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Continental Basketball Association
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Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball minor league in the United States from 1946 to 2009.
The Continental Basketball Association was founded on April 23, 1946, under its previous name, the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League. It was organized on in Hazleton, Pennsylvania by Eddie White of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Robert Jamelli of Hazleton and Ron Regar of Reading, Pennsylvania. George Z. Keller of Wilkes-Barre was the league's first commissioner. It went on to bill itself as the "World's Oldest Professional Basketball League", since its founding pre-dated the founding of the National Basketball Association by two months. The league fielded six franchises, five of which were in Pennsylvania: Allentown, Hazleton, Lancaster, Reading, and Wilkes-Barre. A sixth team, Binghamton, was located in New York, but moved to Pottsville in Pennsylvania mid-season. The first season opened on December 1, 1946.
The following season, Allentown withdrew from the EPBL, and the Wilkes-Barre team was sold to Williamsport. Teams were added in Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Sunbury, making eight teams in the EPBL that year.
In 1948, the league was renamed the Eastern Professional Basketball League, and additional franchises were added in three additional Pennsylvania cities, Williamsport, Scranton, and Sunbury, three New Jersey cities, Trenton, Camden, and Asbury Park, three in Connecticut, New Haven, Hartford, Bridgeport, and in Wilmington, Delaware, and Springfield, Massachusetts.
From the 1950s through the 1960s, many NBA teams had unofficial quotas on the number of black players on their teams. Many players joined other professional leagues, including the EPBL. The league was fast and physical, often played in tiny, smoke-filled gyms across the Northeastern United States, and featuring the best players who could not make many NBA teams because of the quotas.
Following the lead of the American Basketball League (1961–1962) in adding a three-point line, the Eastern League added a three-point line for its 1964–65 season. Although three-point shots during the 1960s were few and far between, the Eastern League developed several scorers who used the three-point shot to their advantage.
For the 1970–71 season, the league rebranded itself the Eastern Basketball Association, operating as a professional Northeastern regional league and as an unofficial feeder system to the NBA and ABA. The CBA's first commissioner was Harry Rudolph, father of NBA referee Mendy Rudolph. Steve A. Kauffman, currently a basketball agent, succeeded Rudolph as commissioner in 1975. Kauffman executed a plan to bring the Anchorage Northern Knights into the league beginning with the 1977–78 season. Kauffman kept the league name because he felt having a team in the Eastern League from Alaska might get the league additional notice and recognition. The establishment of the Anchorage franchise garnered national media attention, including a feature story in Sports Illustrated.
Kauffman served as commissioner until 1978, when his deputy commissioner, Jim Drucker, took the reins. Drucker's eight-season reign was the longest in the league's history. Drucker, son of NBA referee Norm Drucker, continued as commissioner until 1986.
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Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball minor league in the United States from 1946 to 2009.
The Continental Basketball Association was founded on April 23, 1946, under its previous name, the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League. It was organized on in Hazleton, Pennsylvania by Eddie White of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Robert Jamelli of Hazleton and Ron Regar of Reading, Pennsylvania. George Z. Keller of Wilkes-Barre was the league's first commissioner. It went on to bill itself as the "World's Oldest Professional Basketball League", since its founding pre-dated the founding of the National Basketball Association by two months. The league fielded six franchises, five of which were in Pennsylvania: Allentown, Hazleton, Lancaster, Reading, and Wilkes-Barre. A sixth team, Binghamton, was located in New York, but moved to Pottsville in Pennsylvania mid-season. The first season opened on December 1, 1946.
The following season, Allentown withdrew from the EPBL, and the Wilkes-Barre team was sold to Williamsport. Teams were added in Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Sunbury, making eight teams in the EPBL that year.
In 1948, the league was renamed the Eastern Professional Basketball League, and additional franchises were added in three additional Pennsylvania cities, Williamsport, Scranton, and Sunbury, three New Jersey cities, Trenton, Camden, and Asbury Park, three in Connecticut, New Haven, Hartford, Bridgeport, and in Wilmington, Delaware, and Springfield, Massachusetts.
From the 1950s through the 1960s, many NBA teams had unofficial quotas on the number of black players on their teams. Many players joined other professional leagues, including the EPBL. The league was fast and physical, often played in tiny, smoke-filled gyms across the Northeastern United States, and featuring the best players who could not make many NBA teams because of the quotas.
Following the lead of the American Basketball League (1961–1962) in adding a three-point line, the Eastern League added a three-point line for its 1964–65 season. Although three-point shots during the 1960s were few and far between, the Eastern League developed several scorers who used the three-point shot to their advantage.
For the 1970–71 season, the league rebranded itself the Eastern Basketball Association, operating as a professional Northeastern regional league and as an unofficial feeder system to the NBA and ABA. The CBA's first commissioner was Harry Rudolph, father of NBA referee Mendy Rudolph. Steve A. Kauffman, currently a basketball agent, succeeded Rudolph as commissioner in 1975. Kauffman executed a plan to bring the Anchorage Northern Knights into the league beginning with the 1977–78 season. Kauffman kept the league name because he felt having a team in the Eastern League from Alaska might get the league additional notice and recognition. The establishment of the Anchorage franchise garnered national media attention, including a feature story in Sports Illustrated.
Kauffman served as commissioner until 1978, when his deputy commissioner, Jim Drucker, took the reins. Drucker's eight-season reign was the longest in the league's history. Drucker, son of NBA referee Norm Drucker, continued as commissioner until 1986.