1917–18 Philadelphia Sphas season

Last updated
1917–18  Philadelphia Sphas season
Head coach Eddie Gottlieb
Results
Record411 (.267)
PlaceConference: 5th
Playoff finishNo playoffs in ALP
1918–19 >

The 1917-18 season was the first for the team that would become the Philadelphia Sphas. Playing in the minor-league American Basketball League of Philadelphia, the team was known as Philadelphia YMHA, as they were sponsored by the local branch of the Young Men's Hebrew Association. Game-by-game records not available for this season.

The Philadelphia Sphas, also stylized SPHAs or SPHAS, were an American basketball franchise that existed in professional, semi-professional, and exhibition forms. They played their home games in the ballroom of Philadelphia's Broadwood Hotel. The team's name is an acronym, derived from South Philadelphia Hebrew Association, and the team's players, at least in its earlier years, were primarily Jewish. Future Philadelphia Warriors owner Eddie Gottlieb founded the team as an amateur group shortly after he and some close friends graduated from high school, and it later became a professional team. The Sphas played in many leagues around the Philadelphia area and the East Coast, most notably the Eastern Basketball League and the American Basketball League (ABL), between which the Sphas won 10 championships. The Sphas won a total of 12 championships, their first two coming from the early Philadelphia League and Philadelphia Basket Ball League.

League Standings [1]
TeamWinsLossesWin %
Philadelphia St. Columba141.933
Philadelphia Hancock96.600
Brotherhood Beth Israel87.533
Girard Alumni69.400
Philadelphia YMHA411.267
Philadelphia Port Richmond YMCA411.267

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References

  1. Stark, Douglas. The SPHAS: The Life and Times of Basketball's Greatest Jewish Team. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. 2011. Appendix B. 267.