Jimmy Williamson was one of greatest guards in the early history of professional basketball. He paired with Lew Wachter to create the the most formidable and innovative backcourt combination in the first dozen years of the pro game. Williamson and Wachter revolutionized the game by developing the switch play in defense. Until that time the right guard always covered the left forward and the left guard covered the the right forward. They decided to take whichever forward the one guard was in position to handle. The other guard adapted by covering the other forward. Williamson first joined Lew and his brother Ed Wachter in 1902 while playing for Ware in the Western Massachusetts Basketball League. Over the next ten years, with the Wachters and Williamson as the chief strategists, they operated the best professional team in the country. First under the sponsorship of Schenectady Co E and later Gloversville Co G, and finally as the representatives of the Troy franchise in the Hudson River League, they dominated all opponents. They made trips south to New York City, New Jersey, Pennsylvania . They ventured north to Vermont, Maine and into Canada. They toured the Midwest, once going as far as Butte, Montana. After a decade of success, the partnership broke up midway through the 1911-12 season when Williamson took the opportunity to take over the management of the Cohoes franchise in the New York State League. Three years later, Williamson retired from basketball and went into the trucking business where he was very successful.
| JIMMY WILLIAMSON |
Height: |
5:10 |
|
Weight: |
165 |
|
College: |
None |
| James Edward Williamson |
Born: Jan3, 1883 |
Died: Jan, 1943 |
Hometown: |
Cohoes, NY |
|
|
|
REGULAR SEASON RECORD |
|
|
|
|
| Year |
Team |
League |
GA |
FGM |
FTM |
FTA |
PCT. |
AST |
PTS |
AVG |
|
| 1902-03 |
Maynard |
NEBL |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
0.0 |
|
| 1902-03 |
Ware |
MCBL |
15 |
14 |
16 |
|
|
|
44 |
2.9 |
|
| 1903-04 |
Ware–Springfield |
WMBL |
38 |
42 |
5 |
|
|
|
89 |
2.3 |
|
| 1903-04 |
Norwich |
CSL |
26 |
41 |
0 |
|
|
|
82 |
3.2 |
|
| 1904-05 |
Haverhill |
NEBL |
49 |
115 |
0 |
|
|
|
230 |
4.7 |
|
| 1904-05 |
Schenectady Co. E |
Indep |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1905-06 |
Brattleboro (Vt) Independents |
Indep |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1905-06 |
Troy All-Americans |
Indep |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1906-07 |
Gloversville Co G |
Indep |
23 |
34 |
0 |
|
|
|
68 |
3.0 |
|
| 1907-08 |
Gloversville Co G |
Indep |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1907-08 |
Troy |
Indep |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1908-09 |
Gloversville Co G |
Indep |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1908-09 |
Troy |
Indep |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1909-10 |
Gloversville Co G |
Indep |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1909-10 |
Troy |
HRL |
23 |
25 |
0 |
|
|
|
50 |
2.2 |
|
| 1910-11 |
Troy |
HRL |
36 |
55 |
33 |
|
|
|
143 |
4.0 |
|
| 1911-12 |
Troy–Cohoes |
NYSL |
32 |
66 |
30 |
|
|
|
162 |
5.1 |
|
| 1912-13 |
Cohoes |
NYSL |
10 |
5 |
4 |
|
|
|
14 |
1.4 |
|
|
Major League Totals |
204 |
322 |
88 |
|
|
|
732 |
3.6 |
|
|
|
|
|
PLAYOFF RECORD |
|
|
|
|
| Year |
Team |
League |
GA |
FGM |
FTM |
FTA |
PCT. |
AST |
PTS |
AVG |
|
| 1903-04 |
Norwich |
CSL |
3 |
12 |
0 |
|
|
|
24 |
8.0 |
|
| 1904-05 |
Haverhill |
NEBL |
7 |
6 |
0 |
|
|
|
12 |
1.7 |
|
|
Major League Totals |
7 |
6 |
0 |
|
|
|
12 |
1.7 |
|
Dell “Lefty” Lennon spent the majority of his career as a member of the Schenectady, New York Washington Continentals, playing on and off with the team, from the very beginning of his career in 1897 until the very near the end in 1910. Lennon was also part of a group of players that produced two of the greatest teams in the early years of basketball . The team consisted of Ed Wachter, his brother Lew Wachter, Jimmy Williamson, Pete Lamb, Jack Fox, Bill Hardman and Lennon, In March of 1905, after playing on different professional teams for most of the season, they banded together under the banner of he Schenectady Co. E team, then traveled to Kansas City where they won 1905 National AAU title. Lennon was also one of the same group of players on the 1906-07 Gloversville Co. E team that posted a season record of 50 wins and only three losses, while easily scoring twice as many points than were scored against them. They also compiled a 39-game winning streak that ran from the start of the season (October 25, 1906) through March 28, 1907 in Boston when they were defeated by the East Boston Athletic Association team. This streak was more impressive than the streak that the famed Buffalo Germans would establish a few years later, because Company E booked games against the best teams available, while the Germans tended to avoid the better teams to keep their winning streak alive.
| Lefty Lennon |
Height: |
5:10 |
|
Weight: |
|
|
College: |
None |
| Adelbert Joseph Lennon |
Born: Dec 14, 1873 |
Died: Oct 13, 1960 |
Hometown: |
Watervliet, NY |
| Dell Lennon |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Father of Emmott Lennon |
|
|
REGULAR SEASON RECORD |
|
|
|
| Year |
Team |
League |
GA |
FGM |
FTM |
FTA |
PCT. |
AST |
PTS |
AVG |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1897-98 |
Schenectady Washington Continentals |
AAU |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1989-99 |
Schenectady Washington Continentals |
AAU |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1899-00 |
Schenectady Washington Continentals |
AAU |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1900-01 |
Schenectady Washington Continentals |
AAU |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1901-02 |
Schenectady Washington Continentals |
AAU |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1902-03 |
Chicopee–Westfield–Ware |
MCL |
6 |
8 |
0 |
|
|
|
16 |
2.7 |
|
| 1902-03 |
Schenectady Washington Continentals |
AAU |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1903-04 |
Schenectady Washington Continentals |
AAU |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1904-05 |
Schenectady Washington Continentals |
AAU |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1904-05 |
Schnectady Co. E |
AAU |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1905–06 |
Schenectady Washington Continentals |
AAU |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1906-07 |
Gloversville Co. E |
Indep |
42 |
167 |
26 |
|
|
|
360 |
8.6 |
|
| 1907-08 |
St.Johnsbury Co. D |
Indep |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 197-08 |
Schenectady Co. D |
Indep |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1907-08 |
Gloversville Co. D |
Indep |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1908-09 |
Schenectady Washington Continentals |
AAU |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1909-10 |
Schenectady Washington Continentals |
Indep |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1909-10 |
Troy |
HRL |
4 |
8 |
0 |
|
|
|
16 |
4.0 |
|
| 1910-11 |
North Adams Athletics |
Indep |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1910-11 |
Schenectady |
HRL |
15 |
21 |
13 |
|
|
|
55 |
3.7 |
|
| 1911-12 |
North Adams Athletics |
Indep |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Major League Totals |
|
25 |
37 |
13 |
|
|
|
87 |
3.5 |
|
Elwin Green ranked among the better local players to emerge in Massachusetts in the early years of professional basketball. H was the center on the Hudson team that won the champion ship of the inaugural season season of the Massachusetts Baasketball League and was key player on the 1901-02 South Framingham MBL Championship team.
| ELWIN GREEN |
Height: |
5:10 |
|
Weight: |
160 |
|
College: |
None |
| Elwin Myron Green |
Born: May 4, 1877 |
Died: 1955 |
|
Hometown: |
Clinton, Ma. |
| Brother of Harlow Green |
|
REGULAR SEASON RECORD |
|
|
|
|
| Year |
Team |
League |
GA |
FGM |
FTM |
FTA |
PCT. |
AST |
PTS |
AVG |
|
| 1898-99 |
Hudson |
MBL |
9 |
5 |
19 |
|
|
|
29 |
3.2 |
|
| 1899-00 |
Hudson |
MBL |
26 |
31 |
5 |
|
|
|
67 |
2.6 |
|
| 1900-01 |
Hudson |
MBL |
38 |
52 |
12 |
|
|
|
116 |
3.1 |
|
| 1901-02 |
South Framingham |
MBL |
18 |
10 |
2 |
|
|
|
22 |
1.2 |
|
| 1902-03 |
Hudson |
NEBL |
14 |
10 |
0 |
|
|
|
20 |
1.4 |
|
| 1902-03 |
Hudson |
MCBL |
27 |
18 |
0 |
|
|
|
36 |
1.3 |
|
| 1903-04 |
Danielson |
CSL |
37 |
29 |
2 |
|
|
|
60 |
1.6 |
|
|
Major League Totals |
|
132 |
126 |
38 |
|
|
|
290 |
2.2 |
|
Ben Reichhardt was never a star during his half-dozen- years in basketball, but he has a special place in the history professional basketball As a teenager, he joined the Northeast YMCA in the Kensington district of Philadelphia where he was quickly caught up in the excitement of the newly-minted game of basketball. By December of 1896, YMCA officials throughout the city were fed-up with the rough and rowdy new sport. The Kensington YMCA was one of many that dropped basketball from its program. Reichhardt and his YMCA teammates re-branded themselves as the Hancock Athletic Association and moved their games to tiny Frankfort Hall where they enjoyed success for the next two seasons.
By the spring of 1898, Hancock A.A. was among the better known teams in Philadelphia and were invited to join the newly formed National Basketball League that was was scheduled to begin play in the Fall. The opening game of the new league was played between Hancock A.A and a powerhouse team from Trenton, New Jersey at Textile Hall in Kensington on December 1, 1898. Soon after play began, Billy Harrison of the Trenton team traveled with the ball and according to the rules of the time, Hancock was awarded a free throw. Reichhardt stepped up to line and sank the free throw. He had made history by scoring the first point in the first game of the first professional league in basketball history.
| BEN REICHHARDT |
Height: |
5:08 |
|
Weight: |
145 |
|
College: |
None |
| Bernhard Edward Reichhardt |
Born: |
Sep 15, 1878 |
|
Died: Mar 23, 1943 |
Hometown: |
Philadelphia, Pa. |
|
|
|
REGULAR SEASON RECORD |
|
|
|
|
| Year |
Team |
League |
GA |
FGM |
FTM |
FTA |
PCT. |
AST |
PTS |
AVG |
|
| 1895-96 |
Kensington YMCA |
YMCA |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1896-97 |
Philadelphia Kensington Hancock AA |
Indep |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1897-98 |
Philadelphia Hancock AA |
Indep |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1898-99 |
Kensington Hancock AA |
NBL |
5 |
3 |
24 |
|
|
|
30 |
6.0 |
|
| 1899-00 |
Kensington Hancock AA |
IL |
2 |
6 |
4 |
|
|
|
16 |
8.0 |
|
| 1900-01 |
Philadelphia Wheelmen |
IL |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
0.0 |
|
|
Major League Totals |
|
5 |
3 |
24 |
|
|
|
30 |
6.0 |
|