YORK 1951 SOUTHERN DIVISION CHAMPIONS

York Victory
EPBL 1948-1950
York Professionals
EPBL 1950-1951
York Howard Cleaners
EPBL 1951-1952

York joined the Eastern Professional Basketball League in the 1948-49 season, replacing the departing Philadelphia Lumberjacks franchise. Sponsored by the York Victory Athletic Association for its first two years of existence, York drew respectable crowds in its first season, spurred on by the success of its leading scorer, Art "Zeno" Lentz, as well as veteran Jim "Reds" Furey, who had previously played with Philadelphia.

York Victory, in addition to playing their regular season schedule, participated in several mid-season exhibition games, either against NBA squads, touring teams, or the mysterious "Masked Marvels," a team advertised as ex-New England college stars who wore masks and cowls on the floor to conceal their identities. Who were the masked marvels? Superheroes? Criminals? Mexican wrestlers? Nope - they were the Villanova University basketball team, including Villanova star Paul Arizin, who wore masks so that they would not lose college eligibility by playing professional contests.

The team's second season was a disaster - after an 0-5 start, the team shut down for two weeks to reassess the team lineup. In fact, nearly 30 men played for York Victory in the 1949-50 season, more than double the roster of any other EPBL team.

The franchise changed ownership before the 1950-51 season commenced, and was referred to by the generic "York Professionals" or "York Pros" nickname. However, the team was able to string together several winning streaks, and finished the season with the Southern Division title.

During the 1950-51 season, however, there were two separate playoffs, both against the Sunbury Mercuries. In the first playoff, a single-game contest featuring the Northern and Southern Division champions, Sunbury edged York 80-75. The regular "Shaughnessy-style" playoffs commenced after that, with York defeating Lancaster in two straight, while Sunbury upended Williampsort in three straight. Sunbury and York met in the finals, with the Mercuries prevailing in two straight contests to win the playoff title.

The 1951-52 York franchise moved to a smaller gymnasium, York Catholic High School, and received a new name, this time branding themselves the "York Howard Cleaners," after a local dry cleaning company. But even in the smaller building, and despite its first place record, the franchise drew less than 300 fans a night. Citing financial losses, the team relocated in mid-season to Ashland, Pa.

             W   L  PCT   GB     Result
1948-1949   14  15  .483   3.5   did not make playoffs
1949-1950    9  17  .346   8     did not make playoffs
1950-1951   15  11  .577  --     lost EPBL finals
1951-1952    6   5  .545  xx     moved in mid-season

1948-1949 did not make playoffs
1949-1950 did not make playoffs
1950-1951 Won in semifinals over Lancaster, 2 games to 0
          Lost in EPBL Championship to Sunbury, 0 games to 2
1951-1952 moved in off-season