European Professional Basketball League
The European Professional Basketball League was a professional basketball league held in Europe in 1975. Despite being played in five European countries it was for the most part owned and operated by American investors with virtually no European players taking part. Opposed by most European basketball authorities such as FIBA, it generated little popular support and ended its first and only season prematurely in April 1975.
Teams
Belgium Lions
The Lions, who finished second in the league, were based in Brussels, but also played games in Antwerp and Liège. They drew 1,870 and 2,101 spectators for their first two league games but that number was closer to 400 by the end of the league. The club's owner was businessman Roy Brown from Skokie, Illinois, Les Patrick served as general manager. Former UCLA star John Vallely served as player-coach of a team which also had Joe Ellis, Eddie Mast, Hank Siemiontkowski and one Belgian, Willy Steveniers.Iberia Superstars
The Superstars, who finished last in the league, were based in Barcelona but also played games in Badalona, Mataró and L'Hospitalet. Originally created as two separate teams, namely the Catalan Estels and Madrid Superstars, the teams were merged into one in November 1974 to guarantee an even number of teams in the league. The teams would have played separately again from the second season onwards. The co-owners were Houston businessman Allen Becker, and Spanish journalist Carlos Pardo, their general manager was Chuck Rohe. Playing in green and blue, their coach was Del Harris and players included Roy Ebron, Pete Cross and Jeff Halliburton The team had an uneasy relationship with the Spanish Basketball Federation who heavily restricted them in the venues and dates of their games. They were effectively banned from Madrid as Raimundo Saporta, both a FIBA and Real Madrid official, did not want them to compete with his club.Israel Sabras
The Sabras, named so after the nickname given to native Israelis, played in the Yad Eliyahu Arena in Tel Aviv.The best supported team in the league and eventual league winners, they attracted 70,000 fans over 21 home games, including 5,000 fans for a friendly with the Israel national basketball team.
This was achieved thanks to constant promotional efforts, with English adverts taken in the press to attract American immigrants, colour ads posted throughout Tel Aviv and radio spots. The team was even able to secure the sponsorship of Tempo, Israel's largest soft drink manufacturer, one month into the competition.
The team was owned by businessmen Robert Hecht and J. Livingston Kosberg, while former National Basketball Association public relations director Haskell Cohen served as its general manager.
Its coach Herb Brown had players such as league MVP M.L. Carr, Roger Brown, Mike Macaluso, Lon Kruger and Henry Dickerson in his team.
Munich Eagles
The Eagles, who finished fourth, were based in Munich. They were effectively a touring team as they also played in Augsburg, Berlin, Böblingen, Essen, Leverkusen, Sankt Ilgen, Rüsselsheim and even Cuxhaven in the northern point of the country. They struggled to attract fans, with highs of 1,500 in Berlin outdone by lows of 150 in Essen.Howard Fine of Baltimore was team owner, former Dallas Chaparrals assistant general manager Lee Meade served as GM.
The Eagles were coached by Larry Jones who also played for them, they boasted league top scorer Joe Hamilton and 7-foot-4 center Bob Rosier. Kirkland Rice served as the junior team assistant.
Swiss Alpines
The Alpines, who finished third, were based in Geneva but also played games in Lausanne, Martigny and Neuchâtel.Banker A.J. Smith and rice farmer B.C. Kirkland from Oak Grove, Louisiana were the team owners.
Dean Kirkpatrick, formerly a director of sports development at the University of Houston was general manager while former Nicholls State coach Jack Holley coached the team. Shaler Halimon starred for the team with 20 points a game, also in the team were George Reynolds and Dennis Van Zant.
Format
Each team would play the others ten times for a total of forty games per team. League play would have ended by 30 May and playoffs were then to be held in June though no details were given as to how teams would qualify. Teams would then have played exhibition games in July.Rules
The EPBL followed the same rules as the American Basketball Association and effectively copied its rule book word for word, it even employed former ABA referees such as Ken Sussman. It was played in four-quarters of 12 minutes each, used a 30-second shot clock and notably included the ABA's three-point field goal. Players were sent off after 6 personal fouls, however players could be allowed to stay on court if they conceded extra free throws to the opposing team for each foul from that point onwards. There were also white cards given to players, who then had to leave the court for two minutes. One of the main differences was practical, the key was not rectangular but trapezoidal as that was the standard used in every European court.Player registration
FIBA imposed stringent restrictions on the players EPBL clubs were able to sign, the most restrictive being the minimum age limit of 30 for European players which meant that only one of the sixty players was European, 36-year-old former Belgian international Willy Steveniers. In addition any European player over the age of 30 could be retained by national federations if they planned to use him as part of their national team. EPBL clubs were also forbidden from signing any American player contracted to an amateur European side. Any player who participated in the league would be banned for life from participating in amateur basketball thereafter, this was the case for Steveniers right after he played his first game.History
First attempt: EBA
The concept of an entirely professional basketball league based in Europe was first promoted by Guy Van Den Broeck, coach of the Belgium national basketball team in February 1974. Van Den Broeck was said to be the European representative of ABA commissioner Mike Storen, who had reportedly mandated him to study the possibility of starting a professional competition throughout Europe. He took part in a meeting on 3 February with French club officials such as Guy Papineau or René Fiolet to gauge interest in the project. The meeting was productive and a league structure was announced soon after, with a calendar ranging from the following October to April involving eight teams based in major European cities. Because of the limited number of teams and to follow the American model, teams would play each other repeatedly to guarantee an important number of home games. A relationship with the ABA would also allow games against touring ABA teams and it was even suggested the league become a division of the American league with eventual intercontinental play. Though French Basketball Federation president Robert Busnel at first declared that the league was not of their concern, the Federation warned that any player signing a pro contract would be banned for life and that it would oppose the rental of municipal arenas to the pros. Van Den Broeck replied in a confrontational tone that he was unfazed by "professional amateurs" who were "afraid they're going to lose the good life when the real pros arrive".Shortly after, however, the Belgium coach was threatened with a lifetime ban by the Belgian Basketball Federation, following which he ceased his involvement in the project.
The project was immediately taken over by Marcel Leclerc, president of football club Olympique de Marseille, who had been present at the earlier meeting. A communique from the organisation was released on 8 March 1974, naming the league the European Basketball Association and formally announcing its creation had occurred in Paris a day earlier. Though it nominated French jurist Bernard Ulrich as its manager, the other members of the EBA remained anonymous. The league was said to consist of eight teams in two groups, with four cities already confirmed and four to be announced. International Basketball Federation secretary general William Jones openly doubted the project stating it could not work due as there were too few arenas with a capacity over 10,000 to make it profitable. Leclerc was more confident, stating it would be successful thanks to high level of American players that would compose it. He was set to meet with American officials in early May to get support for his project. However, no further announcements were made and the league never materialised.
FIBA opposition to the IBA
In late April 1974 a syndicate of American businessmen led by the France-based John Coburn announced the creation of the International Basketball Association in Paris.Though the league also aimed to create a professional basketball competition in Europe, it adamantly stressed it had no relation whatsoever with the EBA.
It had already reportedly sold eight franchises in seven countries and planned to add up to four more to form two divisions of four to six teams each.
A draft of American players not contracted to the NBA or ABA was planned for September, with league play set for November.
Though the IBA announced Al McGuire as manager of one of the franchises, the Marquette coach publicly stated he had no intention of coaching in Europe.
Coburn, who had just sold his stake in the World Hockey Association's New England Whalers, later fleshed out the composition of the league which would contain teams in Barcelona, Madrid, Brussels, Geneva, The Hague, Munich, Rome and a team shared between Lyon and Grenoble.
The league was to have American-European ownership though in effect most of the investors would be American.
Each franchise cost $60,000 and Coburn warned investors they should be prepared to lose money for the first two years.
Some observers like The New York Times' Bernard Kirsch noted the IBA's connection to the unstable WHA and World Football League through Coburn and Munich manager Lee Meade, expressing pessimism over the league's stability and its ability to attract European fans.
Teams would be composed of 10 players each, with typical salaries of between $15,000 and $20,000 per player.
Due to these wages and operational costs it was calculated that each team would have to make a turnover of around $500,000 to make it worthwhile. Most of this was to come from ticket sales of the 62 games planned per team, with an average of 6,000 spectators per game hoped for.
Though the IBA had announced its league was sanctioned by international basketball authorities, FIBA publicly denied sanctioning the league in any way.
In fact, William Jones sent a letter in August to national federations expressing his resolute opposition to any professional league in Europe, threatening to expel any player, referee or official who helped it in any way. He also threatened to ban professional teams from any arena used by amateur teams.
Despite this, Jones selected Raimundo Saporta and Borislav Stanković to serve as FIBA representatives in talks with the IBA to take place on 3 September in Geneva.
This meeting and another on 4 October in Rome proved inconclusive and relations between the two parties seemed strained beyond repair.
However, the IBA owners resented Coburn's stance in these negotiations and, after he threatened to scrap the project, contacted FIBA directly to negotiate. They offered to let FIBA have complete oversight of the league and impose its conditions. Coburn was hence removed from the project and the IBA name left with him.