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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Massachusetts State Basketball League (MSBL)
1899-00 MSBL Season Leaders
Recap
For its second season, the Massachusetts League embarked on an ambitious 30-game schedule. All four towns represented the first season returned again: Hudson, Milford, two teams in Marlboro, and one of the two teams in Millbury all signed for the new season. New teams were added in Worcester and South Worcester, and a strong team from Fitchburg also joined to bring the league membership to eight clubs. What was quickly apparent within a few weeks of the beginning of the season was that the level of play had jumped immeasurably in just one year. All of the Marlboro BAA starters, except one, had lost their jobs. George Rogers, the top scorer in the league the past season, was cut loose after just one game. The restructured Marlboro squad won ten of its first twelve games to take a commanding early lead in the standings. The new entry from Fitchburg managed to win only half of its first eight games, but the talented squad then reeled off eight straight wins to challenge Marlboro BAA for the top spot in the league standings. Charlie Noonan established himself as the league’s most accurate shooter, while Anthony Conlon provided the Fitchburg men with a rugged floor leader. By mid-season Fitchburg edged in front of Marlboro BAA in the standings by a single game. Marlboro dropped 5’2” starter Charlie Doyle and replaced him with 21-year old Fatty Allard who was 5’8” and a muscular 170-pounder. Allard was a strong defender who also provided the team with a new offensive spark. The rejuvenated Marlboro BAA squad lost only two games the rest of the season to finish in first place just ahead of Fitchburg.
None of the other six teams ever mounted any serious challenge to the top-two finishers. Jack Porter still terrorized most players in the league with his ferocious play, but last year’s champion Hudson squad slipped to third place in the tougher competition. Millbury combined the best players from the two Millbury squads of last season. They also signed local star Bill Horne, a powerful six-footer and dashing Henry Martens, the best player in western Massachusetts, but still finished fourth with a mediocre 14-13 record. Milford, weakened by the defection of star center Joe Kynoch to Marlboro, could do no better than fifth place. Both South Worcester and Worcester found their first year of league play very rough going and finished near the bottom of the pack. In mid-December, the Marlboro YMCA team transferred to Webster where a talented, but inexperienced squad could win only five of twenty-two games and finish last.
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I sincerely appreciate the research work, and the information being shared. It is important and interesting history.