The New Haven Elms were Connecticut's first EPBL franchise. The team was originally coached by Sam Bender, who had a solid opening day lineup of forwards Wayne Lawrence and WOody Sauldsberry as forwards, Frank Keitt and Cleo Hill as guards, and 6'8" center Bill Burwell. Home games were initially at the New Haven Arena, and were scheduled around dates held by the Eastern Hockey League's New Haven Blades.
The Elms held their own in the early part of the season, even after Woody Sauldsberry was promoted to the Boston Celtics (Boston sent Sihugo Green to the Elms in exchange). With New Haven's otherstars in the lineup - Frank Keitt, Wayne Lawrence, Wilbert Frazier and Walter Byrd in the lineup, the Elms looked to have a successful first year.
During that initial season, the Elms had a 7-8 record going into January 1966, but injuries and roster turnovers resulted in the Elms finishing the season with an 8-20 mark, earning last place in the EPBL's Eastern Division. One of those losses actually started out as a win - on November 27, 1965, New Haven beat the Trenton Colonials 134-131, but Colonials coach Chic Craig protested the match, claiming thathis team was not awarded two foul shots on an offensive foul called against the Elms with less than two minuts to play. League rules specified at that time that any foul within two minutes from the end of the game is a shooting foul - but Trenton was only awarded possession of the ball out of bounds, after the foul. EPBL president Harry Rudolph was in the audience that night, and upheld the protest - ordering that the final fourth quarter be replayed the next time Trenton visited the New Haven Arena.
On Christmas Day 1965, before the teams' next scheduled contest, Trenton and New Haven replayed the disputed game from the fourth quarter (with the score tied 103-103). Both teams scored 30 points apiece in the replayed canto, and in the overtime session Trenton's Bob Love and Stacey Arceneaux helped spur a 7-point rally by the Colonials, who won the contest 147-142 (New Haven did win the regularly-scheduled match, 138-130, both teams giving the New Haven faithful two games and six quarters worth of baskeball action).
The 1966-67 Elms, however, were a mess. The team went through several coaches, starting with Al Cervi, and fans definitely needed a program to determine which player was on the court at any given night. The team signed high-priced veterans Hal Lear and Dick "Richie" Gaines, then supplemented the rest of the lineup with players from the independent Milford Chiefs traveling squad. The franchise's 7-21 finish only kept them out of the Eastern Division cellar because the Asbury Park Boardwalkers stumbled through a horrific 2-26 year.
The franchise moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut for the 1967-68 season.
A new Elms franchise was built for the 1968-69 campaign, but once again the season started in disarray. The franchise started out with player-coach Gene Conley running the squad, but after an 0-5 start Conley was relieved of his coaching duties and Tom Sullivan was hired as the team's new coach. The team also moved mid-season out of the New Haven Arena, playing the rest of their games at Wilbur Cross High School.
By the end of the season, however, the Elms were able to cobble together a 10-16 record, good for fourth place in the Eastern Division (the Springfield Hall of Famers lost their first seven games and folded in mid-season, essentially assuring the Elms of a post-season playoff spot as long as they won some games).
However, in the playoffs the Elms were clobbered in two straight contests by the Wilmington Blue Bombers, and the Elms' season - as well as its tenure in New Haven - ended. The franchise relocated to the New Haven suburb of Hamden, where it was sponsored for two years by the BIC ballpoint pen company.
Regular Season Standings
EPBL STATISTICS
W L PCT GB Result
1965-1966 7 21 .286 12 did not make playoffs
1966-1967 8 20 .250 14 did not make playoffs
1968-1969 10 16 .385 9.5 lost in quarterfinals
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Home Court: |
| ALL-STAR GAME: Never hosted. | |
PLAYOFFSEASTERN PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE 1965-1966 did not make playoffs 1966-1967 did not make playoffs 1968-1969 Lost in quarterfinals to Wilmington, 0 games to 2 | |