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Frank |
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Frank |
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FRANK "POP" MORGENWECK was born on July 15, 1875 in Egg Harbor NJ. With a relative, William E. "Billy" Morgenweck, he was one of the organizers of the first basketball league in the United States in the 1890s, the National Basketball League. He also coached the Camden Electrics in 1903-04 and the Camden Athletics in 1933-34 At 5'8" and 165 pounds, Morgenweck, known as "Pop" played on a professional level till the age of 41. In basketball's early years, the sport needed astute business leaders and visionaries like Frank Morgenweck. From 1901 to 1932, Morgenweck operated teams in more than 14 Eastern and Western cities. Three of his franchises won championships, (Kingston, NY-1912 and 1925; Patterson, NJ-1917; Rochester, NY-1930) . Throughout his 30-year involvement with professional basketball, "Pop" was an influential personality among players, coaches and owners. In 1931 he was elected president of the Old-Timers Association, consisting of former pro basketball players from as far back as the the 1890s. Frank Morgenweck passed away in Massachusetts on December 8, 1941. His family was still in Camden into the 1960s. He was one of six men enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1962. It should be noted that the Hall was established in 1959, and that Morgenweck was among the first 47 men so honored. |
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Camden Courier-Post - February 8, 1936 |
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SPHAS
TO
TACKLE KINGSTON TONIGHT Frank
Morgenweck's Kingston (N.
Y.) City Service five will battle Eddie Gottlieb's Sphas tonight in an
attempt to move within a half game of first position in a regularly
scheduled American Basketball League contest at the Broadwood Hotel
Ballroom, Broad and Wood streets, Philadelphia, at 9.15 p. m. It
seems "Morgy," the dean of pro basketball coaches, has little
love for the manager of the Sphas or for any of the players who have
already won the first-half season championship. And, to hear Frank tell
it, his former New York state champs
are the boys "who'll put the Sphas in their place." A
few weeks ago such words would have sounded like idle talk on the part
of the Kingston manager. However, at the present time it might well be
worth listening to. Only
one game separates the Jewels, who are in first place, and the
last-place club. The New Yorkers have a bead on the second semester
title, and an accurate one. They twice knocked over the Jewels, within
the first week of the secondhalf season, and they're here seeking a
new deal in the rivalry with the Sphas. |
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