March 13

## 1920

**Syracuse Herald**- All-Syracuse Meets Centrals In Rochester

The All-Syracuse basketball team will travel to Rochester tonight to meet the strong Central aggregation of that city, with which a series of three games has been arranged. The Centrals have just returned from a successful tour of the middle western states and are regarded as one of the strongest clubs ever organized in Central New York. The teams will line up for the game as follows:
ALL-SYRACUSE: Martin, lf, Rafter, rf, Tormey, c, Casey, rg, Crisp, lg. CENTRALS: Horn, lf, Cohen, rg, Messenger, c, Murphy, rg, Friedman, lg.

## 1947

**Syracuse Herald Journal**- Nationals Out To Clinch Playoff Spot

Sheboygan Again Tries To Halt Nats; Syracusans Romp In First Combat

With a post-season championship playoff spot at stake, the Syracuse Nationals basketball team will wind up its scheduled season tonight, at home, against the Sheboygan Redskins, a quintet which it handily defeated, 63-40, before 1,900 fans at the armory last night. A Syracuse triumph tonight would assure the Nats of at least a tie for third spot even if Toledo tonight should defeat Oshkosh in its final game, and it would enable them to finish one full game ahead of fifth place Moline. Moline concludes its schedule Saturday night against Fort Wayne and in the event of a Syracuse defeat could create a fourth place tie by beating Fort Wayne. Sheboygan, lie Syracuse, needs victory tonight to be sure of a playoff spot as Anderson, in fifth place, trails the Redskins by only one and one-half games and has two left to play including one against Indianapolis tonight and another at Oshkosh tomorrow night. A Sheboygan loss, coupled with two wins for Anderson, would create a fourth place deadlock in the Western Division. If Toledo, Syracuse and Moline should finish in a triple tie for third, fourth and fifth places, Syracuse would be awarded third place as a result of a draw made last week, with Toledo and Moline meeting in an extra game to pick the fourth place team. If a tie exists between Syracuse and Toledo with Moline out of the picture, Syracuse will be awarded third place and Toledo fourth, without a playoff. Judging by last night’s performance the Nats should be a shoo-in for a berth in post-season play for they completely dominated the game and might have won by a wider margin if some easy shots had been converted. Despite the fact of that the Nats started slowly, Syracuse pulled into an early 13-3 lead and led at the end of the first period, 17-8. During the second period the better conditioned Nats literally ran the visitors into the ground and walked off the floor with a 36-19 half-time margin. John Chaney, high scorer of the game with 16 points, netted 11 of the first half Syracuse tallies while Steve Sharkey, Sheboygan discard, came up with seven points. Reserves shuttled in and out of the contest during the last half as the Nats held a comfortable lead which at one time reached a 25-point margin. The Syracuse defense kept the visitors from cutting in under the basket and Sheboygan connected on only a small percentage of its set shots. Mike Novak played his usual floor game at center for Syracuse, but his shooting, particularly from the foul line, was not up to standards as he had to settle for nine points against his former mates. Novak and Bob Nugent, who is regaining old time form after being in poor health most of the season, gave Sheboygan rivals and the assembled fans a demonstration of expert ball handling throughout the contest.

SHEBOYGAN: Lewis, f (3-1-7), Lucas (4-2-10), Lautenschlager, f (0-0-0), Holm (1-3-5), Dancker, c (1-0-2), Dykstra (1-1-3), White (2-0-4), Suessens, g (1-1-3), Harris, g (2-2-6) TOTALS (15-10-40). SYRACUSE: Chaney, f (7-2-16), Sharkey, f (4-1-9), Nugent (2-0-4), Exel (1-0-2), Novak, c (4-1-9), Nelmark, g (1-3-5), Rizzo, g (4-4-12), Gee (2-2-6) TOTALS (25-13-63).

Score at half time- Syracuse 36, Sheboygan 19. Free throws missed- Syracuse: Chaney 2, Rizzo 2, Nugent 2, Novak 3, Nelmark. Sheboygan: Lewis 3, Dancker, Holm, Lautenschlager, Suessens 2, Lucas 2, Harris. Officials – Garnish and Kenny.

## 1955

**Syracuse Herald American**- Nats Take Lead For Overall N.B.A. Honors

Ft. Wayne Defeated 112 to 92; Milwaukee Here This Afternoon

Assured of at least a first place tie in the overall National
Basketball Association pennant race, the Syracuse Nationals today seek to
clinch undisputed possession of the crown in the season’s finale against the
Milwaukee Hawks at the War Memorial. George King and Paul Seymour proved that
the small man still has a place in the pro game as they led the Nats to an
important 112-92 triumph over the Fort Wayne Zollners in their nationally
televised game before 4,207 fans here yesterday. The loss ended Fort Wayne’s
season and left the Pistons one-half game behind the Syracusans and they also
lost all possibility of a home-court edge over the Nats in the post-season play
which starts this week. Even if Syracuse loses to the Hawks this afternoon the
Cervimen earned the right to host the odd game in any series against the
Zollners by winning seven of the nine games in this season’s rivalry with the
Indiana aggregation. Charley Eckman, Fort Wayne mentor, was one of the first to
congratulate the Syracuse team following loss of the crucial game. He said:
“The Nats deserve the pennant and I can’t begrudge them any playoff edge. They
have a fine bench and against us have proven to be a great bunch of shooters.”
The Nats warmed up to yesterday’s contest as play went along, netting 20 points
in the first period, 25 in the second, 30 in the third and winding up with 37
in the final session to soar over the century mark for the 11th time
at home this season. Six Syracuse players hit double figures. Seymour paced the
attack with 21, including 19 in the second half. Earl Lloyd was next in line
with 16, followed by King and John Kerr with 15 each and Dolph Schayes and Bill Kenville with 14 apiece. George Yardley topped all scorers with 24 points,
including 15 in the first half, but he had little help from his mates who
missed Max Zaslofsky, out with an injury. Eckman experimented successfully by
assigning Andy Phillip to guard Dolph Schayes and the season’s high scorer for
Syracuse eventually fouled out after being limited to three field goals and
eight free throw conversions. However, the move which switched Yardley to
Seymour proved a boomerang. Milwaukee players, who don’t finish up the season
until tomorrow night, had an unusual day off yesterday and watched the Nats
trim Fort Wayne. King provided the momentum that finally started the Nat attack
rolling after a lagging start. Fort Wayne led twice before the Nats caught up
to stay at 17-all. The little forward provided 14 of the first 28 Nat points
and had five assists when he sat down for a rest with five minutes of the half
remaining. When King left the floor Syracuse had a 37-28 advantage, but it
dwindled to 43-40 before Earl Lloyd’s shot twinged the twine as the halftime horn
sounded. Larry Foust opened the second half with a basket but that was as close
as Fort Wayne ever came to catching the homesters. Seymour, who had tallied
only two points and appeared to be gumming up the works in the first half
suddenly found the range and in five minutes time came up with 14 points as the
Nats pulled steadily ahead to have a 75-59 three period edge. In the final
quarter it was no contest. The Syracusans grabbed a 23 point advantage at 88-65
with nine minutes remaining and toyed to the finish although once Fort Wayne
cut the advantage to 11 points at 89-78. The Zollners still are seeking their
initial win on a Syracuse floor. They have never won a game in the National
Basketball Association here or at the old Coliseum floor.

FORT WAYNE: Hutchins (5-3-13), Meineke
(3-2-8), Yardley (9-6-24), Rosenthal (1-3-5), Foust (4-4-12), Houbregs (1-0-2),
Phillip (3-3-9), Brian (5-4-14), Walther (1-3-5) TOTALS (32-28-92). SYRACUSE:
Schayes (3-8-14), Rocha (3-3-9), Lloyd (7-2-16), Kerr (6-3-15), Tucker (1-0-2),
Seymour (9-3-21), King (5-5-15), Farley (1-1-3), Kenville (6-2-14), Osterkorn
(1-1-3) TOTALS (42-28-112).

Syracusans Pick Rival Five

Nats 100 P.C. For Johnston

Neil Johnston, towering Philadelphia center, was the only unanimous
choice on an all-opponent team selected by Syracuse Nationals’ players. Others
selected were Bob Cousy of Boston, Bob Pettit, Milwaukee, Vern Mikkelsen and
Slater Martin of Minneapolis. The Syracusans chose Pettit top rookie and named
Sid Borgia as outstanding official. They were unable to agree upon a coaching
nominee with George Senesky, Philadelphia, Joe Lapchick, New York; and Charley
Eckman, Fort Wayne each receiving two votes while one went to John Kundla of
Minneapolis and Red Holzman of Milwaukee. Cousy and Mikkelsen trailed Johnston
in the balloting with seven votes each. George King failed to include Cousy on
his team while John Kerr omitted Mikkelsen. Pettit had six votes being passed
over by Kerr and Dick Farley while Slater Martin wound up with four. Carl Braun
of the New York Knicks received three votes, just missing the star aggregation
while single ballots were cast in favor of Harry Gallatin, Bill Sharman, Jim
Baechtold, Bob Davies and Bob Wanzer. In the rookie balloting Pettit garnered
six votes, Kerr decided in favor of Frank Ramsey of Boston while Schayes chose
Tom Marshall of Rochester. Borgia, a target of Nat followers in most tilts,
proved popular on five of the eight ballots for officials. Phil Fox received
two votes and Mindy Rudolph the other. Paul Seymour and Red Rocha felt that
Senesky deserved the coaching post for his handling of the Warriors after Ed
Gottlieb was sidelined. Billy Kenville and Farley chose Lapchick while Kerr and
Earl Lloyd went along with Eckman. Kundla was nominee of George King while
Schayes voted for Holzman. Individually the players had wide choices as most
difficult men for them to play. While trying to score the Nat cagers said their
toughest opposition came as follows: Schayes- Cal Christensen; Lloyd- Gallatin;
Kerr- Jack Nichols; Farley- Sharman; King- Martin; Kenville- Davies; Seymour-
Jim Baechtold; Rocha- Ed Macauley. Eight Nats participated in the balloting,
Jim Tucker who joined the squad late in the season and Wally Osterkorn who
missed most of the campaign with injuries were non-voters.

## 1958

**Utica Daily Press**- Nats, Knicks Net Verdicts In Finales

Syracuse--The Syracuse Nationals outscored Philadelphia 35-15 in the third period last night and went on to a 110-99 victory in the last regular season National Basketball Assn. game for both teams. The Nats wound up holding second place in the Eastern Division by four games over the Warriors. The Nats and the Warriors will begin their Eastern Division preliminary playoff series here Saturday. The victory was the Nats' ninth in 12 games with the Warriors. Nine Nats hit in double figures with Dolph Schayes and Bobby Harrison the high men with 13 points apiece. Paul Arizin scored 25 and Neil Johnston 21 for the Warriors. The Warriors led 28-22 at the end of the first period and 57-54 at the half. The score was tied at 62-all when the Nats let loose with a fast-breaking, ball-stealing drive that enabled them to outscore the visitors, 19-3.

PHILADELPHIA: Arizin (7-11-25), Graboski (3-8-14), Sauldsberry (2-0-4), Johnston (9-3-21), Rosenbluth (6-0-12), Beck (1-2-4), George (4-3-11), Dunn (3-2-8) TOTALS (35-29-99). SYRACUSE: Schayes (6-1-13), Palazzi (5-2-12), Conlin (5-2-12), Lloyd (5-1-11), Kerr (4-2-10), Hopkins (3-0-6), Costello (3-6-12), Harrison (5-3-13), Bianchi (5-0-10), Seymour (5-1-11) TOTALS (46-18-110).

## 1959

**Utica Observer**- Nats- Knicks Game Opens NBA Playoff

New York—The National Basketball Assn. playoffs open tonight with the New York Knickerbockers favored by five points over the Syracuse Nats. The Knicks-Nats battle kicks off a best-of-three Eastern Division series for the right to meet the regular season Eastern champion Boston Celtics in a best-of-7 series. The Western Division playoffs get underway tomorrow in St. Paul where Minneapolis meets Detroit. The winner of two games in the Western set goes against the St. Louis Hawks, this year's Western champs and defending NBA titleholders. After the two sets of playoffs in each division, the survivors play a best-of-7 series for the league title. The entire playoffs may run as late as Apr. 12, three days after the opening of the major league baseball season. Tonight's game is on the 69th Regiment Armory court, and the Knicks are accorded the usual home site favoritism although they play most of their games in Madison Square Garden. The Nats haven't appeared in the Armory for two years. The second game of the series will be played Sunday in Syracuse and will be televised nationally. The third, if necessary, will be at the Garden Monday night. The season's series between New York and Syracuse was an odd one. The Knicks won the first six games, Syracuse the last three. The Knicks finished second in the standings, the Nats third. However, Syracuse was strengthened late in the season by the acquisition of George Yardley from Detroit. This is the Knicks' first playoff appearance since 1955 and they have only three men with playoff experience—Carl Braun, Ray Felix and Jack George, who did his post-season play with the Philadelphia Warriors.