Recap
The highly successful two-year-old Hudson River League was ripped apart in October by bitter factionalism over the proposed re-election of league president Albert Saulpaugh. When prolonged negotiations failed to satisfy either side, Saulpaugh’s supporters in Catskill, Hudson, Troy, and Schenectady withdrew from the league and formed a rival organization, the New York Basketball State League. The remaining HRL teams, Kingston, Newburgh, Paterson, and Yonkers regrouped under former league secretary John Poggi. They admitted new teams in White Plains and Trenton and began play in November.
Serious problems emerged almost immediately in the revamped HRL. Kingston saw its entire team jump ship to represent South Side of the CBL, while the Paterson Crescents insisted on also representing Cohoes in the NYSL. The Trenton franchise, in the heart of EBL territory, dropped out after just eight games. The remaining five teams struggled on under constant pressure from the NYSL which continued to lure players away from the older circuit. The NYSL finally succeeded in their unabashed attempt to destroy the HRL in late January by signing Yonkers’ star Jimmy Clinton. His departure was the final blow. It triggered the withdrawal of Yonkers and White Plains and the collapse of the entire HRL.
I sincerely appreciate the research work, and the information being shared. It is important and interesting history.