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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.
Robert Frederick "Bobby" McDermott was an American professional basketball player in the 1930s and 1940s. He was known as an outstanding shooter and has been called "the greatest long-distance shooter in the history of the game" by contemporaries. His grandson is businessman Bill McDermott. McDermott was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988.
Oscar Benjamin "Ossie" Schectman was an American professional basketball player. He is credited with having scored the first basket in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which would later become the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The Philadelphia Stars were a Negro league baseball team from Philadelphia. The Stars were founded in 1933 when Ed Bolden returned to professional black baseball after being idle since early 1930. The Stars were an independent ball club in 1933, a member of the Negro National League from 1934 until the League's collapse following the 1948 season, and affiliated with the Negro American League from 1949 to 1952.
Edward Gottlieb, known as "Mr. Basketball" and "The Mogul", was the first coach and manager of the Philadelphia Warriors in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the former owner and coach of the team from 1951 to 1962. A native of Kiev, Ukraine, he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor on April 20, 1972. The NBA Rookie of the Year "Eddie Gottlieb Trophy" is named after Gottlieb.
George Lawrence Senesky was an American professional basketball player and coach. A 6'2" guard from Saint Joseph's University, he played for eight seasons in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA), all with the Philadelphia Warriors. He later coached the franchise, from 1955 through to 1958, winning the NBA title in 1956.
The Philadelphia Phillies were an American basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was a member of the American Basketball League.
Louis Herman "Red" Klotz was an American professional basketball player. He was a National Basketball Association (NBA) point guard with the original Baltimore Bullets, and he was best known for forming the teams that play against and tour with the Harlem Globetrotters: the Washington Generals and the New York Nationals. He was the oldest-living NBA world champion.
Stanley Brown was an American professional basketball player.
Bernard Opper was an All-American basketball player at Kentucky and then professional player in the National Basketball League and American Basketball League.
Benjamin "Ben" Auerbach was an early American professional basketball player in the American Basketball League. He had a standout college career for New York University. Despite the shared surname, Ben Auerbach is not related to the Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach.
Irwin P. "Irv" Rothenberg was an American professional basketball player. He played for the Cleveland Rebels, Washington Capitols, Baltimore Bullets, St. Louis Bombers, and New York Knicks of the Basketball Association of America. Rothenberg also played in the American Basketball League for the Philadelphia Sphas, New York Gothams, and Paterson Crescents.
The Philadelphia Sphas were an early American professional basketball team. The 1933-34 season was the first played in the American Basketball League by the Sphas, although they did play in the ABL from 1926-1928 as the Philadelphia Warriors, no relation to the later BAA franchise. The Sphas played in leagues around Philadelphia since 1917, but game-by-game records before the Sphas rejoined the ABL in 1933 are not available. After finishing a perfect 14-0 in the second part of the season, the Sphas would win the league championship with a 4-2 series victory over the Trenton Moose. The Sphas were also referred to as the Philadelphia Hebrews in league records during this time.
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 1918-19 season was the first season played by the team as the Sphas, and the team's second season in the minor-league American League of Philadelphia. Game-by-game records not available for this season.
The 1919-20 season was the Philadelphia Sphas' third season in the American League of Philadelphia and second season as the Sphas. Game-by-game records are not available for this season. This was the first season that the Sphas finished with a total record over .500.
The 1920-21 season was the Sphas' 4th season in the American League of Philadelphia. Game-by-game records are not available for this season.
The 1922-23 season was the first season played by the Sphas in the Philadelphia League, and the only season played by the team in the Manufacturer's League. In the Manufacturer's League, made up of teams from local industry, the Sphas were known as Philadelphia Passon, Gottlieb, Black because they competed on behalf of the owners' sporting goods store. The team was known as the Sphas in the Philadelphia League. Game-by-game records not available for this season.
The 1923-24 season was the second played by the Sphas in the Philadelphia League. This season marked some notable firsts for the team, including their first season playing over 20 games and the team's first championship. Game-by-game records not available for this season
Howard "Red" Rosan was an American basketball player and coach in the American Basketball League (ABL). Rosan played for the Philadelphia Sphas from 1934 to 1945 and coached the Baltimore Bullets from 1944 to 1946. He was inducted into the Temple Athletics Hall of Fame in 1976 and posthumously inducted in the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1996 as a member of the Philadelphia Sphas.