1918–19 Philadelphia Sphas season

Basketball season of the Philadelphia Sphas January 2025 Philadelphia Sphas American League of Philadelphia 1919 6 8 5th (first half), T-4th (second half; four-way tie), 5th (overall) Eddie Gottlieb Eddie Gottlieb Southern Philadelphia Hebrew AssociationEddie GottliebEdwin "Hughie" BlackHarry Passon No playoffs in ALP Philadelphia YMHA The 1918–19 season was the first season played by the team as the Philadelphia Sphas properly (they completed their previous season while playing as the Philadelphia YMHA due to the team originally being a part of their local Young Men's Hebrew Association before the local Y.M.H.A. backed out of their involvement with the team (though they still provided the team's uniforms for this season and the following season afterward), resulting in the team's ownership fully going out to Edwin "Hughie" Black, Harry Passon, and team general manager/head coach Eddie Gottlieb by this point in time alongside their first official collaboration with the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association (hence the SPHAs name)), and the team's second season in the minor-league American League of Philadelphia, as well as their second overall season of existence as a franchise. Game-by-game records are (currently) not available for this season and are therefore likely lost to time in the process.Stark Douglas The SPHAS: The Life and Times of Basketball's Greatest Jewish Team Temple University Press Philadelphia 2011 978-1-59213-633-9 Appendix B. 267-268 In any case, the American League of Philadelphia would cut their season in two halves this time around, with their final results being determined by the overall results from the two halves later on. In this season's case, however, the Sphas would end up finishing this season with a 6–8 overall record for fifth place, with both of the season's halves resulting in the Sphas getting a 3–4 record for a fifth place finish either way (though the second half of their season would have them be involved in a four-way tie for fourth place with the Dobson, Yours Truly, and Victrix C.C. franchises). Due to the combination of World War I and the Spanish flu pandemic (the latter of which still remains (likely speaking) as the deadliest pandemic in human history), the American League of Philadelphia that the Sphas played in would be considered the only basketball league that would actually play the sport of basketball in general for either major league or minor league play during this season.1918-1919 - Pro Basketball Encyclopedia en-US Pro Basketball Encyclopedia 2014-05-07 2026-07-20 https://probasketballencyclopedia.com/seasons/1918-1919/AMERICAN BASKETBALL LEAGUE OF PHILADELPHIA - Pro Basketball Encyclopedia en-US Pro Basketball Encyclopedia 2014-05-07 2026-07-20 https://probasketballencyclopedia.com/league/american-basketball-league-of-philadelphia-2/ Roster The players that made up the roster for the inaugural Philadelphia Sphas roster (in terms of the roster that actually used that team name and not the Philadelphia YMHA name from the previous season) included Edwin "Hughie" Black, Mark "Mockie" Bunin, Eddie Gottlieb, Charlie Newman, Harry Passon, Herman "Chickie" Passon, Lou Schneiderman, and (presumably) Bob Seitchick. American League of Philadelphia Standings +First HalfTeamWinsLossesWin %Philadelphia Yours Truly*71.875Philadelphia Hancock*62.750Philadelphia St. Columba52.714Philadelphia Dobson52.714Philadelphia SPHAs34.429Philadelphia Victrix C.C.25.286Philadelphia Midvale16.143Philadelphia Naval Aircraft Wilbar07.000 +Second HalfTeamWinsLossesWin %Philadelphia St. Columba701.000Philadelphia Hancock52.714Philadelphia Midvale43.571Philadelphia Dobson34.429Philadelphia SPHAs34.429Philadelphia Yours Truly34.429Philadelphia Victrix C.C.34.429Philadelphia Naval Aircraft Wilbar07.000 +Overall RecordsTeamWinsLossesWin %Philadelphia St. Columba122.857Philadelphia Hancock*114.733Philadelphia Yours Truly*105.667Philadelphia Dobson86.571Philadelphia SPHAs68.429Philadelphia Midvale59.357Philadelphia Victrix C.C.59.357Philadelphia Naval Aircraft Wilbar014.000 * – Both the Hancock and the Yours Truly franchises played one extra game in the first half of the season to determine the champion of the first half of the season through tiebreaker stipulations there. As such, both of those franchises played an extra game against each other this season. References Category:Philadelphia Sphas seasons Philadelphia Sphas Philadelphia Sphas