Brooklyn was declared champion after finishing in first place for both halves of the season
RetroSeasons
RetroSeasons recaps past sports seasons through stories, photos, videos, and stats from every team, league, and stadium in history. Coverage includes the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL, as well as vintage media from defunct teams and leagues.
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Metropolitan Basketball League (MBL)
1923-24 MBL Season Overview
Recap
With the Eastern Basketball League out of the picture, the Metropolitan Basketball League reigned as the most powerful of the remaining major basketball leagues, but not without considerable shuffling of teams and players. Gone from the league were the Arcadians, Dodgers, Elizabeth, and Mac Dowell teams. The Brooklyn Visitation, Greenpoint, Paterson, and Yonkers teams were holdovers. Kingston, winner of the New York State League, and Trenton, the former Eastern Basketball League power, were added to bring the membership to six teams.
Brooklyn won all the MBL honors. The Visitation started fast and were never seriously challenged during the first half of the split season. The Paterson Legionnaires made a strong second half showing, but a late season 43-40 homecourt loss to the Visitation proved fatal to their first-place aspirations. The Legionnaires had to settle for the second spot behind the champion Brooklyn team. The Visitation were a young, fast, talented squad that operated under he astute guidance of owner-coach John Donlin. Joe Brennan and Davey Banks finished two-three in the individual scoring race, giving Brooklyn unmatched firepower under the basket. Brennan was a strong inside player who muscled his way to many points and was frequently fouled in the process. Banks was a set-shooting star who would occasionally swing into the basket for a layup. The supporting cast was equally young. Newcomers Red Conaty and Bob Griebe both showed talent on defense, while twenty-two-year old Rody Cooney showed skills as a playmaker. The only veteran on the squad was Swede Grimstead, active since the days of Ed Wachter’s Troy Trojans, but still a capable center.
The Cinderella Paterson-Kingston combine from last season was split into two separate teams. Benny Borgmann chose to sign with his hometown Paterson team. Artie Powers, Nick Harvey, and Harry Knoblauch remained from last year’s championship squad and veterans Joe Dreyfus and Elmer Ripley were added. The Legionnaires played well throughout the season, but last year’s special chemistry was gone. Too often the entire squad shut down offensively and allowed Borgmann to shoulder the entire scoring load. One of the missing ingredients, Charlie Powers, was playing one hundred miles to the north in Kingston. Powers and Babe Artus gave the New Yorkers strength under the basket while Soup Campbell and Carl Husta gave them long-range firepower. Kingston provided first place Brooklyn with its stiffest first half opposition, but faded during the second session.
The season’s biggest surprise was the mediocre showing of former EBL power Trenton. Tom Barlow, Eddie Donlin, Maurice Tome, Stretch Meehan, Teddy Kearns, George Glasco, and Lou Sugarman were all tough, seasoned professionals who in past seasons crushed most opponents and had on more than one occasion battled the mighty Celtics to a standstill. Against Metropolitan League competition, two third-place finishes were the best the Bengals could manage. The remaining two clubs, Greenpoint and Yonkers, were never a factor in either race. The Greenpoint squad, which had been a solid contender last year, missed Frank Boyle, who had retired, and Tom Barlow, who had returned to his hometown Trenton club. They signed Harry Riconda, who led the team in scoring, but the rest of the team provided little support. Yonkers began the season well with strong play from young stars Honey Russell and Leo Malone. A month into the season, Russell accepted a lucrative offer to join the Cleveland Rosenblums and with his departure went any hopes for a successful season.
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I sincerely appreciate the research work, and the information being shared. It is important and interesting history.