The CBA Museum
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

WILKES-BARRE 1947-48 1946-47 1957-58 1968-69 REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONS

WILKES-BARRE BARONS 1947 1955 1956 1958 1959 1969 1973 1978 CHAMPIONS

The Wilkes-Barre Barons were one of six original franchises in the Eastern Professional Basketball League's maiden season of 1946-47. Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania had already built a strong basketball foundation, having produced champions in several other professional hoops leagues dating back to the old Penn State League of the 1910's. In the original six-team circuit, the Barons were a dominant home franchise, never losing a single game on the Kingston Armory court. The Barons, led by the Chanecka brothers (Bill and Steve) and Cas Ostrowski, dominated the circuit, winning the regular season championship in a runaway. In the finals, they faced the Lancaster Red Roses, a team who also did not lose a single home game - both teams split the first two contests, and since neither team would agree to play on the other's home court for the finals, the third game was held in Allentown, Pa., which the Barons won handily, 70-54.

After that maiden season, both Wilkes-Barre and Lancaster left for the rival American Basketball League. The Roses would return mid-sesaon to the EPBL, while the Barons remained in the ABL throughout the 1950's, often playing Eastern League teams as part of an exhibition schedule.

In the summer of 1952, the American Basketball League (of which the Wilkes-Barre Barons were a member) was in a serious financial crisis, and the possibility of professional basketball not returning to Wilkes-Barre concerned many sports fans. Eventually an agreement was reached where the Pottsville Packers, who had just won the 1952 Eastern League playoff championship, would relocate to Wilkes-Barre and be the new Wilkes-Barre franchise in the Eastern League. Because the name "Barons" was already owned, the team was rebranded the Wilkes-Barre Aces.

But no sooner had the Aces set up shop, that word came that the ABL would reorganize and restart for the 1952-53 season. The Barons would return to the spacious Kingston Armory, and the Aces were forced to relocate once again, this time to the smaller South Main Street Armory.

But as the season began, the Aces discovered that most of the choice home dates available to them had been snatched up by a more popular sport - televised professional wrestling. Despite an Aces lineup that included Wilkes-Barre icon Bill Chanecka, the Aces were only able to draw 400 fans to their opening-night win. The team lost three more games on the road, and with few home dates available to the franchise, the Aces shut down in January 1953.

A month later, the Eastern League wiped the four Aces' games from the official schedule. The players' statistics, however, were allowed to remain as part of league records.

Two years later, however, the Barons returned to the Eastern League, after the ABL finally folded.

Infomration on the Wilkes-Barre Barons' later years will be added to this page in the future.

AS WILKES-BARRE BARONS
             W   L   PCT  GB   Result
1946-1947   22   5  .815  --   Won EPBL Championship

AS WILKES-BARRE ACES
             W   L   PCT  GB   Result
1952-1953    1   3  .250       folded in mid-season

AS WILKES-BARRE BARONS
             W   L   PCT  GB   Result
1954-1955   18  12  .600   1   Won EPBL Championship
1955-1956   18  12  .600   1.5 Won EPBL Championship
1956-1957   11  18  .379   9.5 did not make playoffs
1957-1958   18  10  .642  --   Won EPBL Championship
1958-1959   19   9  .679   2   Won EPBL Championship
1959-1960   10  18  .357  11   did not make playoffs
1960-1961   13  15  .464   6   did not make playoffs; refused to play tiebreaker game
1961-1962   13  14  .481   9   did not make playoffs; lost tiebreaker play-in game
1962-1963   15  13  .536   5   lost EPBL finals
1963-1964   10  18  .357  11   did not make playoffs
1964-1965   11  17  .393   7   did not make playoffs
1965-1966   19   9  .879  --   lost EPBL finals
1966-1967   14  13  .519   6.5 lost in quarterfinals
1967-1968   20  12  .625   3   lost EPBL finals
1968-1969   26   2  .929  --   Won EPBL Championship
1969-1970   13  14  .481   6.5 did not make playoffs
1970-1971   13  15  .464   8   did not make playoffs
1971-1972   11  19  .387  10   did not make playoffs
1972-1973   22  10  .688   3   Won EPBL Championship
1973-1974    1   6  .142       folded in mid-season
1975-1976    6  18  .250  16.5 did not make playoffs

AS WILKES-BARRE PROFESSIONALS
             W   L   PCT  GB   Result
1976-1977    8  10  .444   9   did not make playoffs
                               (record combined with Brooklyn Pros)

AS WILKES-BARRE BARONS
             W   L   PCT  GB   Result
1977-1978   23   8  .742   1   Won EBA Championship
1978-1979   22  22  .500  --   lost in semifinals

AS PENNSYLVANIA BARONS
             W   L   PCT  GB   Result
1979-1980   14  17  .452   5   lost in semifinals

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