Hazleton Mountaineers
EPBL 1946-1948, 1951-1952

The Hazleton, Pa. Mountaineers were one of the original six franchises in the Eastern Professional Basketball League, and played in that circuit for two seasons. A reformed Mountaineers team re-joined the EPBL for the 1951-1952 season, but did not return after that.

While the Mountaineers did not win any championships during their three seasons in the EPBL, they are notable for one professional feat. In their first season, the Mountaineers' roster included Bill Brown and Zack Clayton, former members of the all-black New York Rens team - making the Hazleton Mountaineers the first EPBL team with an integrated roster, an integration that occurred four years before Earl Lloyd became the first African-American to play in an NBA contest.

Clayton would only play one game for the Mountaineers; in December 1946, he, Bill Brown and another player, Tom McCollum, were suspended by the Eastern League - not because of the color of their skin (McCollum was white), but because the trio played a game with an independent town team against the barnstorming Chicago Crusaders, a clear violation of league rules. During the players' one-game suspension, the Mountaineers lost a game to the lowly Binghamton Triplets, 77-47. Bill Brown returned to the Mountaineers a few days later, but injured his wrist in mid-season. His replacement, Johnny Isaacs, was another black basketball player, joining Hazleton from the all-black Washington Bears.

The 1947-48 Hazleton Mountaineers played well enough to actually make the finals, but lost to the Reading Keys in the last game of the season. Although there were plans for the Mountaineers to play the 1948-49 season, they were unable to secure the use of the Hazleton High School court and withdrew from the league.

A new Hazleton Mountaineers team transferred from Ashland in the 1951-52 season, and played their games at Most Precious Blood High School. Unfortunately for these Mountaineers, who arrived in Hazleton with a 6-7 record, the team proceeded to lose their next eight contests in a row - and then folded in mid-season, with the unplayed games awarded to the other teams as forfeits.

             W   L   PCT  GB   Result
1946-1947   11  17  .393  11.5 lost in semifinals
1947-1948   18  10  .643   1   lost EPBL championship

1951-1952    6  24  .200  15   (6-8 from Ashland); folded in mid-season

1946-1947 lost in semifinals to Lancaster, 0 games to 2
1947-1948 won in semifinals over Pottsville, 2 games to 1
          lost in EPBL Championship to Reading, 1 game to 2

1951-1952 folded in mid-season