411 REFERENCE · Wikipedia
1936–37 Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A. season
Reference material by Wikipedia contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
MBC professional basketball team season
Pittsburgh Pirates (NBL) Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A. Midwest Basketball Conference 1937 2 9 Eastern 6 Harry Menzel Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A. GymPITTSBURGH Y.M.H.A. - Pro Basketball Encyclopedia en-US Pro Basketball Encyclopedia 2014-05-30 2026-07-10 https://probasketballencyclopedia.com/season/pittsburgh-y-m-h-a-2/ Young Men's Hebrew Association of PittsburghMeyer "Buck" GefskyPeach Basket Society: 1937-38 Pittsburgh Pirates (NBL) 21 July 2015 https://peachbasketsociety.blogspot.com/2015/07/1937-38-pittsburgh-pirates.html Did not qualify Pittsburgh Pirates
The 1936–37 Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A. season was the second and final professional basketball season of play for the Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A. team in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania under the Midwest Basketball Conference (MBC), which was also the second and final year that league existed before it technically folded operations due to the MBC rebranding itself into the United States' National Basketball League (NBL) for its following season of play. However, if one were to include the independent seasons of play that they had when they were operating as an amateur team from Pittsburgh's own local Young Men's Hebrew Association all the way back in 1931 as the Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A. (sometimes being called the Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A.s or Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A.'s), this would be their sixth and final season of play under that name before later rebranding themselves as a professional basketball franchise under the Pittsburgh Pirates name honoring the Major League Baseball team of the same name.Pittsburgh Pirates https://nbahoopsonline.com/History/Leagues/NBL/Teams/Pittsburgh/index.html 2026-01-01 nbahoopsonline.com Twelve teams competed in the MBC this time around, six in each of the Eastern Division (Pittsburgh's division) and the Western Division (including the inaugural, defending champion Chicago Duffy Florals).
Entering this season, Pittsburgh sought to return to the playoff picture in the MBC, which would be reformatted into a regular playoff format after the inaugural MBC season had them compete in a round-robin tournament format that resulted in Pittsburgh's team finishing in last place under that specific tournament formatting. Interestingly, they would try to do so with a new head coach instead, as Meyer "Buck" Gefsky would be replaced with Harry Menzel for this season instead.PITTSBURGH Y.M.H.A. - Pro Basketball Encyclopedia en-US Pro Basketball Encyclopedia 2014-05-29 2026-07-10 https://probasketballencyclopedia.com/season/pittsburgh-y-m-h-a/PITTSBURGH Y.M.H.A. - Pro Basketball Encyclopedia en-US Pro Basketball Encyclopedia 2014-05-30 2026-07-10 https://probasketballencyclopedia.com/season/pittsburgh-y-m-h-a-2/ Unfortunately for them, despite having mostly the same roster from the previous season going into this season of play, they would not have the same quality of strength as a team this season as they did the previous season, as they ended up being the worst team in the entire league that season this time around with a 2–9 record instead, easily failing to qualify for the MBC's reformatted playoffs this time around. Following the season's conclusion, the Midwest Basketball Conference would revamp itself into the National Basketball League, which eventually became a league that would merge with the future rivaling Basketball Association of America to become the National Basketball Association for the present-day era, with the Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A. rebranding themselves from their Young Men's Hebrew Association roots in order to expand their player approval rights into having more races and religious creeds beyond the Jewish religion join their team by becoming the professional basketball version of the Pittsburgh Pirates once they entered the NBL.Midwest Basketball Conference Teams https://nbahoopsonline.com/History/Leagues/MidwestBasketballConference/teams.html 2025-09-24 nbahoopsonline.com
Roster
Due to information on Midwest Basketball Conference players being generally hard to find, there are bound to be more gaps and/or inaccuracies found in certain areas on the team's roster spots than usual.1936-37 Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A. (MBC) en peachbasketsociety.blogspot.com Mike Wilk 2026-07-10 https://peachbasketsociety.blogspot.com/2017/04/1936-37-pittsburgh-ymha-mbc.html
1936–37 Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A. #000000 #FFFF00 #000000 #FFFF00
Ganzy Benedict 1 G 5 9 165 Duquesne 1905–11–29
Irv Brenner F/C 6 4 200 Duquesne 1913–05–30
Claire Cribbs 1 F/C 6 3 195 Pittsburgh 1912–08–13
Art Feldman 1 G/F 6 1 170 Duquesne 1912–10–18
Hymie Ginsburg G 5 9 170 Geneva 1914–03–23
Cliff Hutzley 1 C 6 5 200 Geneva 1911–08–29
Art Hyatt G/F 6 2 195 Schenley HS (PA) 1912–06–29
Stub Jacobson 1 G 5 10 165 Carnegie Mellon 1916–08–25
Dudey Moore G 5 9 180 Duquesne 1910–04–05
Marty Reiter G 5 7 160 Duquesne 1911–08–25
Red Silverman 1 G 5 8 160 Carnegie Mellon 1910–10–15
Joe Stydahar C 6 4 235 West Virginia 1912–03–17
Harry Menzel
MBC Standings
MBC Eastern Division
Pos. Eastern Division Wins Losses Win %1 Akron Goodyear Wingfoots 16 2 .8892 Akron Firestone Non-Skids 13 5 .7223 Warren HyVis Oils 8 6 .5714 Columbus Athletic Supply 6 5 .5455 Detroit Altes Lagers 2 8 .2006 Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A. 2 9 .182
MBC Western Division
Pos. Western Division Wins Losses Win %1 Dayton London Bobbys 8 6 .5712 Fort Wayne General Electrics 6 6 .5003 Whiting Ciesar All-Americans 3 5 .3754 Chicago Duffy Florals 4 7 .3645 Indianapolis Kautskys 2 5 .2866 Indianapolis U.S. Tires 3 9 .250
MIDWEST BASKETBALL CONFERENCE - Pro Basketball Encyclopedia en-US Pro Basketball Encyclopedia 2014-05-30 2026-07-10 https://probasketballencyclopedia.com/league/midwest-basketball-conference-2/
References
Category:Pittsburgh Pirates (NBL)
Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A.
Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A.