STATISTICS & HISTORY
From his years as a young high school player through his long career in professional basketball, Bill Chanecka was always a standout for two reasons; he was a a marvelous scorer and he was a valued teammate who consistently was an integral part of championship teams.
Chanecka was a football and basketball star at Central High School in Binghampton, New York. In his senior year, he led the basketball team to an undefeated season. After service in the Navy during World War II, Chanecka, along with his brother Steve, signed to play professional basketball with the Wilkes-Barre Barons of the newly formed Eastern Basketball League. Chanecka led the the team in scoring, averaging 21.9 points per game and helped the Barons win the 1947 EBL championship. The following season, he Barons joined the American Basketball League, no longer a major league, but arguably the top minor league in the country. Wilkes-Barre won ABL championships in 1948 and 1949. Chanecka was named MVP of the league both seasons . In March of 1949, he set a single game ABL scoring record of 58 points. In 1952, Chanecka returned to the Eastern Basketball League where he played for another seven seasons. Cahnecka helped the Williamsport Billies win two EBL championships.
| BILL CHANECKA | Height: | 6:04 | Weight: | 185 | College: | None | |||||
| William James Chanecka | Born: | Apr 21, 1924 | Died: Jan 27, 2010 | Hometown: | Binghamton, NY | ||||||
| Brother of Steve Chanecka | REGULAR SEASON RECORD | ||||||||||
| Year | Team | League | GA | FGM | FTM | FTA | PCT. | AST | PTS | AVG | |
| 1943-46 | U.S. Navy | Military Service | |||||||||
| 1945-46 | Wilkes Barre | PSL | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3.0 | ||||
| 1946-47 | Wilkes Barre | EBL | 27 | 123 | 84 | 330 | 12.2 | ||||
| 1947-48 | Wilkes Barre | ABL | 30 | 188 | 129 | 184 | .701 | 505 | 16.8 | ||
| 1948-49 | Wilkes Barre | ABL | 40 | 269 | 180 | 247 | .729 | 718 | 18.0 | ||
| 1949-50 | Wilkes Barre | ABL | 37 | 233 | 141 | 202 | .698 | 72 | 607 | 16.4 | |
| 1950-51 | Wilkes Barre | ABL | 38 | 181 | 111 | 159 | .698 | 106 | 473 | 12.4 | |
| 1951-52 | Pottsville | EBL | 23 | 133 | 71 | 337 | 14.7 | ||||
| 1951-52 | Carbondale | ABL | 13 | 74 | 43 | 191 | 14.7 | ||||
| 1952-53 | Wilkes Barre-Williamsport | EBL | 17 | 78 | 38 | 194 | 11.4 | ||||
| 1953-54 | Williamsport | EBL | 28 | 160 | 82 | 402 | 14.4 | ||||
| 1954-55 | Williamsport | EBL | 29 | 140 | 69 | 349 | 12.0 | ||||
| 1955-56 | Williamsport | EBL | 27 | 120 | 61 | 301 | 11.1 | ||||
| 1956-57 | Williamsport | EBL | 30 | 132 | 76 | 340 | 11.3 | ||||
| 1957-58 | Williamsport | EBL | 6 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 1.7 | ||||
| 1958-59 | Wilkes Barre | EBL | 28 | 86 | 22 | 194 | 6.9 | ||||
| 1964-65 | Scranton | EBL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0.0 | ||
| POST SEASON RECORD | |||||||||||
| Year | Team | League | GA | FGM | FTM | FTA | PCT. | AST | PTS | AVG | |
| 1946-47 | Wilkes Barre | EBL | 5 | 22 | 15 | 59 | 11.8 | ||||
| 1947-48 | Wilkes Barre | ABL | 5 | 32 | 17 | 81 | 16.2 | ||||
| 1947-48 | Wilkes-Barre | WBT | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | .667 | 8 | 8.0 | ||
| 1948-49 | Wilkes Barre | ABL | 7 | 44 | 32 | 120 | 17.1 | ||||
| 1949-50 | Wilkes Barre | ABL | 3 | 14 | 16 | 44 | 14.7 | ||||
| 1951-52 | Pottsville | EBL | 5 | 30 | 24 | 84 | 16.8 | ||||
| 1952-53 | Williamsport | EBL | 4 | 33 | 8 | 74 | 18.5 | ||||
| 1953-54 | Williamsport | EBL | 6 | 26 | 15 | 67 | 11.2 | ||||
| 1954-55 | Williamsport | EBL | 3 | 11 | 2 | 24 | 8.0 | ||||
| 1955-56 | Williamsport | EBL | 6 | 23 | 9 | 55 | 9.2 | ||||
| 1956-57 | Williamsport | EBL | 3 | 10 | 5 | 25 | 8.3 | ||||
| 1958-59 | Wilkes Barre | EBL | 6 | 18 | 11 | 47 | 7.8 | ||||
| Major League Totals | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | .667 | 8 | 8.0 | ||||