From the ashes of the Philadelphia Basketball League rose the Eastern Basketball League, with teams in Trenton and Elizabeth, New Jersey, Reading, Pennsylvania, and three teams in Philadelphia. Elizabeth lost its first seven games and quickly dropped out. The league filled the void by signing the famous Paterson Crescents to represent Princeton, New Jersey. The Crescents were also members of the Hudson River Basketball League, another first-year organization.
Reading took the early season lead in the EBL, but Trenton doggedly pursued them. CBL veterans Winnie Kinkaide and Eddie Ferat took the leadership roles on the young Reading squad. Trenton relied on the scoring wizardry of hometown star Harry Hough to keep pace in the league standings. His supporting cast included early National Basketball League luminaries such as Al Cooper, Charlie Klein, and Pete Riley. During the last four weeks of the season, the two teams took turns in first place and finally finished the season tied. Trenton took three straight playoff games to finally claim the EBL championship.
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