brief season was a complete success with some of the teams drawing close to a 1,000 enthusiastic fans for some games, big numbers for a new sport in small Massachusetts’ towns.
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