Recap
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 defending champion Sphas made a runaway of the first-half race with eleven straight wins to open the season. Hobbled by injuries to key players, the Sphas finished in third place behind Tri-Council and Shanahan in the second half. In game one of the best-of-three game playoff for the title, the Sphas took a 19-8 halftime lead, but could score only four more points the rest of the evening and fell to Tri-Council 29-23. The Sphas recovered their composure in game two with a 25-22 victory to knot the series at one game apiece. The playoffs and eventually the league itself disintegrated, however, before the deciding third game could take place when the heart of the Tri-Council team, Tom Barlow, Lou Sugarman, and George Glasco, 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 contest and title to the Sphas.
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.
I sincerely appreciate the research work, and the information being shared. It is important and interesting history.