Binghamton Flyers
EPBL 1967-1970
EBA 1970-1971

During the 1967-68 season, the expansion Bridgeport Flyers basketball team collapsed under a 1-11 losing record. Within a month, however, the franchise relocated to Binghamton, New York to play out the remainder of its season at Binghamton's Catholic Central High School (the local newspapers often referred to the team as the Tri-Cities Flyers, as Binghamton was part of the Triple Cities of Binghamton, Endicott and Johnson City; the rest of the league referred to the team as the Binghamton Flyers).

Although most of the team had been sold off to the rest of the league, leaving only Eastern League veteran Stacy Arceneaux and some role players on the team, by late January the Flyers purchased the contract of Scranton's Swish McKinney, who actually lived in nearby Endicott, N.Y. and worked during the off-season at the local IBM factory.

McKinney sparked the Flyers to finish the season with a respectable 6-9 record, was named to the All-Star Team, and scored 1,206 points in 35 games with Binghamton and Scranton - a new single-season league record. He also got into a few scrapes during the season, mostly against his old Scranton Miners team.

McKinney did not return to the Flyers for the team's first full season in the Eastern League; but the signing of former Syracuse guard Rich Cornwall and local prospect Mike Morrow helped spur high hopes for the Flyers. But the team languished in the Western Division basement, and playoff hopes were dim - that year, the EPBL playoffs took 8 of the league's 10 teams, and the Springfield Hall of Famers had already folded in mid-season, leaving Binghamton to battle with the Sunbury Mercuries for the final playoff spot.

With the season in the balance, Binghamton had to win a mid-week make-up game against the Wilmington Blue Bombers to snag the final playoff spot. But because the game was a midweek contest and not the league's usual weekend contests, one of Binghamton's top scorers, George Hicker, demanded an instant raise before he would join the team. The coach balked at the idea, and Hicker stayed home rather than join the Flyers - who lost to Wilmington 141-121, ending the Flyers' slim playoff hopes.

For the 1969-70 season, the Flyers hired veteran EBPL coach Chic Craig; and strong play from Cornwall and center Al Beard allowed the Flyers to remain competitive. But in the end, they struggled once again with a losing record - this time 7-20, without any possibility of a last-minute playoff spot.

The 1970-71 season brought several changes to the league - including a new league name, the Eastern Basketball Association; and a later mid-December start for the season. But for the Flyers, it was the same old course sailed - a win or two surrounded by long losing streaks; and the few fans the team had stopped coming to games. On January 28, 1970, things boiled to an exploding point when center Al Beard learned that the team had signed former ABA player Hal Booker to the team; effectively costing Beard his roster spot. Beard had words with coach Chic Craig; a few minutes later, Beard punched Craig, bloodying his coach's nose. Craig quit the team shortly after the game.

A few days later, citing rising expenses and the inability to play at a more convenient home court (Catholic Central High School's basketball court had one of the smallest seating capacities in the league), the Binghamton Flyers moved to Trenton and became the Pat Pavers. On their way to Trenton, they played a final road game representing Binghamton - defeating the Scranton Miners.

             W   L  PCT  GB  Result
1967-1968    6   9 .400      did not make playoffs
(combined Bridgeport-Binghamton franchise was 7-20)
1968-1969    9  18 .333 16.5 did not make playoffs
1969-1970    7  20 .259 12.5 did not make playoffs
1970-1971    1   5 .175      relocated in midseason

1967-1968 Did Not Make Playoffs
1968-1969 Did Not Make Playoffs
1969-1970 Did Not Make Playoffs