The CBA Museum
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
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Cambria-Johnstown CJ's 1965-1966
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The "CJ's" actually stood for the team's official name, the Cambria-Johnstown basketball franchise, which was located in Cambria County, Johnstown - and, at the time, the franchise was the westernmost basketball team in EPBL history.
That being said, in their lone season the Johnstown CJ's went through three coaches - the first coach, Jocko Collins, was fired after compiling a dreary 0-6 record. Player Dave Roman took over as player-coach, and compiled a 1-6 record before he was replaced by Robert Pavlovich, the former basketball coach at Johnstown's Franklin High School. The scheduling wreaked havoc on the team; as they would play Saturday games on the road in eastern Pennsylvania or New Jersey, then return to the Cambria County War Memorial Arena for Sunday contests.
In the winter of 1965-66, however, sports fans in Johnstown wanted to see the Johnstown Jets of the Eastern Hockey League, a factor proven out when the Jets continually outdrew the CJ's on home nights. The CJ's only surpassed 1,000 fans once in their entire season; and on most other nights, the team barely averaged 400-500 patrons a night.
The team's stars included veteran Hal Lear and rising star Willie Somerset, as well as the team's leading scorer, Dennis Cuff. Lear was named to the 1966 All-Star Game, the only CJ to achieve that honor.
After an initial 3-25 season, the franchise relocated to Asbury Park, N.J. for the 1966-67 season. Interestingly, the CJ's Dennis Cuff was among the EPBL's top 5 scorers in both the 1965-66 and 1966-67 seasons, despite playing for two squads whose combined win total was five victories in two seasons.
Regular Season Standings
CAMBRIA-JOHNSTOWN CJ's
W L PCT GB Result
1965-1966 3 25 .107 16 did not make playoffs
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Home Court:
Cambria County War Memorial, Johnstown, Pa.
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