1901 MSBL Season
7 teams competed during the regular season
Webster (Mass.) finished in 1st place to claim the championship
League President
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Massachusetts State Basketball League (MSBL)
1900-01 MSBL Season Overview
The Massachusetts League began its third season without last season’s two strongest teams, Marlboro BAA and Fitchburg. Both teams, while successful on the court, had not done well financially. Teams in Hudson, Millbury, Webster, Worcester and South Worcester returned to the fold. Two new teams were added in Lowell, a hotbed of enthusiastic and knowledgeable basketball fans. The two Lowell clubs led the league in attendance, with PAC drawing over 2,000 fans for some games, big numbers for turn of the century sports. The two new clubs brought energy and some fine young players into the Massachusetts League, but there was also a persistent antagonism between the Lowell teams and the rest of league that only worsened as the season went on.
Webster dominated the new season. The key to the success of the young team was former Fitchburg star Anthony Conlon. He was the best all-around player in the league, who was respected by his teammates and wildly popular with fans throughout the league. Holdover youngsters Stan Mathieu and Mike Thompson matured into fine players under Conlon’s guidance. Webster also signed Tom Davies, captain of the powerful Holyoke YMCA team and Mike Godley, an outstanding defender from Fitchburg to complete their squad.
South Worcester finished a distant second with a 21-19 record. Tom Horan was strong presence at center and 5’8”, 200 pound Ducky Holmes proved a substantial defensive presence in the backcourt. The Lowell Burkes finished third. They featured the league’s best offensive team behind the talented play of young stars Pete Regan and Slats Healy. The Lowell PAC began the season with a fine 10-4 mark, behind the play of Fatty Allard and 5’3” spark plug guard Bucky Halloran. The PAC’s season was disrupted, however, by a simmering feud between League president Fred Sawyer and Lowell PAC manager M.F. Sullivan that finally boiled over in mid-February. Sullivan, infuriated by Sawyer’s ruling on the signing of a disputed player, withdrew his team from the league. After much negotiation, Sullivan returned to the fold three weeks later, but the distracted PAC won only two more games the rest of the season.
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