Stretch Meehan was the first truly tall man to achieve fame as a professional basketball player. In an era when there was a jump ball after every basket, Meehan’s ability to consistently get the center tap made him very valuable. Meehan was a strong rebounder and because of his size was fouled at lot. Despite seldom scoring from the field, Meehan was often among the top scorers because he was a fine free thrower. During his final collegiate season (1917-18) at Seton Hall University, Meehan was also playing professional basketball under the assumed name of Stretch Hurley in the Pennsylvania State and Connecticut State leagues. After graduating from Seton Hall,  Meehan immediately established himself as a force in the professional game. In his first three Eastern Basketball League seasons, with three different teams, he played in the championship finals. The 1919-20 Scranton Miners lost the deciding game of playoffs by a single point. With the exception of the 6’7″ Meehan, none of the starting lineup was over 5′ 11”. Two players were 5′ 8″ and one was 5’7″. The next season (1920-21) his Germantown team won the Eastern  League title. In 1921-22 his Trenton club faced off against the legendary Mew York Celtics for the title. Meehan outplayed the Celtics’ veteran center Horse Haggerty by a wide margin, but Trenton lost the series. The following season, Trenton won the first-half of the EBL split-season and was undefeated in three second-half games when the league collapsed. At the time, Meehan was the league’s fourth best scorer. He remained a top-ten scorer during the next three years of play in the Metropolitan League. Meehan enjoyed his last productive season with the 1926-27 Philadelphia American Basketball League team. Age and nagging injuries eventually took their toll and Meehan shuttled between seven different teams in his final two pro seasons in the ABL. Meehan graduated from Fordham Law School in 1923 and practiced law in Newark, New Jersey until his death in 1968.

 

STRETCH MEEHAN		Height:	6:07		Weight:		220		College:		Seton Hall’18
Francis Patrick Meehan		Born: Apr 17, 1897			Died: Feb 5, 1968				Hometown:		Newark, NJ
			REGULAR SEASON RECORD
Year	Team	League	GA	FGM	FTM	FTA	PCT.	AST	PTS	AVG
1916-17	Danbury–Hoboken	IBL	2	0	4				4	2.0
1917-18	Providence–Scranton	PSL	24	20	59				99	4.1
1917-18	Norwalk	CSL	3	1	3				5	1.7
1917-18	Jersey City	Indep
1919-20	Scranton	PSL	42	47	96	184	.522	12	190	4.5
1919-20	Germantown	EBL	12	12	37	59	.627	10	61	5.1
1919-20	Patanton	IBL	1	4	1				9	9.0
1919-20	Newark K0fC Picadill’s	Indep
1919-20	Jersey City Greenvilles	Indep
1919-20	Stamford	Indep
1920-21	Germantown	EBL	21	22	57	101	.564	23	101	4.8
1920-21	Scranton	PSL	2	1	6			1	8	4.0
1920-21	Easthampton	IL	5	11	11				33	6.6
1921-22	Trenton	EBL	45	67	136	254	.535	31	270	6.0
1921-22	New York MacDowell	MBL	17	19	66				104	6.1
1922-23	Trenton	EBL	22	33	86				152	6.9
1922-23	New York MacDowell	MBL	38	44	175				263	6.9
1922-23	Cohoes	NYSL	1	1	4				6	6.0
1922-23	SPHAS	PBL	1	1	7				9	9.0
1923-24	Trenton	MBL	28	36	116				188	6.7
1923-24	Cleveland Rosenblooms	Indep
1924-25	Trenton–Paterson	MBL	34	28	164				220	6.5
1925-26	Paterson	MBL	30	27	109				163	5.4
1925-26	Trenton	EBL	12	18	121				157	13.1
1925-26	Philadelphia Sphas	Indep
1926-27	Ridgewood*Orange	NLN	7	7	15				29	4.1
1926-27	Philadelphia	ABL	39	42	130				214	5.5
1927-28	Utica All-Utica	Indep
1928-29	New York–Paterson–Chicago–Trenton	ABL	16	20	17				57	3.6
1929-30	New York–Syracuse–Paterson	ABL	18	16	20				52	2.9
	Major League Totals		420	477	1440				2290	5.7
				POST SEASON RECORD
Year	Team	League	GA	FGM	FTM	FTA	PCT.	AST	PTS	AVG
1919-20	Scranton	PSL	4	0	9				9	2.3
1920-21	Scranton	PSL	2	3	10				16	8.0
1920-21	Germantown	EBL	2	0	7				7	3.5
1920-21	Scranton	WS	5	6	13				25	5.0
1921-22	Trenton	EBL	3	2	16				20	6.7
	Major League Totals		16	11	55				77	4.8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GENE MECHLING		Height:	6:01		Weight:		215		College:		Capital’31
H. Eugene Mechling		Born:	Mar 24, 1909			Died: Jan 26, 1975			Hometown:		Glenford, Oh.
			REGULAR SEASON RECORD
Year	Team	League	GA	FGM	FTM	FTA	PCT.	AST	PTS	AVG
1931-32	Hebron Gassers	Indep
1931-32	Newark Sterling Oils	Indep
1932-33	Coshocton	Indep
1933-34	Coshocton Independents	Indep
1933-34	Coshocton Buckeyes	Indep
1934-35	Coshocton Buckeyes	Indep
1935-36	Dayton	MBC	7	6	10				22	3.1
1936-37	Dayton	MBC	11	15	6				36	3.3
1937-38	Cincinnati	NBL	3	8	2				18	6.0
1938-39	Dayton Hall’s Laundry	Indep
	Major League Totals		21	29	18				76	3.6
				PLAYOFF RECORD
Year	Team	League	GA	FGM	FTM	FTA	PCT.	AST	PTS	AVG
1936-37	Dayton	MBC	2	2	2				6	3.0
	Major League Totals		2	2	2				6	3.0

 

 

DEAN MEALY		Height:	6:04		Weight:		195		College:		Muskingum’37
Dean Richard Mealy		Born: May 7, 1915			Died: Apr 28, 1973				Hometown:		Cuyahoga Falls, Oh.
					REGULAR SEASON RECORD
Year	Team	League	GA	FGM	FTM	FTA	PCT.	AST	PTS	AVG
1933-34	Muskingum (Frosh)	College
1934-35	Muskingum	College
1935-36	Muskingum	College
1936-37	Muskingum	College
1937-38	Akron Goodyear	NBL	8	6	16				28	3.5
1938-39	Akron Goodyear	NBL	10	15	14				44	4.4
1939-40	Oshkosh	NBL	1	0	0				0	0.0
	Major League Totals		19	21	30				72	3.8
					PLAYOFF RECORD
Year	Team	League	GA	FGM	FTM	FTA	PCT.	AST	PTS	AVG
1937-38	Akron Goodyear	NBL	3	2	5				9	3.0
	Major League Totals		3	2	5				9	3.0

 

HARRY MEAD		Height:	6:10		Weight:	240			College:		Augustana(Ill)’36
Harry Lewis Mead Jr.		Born: Aug 4, 1912			Died: May 19, 1974				Hometown:		Proviso, Ill.
					REGULAR SEASON RECORD
Year	Team	League	GA	FGM	FTM	FTA	PCT.	AST	PTS	AVG
1933-34	Augustana (Il)	College
1934-35	Augustana (Il)	College
1935-36	Augustana (Il)	College
1935-36	Kalamazoo Gazettes	Indep
1936-37	Chicago	MBC	5	3	0				6	1.2
1936-37	Moline Turners	AAU
1937-38	Moline Turners	AAU
1938-39	Moline Turners	AAU
1939-40	Moline Turners	AAU
1939-40	Davenport Central Turner Rockets	AAU
1943-44	East Moline John Deere Harvesters	AAU
	Major League Totals		5	3	0				6	1.2

Alexander “Ally” McWilliams, a reedy Philadelphia teenager, joined the Greystock basketball club in the fall of 1909. Over the next nine seasons with the team, McWilliams established himself as one of the most admired defensive players in professional basketball. Sedate and shrewd, McWilliams was always assigned to defend against the opponents best scorer. After many years of mediocre teams, Greystock unexpectedly emerged as the Eastern Basketball League champions for two consecutive seasons in 1916 and 1917.

 

ALLY McWILLIAMS		Height:	6:00		Weight:		160		College:		None
Alexander M. McWilliams		Born:	Feb 28, 1890			Died: Feb 19, 1964			Hometown:		Philadelphia, Pa.
Brother of Alfred McWilliams			REGULAR SEASON RECORD
Year	Team	League	GA	FGM	FTM	FTA	PCT.	AST	PTS	AVG
1909-10	Greystock	Indep
1910-11	Greystock	EBL	35	75	42				192	5.5
1911-12	Greystock	EBL	38	61	74			41	196	5.2
1912-13	Greystock	EBL	36	59	2			36	120	3.3
1913-14	Greystock	EBL	31	44	0			28	88	2.8
1914-15	Greystock	EBL	39	38	0	0	.000	42	76	1.9
1915-16	Greystock	EBL	29	35	0			18	70	2.4
1916-17	Greystock	EBL	35	40	0			40	80	2.3
1917-18	Greystock	EBL	6	6	5			5	17	2.8
1919-20	De Neri	EBL	14	4	9	23	.391	3	17	1.2
1919-20	Parkesburg	Indep	28	54	23			46	131	4.7
1920-21	Wilkes-Barre	PSL	1	3	0			5	6	6.0
1921-22	Philadelphia	EBL	4	4	6	15	.400	2	14	3.5
1922-23	Atlantic City	EBL	6	5	5	12	.417	6	15	2.5
1923-24	Shanahan	PBL	3	1	2				4	1.3
	Major League Totals		276	372	145				889	3.2
				POST SEASON RECORD
Year	Team	League	GA	FGM	FTM	FTA	PCT.	AST	PTS	AVG
1915-16	Greystock	WS	2	1	1				3	1.5
1916-17	Greystock	EBL	3	2	0				4	1.3
	Major League Totals		5	3	1				7	1.4