1972–73 National Basketball League season

The 1972–73 National Basketball League season was the inaugural season of the newly formulated National Basketball League.

1972–73 National Basketball League season
LeagueNational Basketball League
SportBasketball
Number of teams6
Roll Of Honour
National League championsAvenue (Leyton)
  National League runners-upLiverpool Bruno Roughcutters
National Cup championsLondon Latvians
  National Cup runners-upSutton
National Basketball League seasons

By 1972, the Scots had their own thriving National League, though also competing in the "Rose Bowl", but when a London team, Sutton, defeated Edinburgh's Boroughmuir Barrs in the 1972 Final, the Basketball Association decided that it was time to relaunch the idea of an English National League. Therefore, the National Basketball League was inaugurated.[1][2][3]

Liverpool were formed by a flamboyant owner called Vaughan Thomas who ran the Sports Education Department at Liverpool Polytechnic and they were the first club to incorporate a sponsor's name into their title, Bruno Roughcut tobacco from WD & HO Wills. They were also the first club to import an American, Larry Meek, specifically to play basketball. They played their home games at the Deeside Leisure Centre.[4]

League Standings

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Pos Team P W L F A Pts
1 Avenue (Leyton) 10 8 2 878 758 18
2 Liverpool Bruno Roughcutters 10 8 2 747 719 18
3 Sutton 10 6 4 798 758 16
4 Loughborough All-Stars 10 5 5 754 748 15
5 Sheffield YMCA Scorpions 10 3 7 821 769 13
6 RAF Fliers 10 0 10 635 825 10

League Title Play Off

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Avenue defeated Liverpool 92-65 in the play off decider held at Loughborough College.[5]

6 April 1973
Avenue (Leyton) 9265 Liverpool Bruno Roughcutters
Loughborough College

National Cup Final

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31 March 1973
London Latvians 7069 Sutton basketball team
Crystal Palace

Leading Scorers

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Player Team Pts
Mike Gattorna Sheffield YMCA Scorpions 289
Steve Latham Liverpool Bruno Roughcutters 213
Rick Mann Avenue (Leyton) 191
Carl Olsson Loughborough All-Stars 190
Bob Mackay Sutton 186
Len Hoy Avenue (Leyton) 166

References

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  1. ^ Matthews & Morrison, Peter & Ian (1987). The Guinness Encyclopaedia of Sports Records & Results. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. ISBN 0-85112-492-5.
  2. ^ "All Stars Gain Revenge". Nottingham Evening Post. 13 February 1973. Retrieved 21 October 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "All Stars Face RAF in Finale". Leicester Daily Mercury. 15 March 1973. Retrieved 21 October 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Men's Senior League Winners". Basketball England.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Davies beats clock and YMCA win". Derby Daily Telegraph. 31 March 1973. Retrieved 21 October 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.

See also

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