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.
Philadelphia Basketball League II (PBL2)
History 1923-1925 (3 seasons)
The second Philadelpha Basketball League was formed quickly after the fall of the EBL and IPL during the 1922-23 season in an attempt to complete with the popular MBL.
By 1925, the Philadelphia Basketball League, with many moonlighting Metropolitan League stars dotting the rosters, enjoyed a highly entertaining season of play, despite lingering financial problems. The playoffs and eventually the league itself disintegrated when Soup Campbell and other starters from the Tri-Council team embarked on a series of exhibition games. Despite the pleas of league officials, the players refused to cancel their lucrative exhibition tour and forced Tri-Council to forfeit the deciding championship contest.
The Philadelphia Basketball League debacle was a classic example of the way professional basketball had operated since the turn of the century. It also was a primary reason why the pro game had failed to move into the mainstream of American sports. Fans were tired of buying a ticket to a game only to discover that two or three regulars from each team were not present. Chances were good that they were playing with another team in another league or had taken the night off for a well-paying exhibition with a pickup team. During the summer of 1925, representatives of nine big-city teams hammered out an agreement that would finally bring an end to the chaos and provide professional basketball with one nationwide major league operation: The American Basketball League.
I sincerely appreciate the research work, and the information being shared. It is important and interesting history.