Allentown Jets

     Championships1962, 1963, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1976Division titles1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980

The Allentown Jets were a minor league basketball team that played in the Eastern Professional Basketball League (later the Eastern Basketball Association and Continental Basketball Association) from 1958 to 1981. The team was one of the most successful franchises in CBA/Eastern League history, winning eight playoff championships and 12 division titles.

Originally formed in 1957 as the Wilmington Jets, the team relocated in 1958 to Allentown, Pennsylvania.^[1] Among the Jets' top players were center Roman "Big Daddy" Turmon, Ray Scott NBA player and coach, scorer-rebounder Harthorne Wingo and 3-point specialist Brendan McCann. The Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame inducted Richard Koffenberger, who played for the team in Wilmington. The Jets had a working agreement with the New York Knicks, who sent several players to Allentown for playing time. Scott was the fourth player picked in the US in the 1961 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons, the Jets PR maestro, Johnny Kimock navigated this successful transition making the Jets one of the elite EBL teams. In 1964, the Jets played an interleague contest with the Grand Rapids Tackers of the Midwest Professional Basketball League. The Jets won 138–136, winning the only minor league "World Series of Basketball" interpromotional game ever held.

In 1979, the franchise rebranded itself as the "Lehigh Valley Jets," in an effort to greater regionalize its fanbase; however, after the 1980–81 season the Jets closed up for good.^[2]

Year-by-year

Year	League	Reg. Season	Playoffs
1958/59	EPBL	8th	did not qualify
1959/60	EPBL	3rd	Semifinals
1960/61	EPBL	1st	Finals
1961/62	EPBL	1st	Champions
1962/63	EPBL	1st	Champions
1963/64	EPBL	1st	Semifinals
1964/65	EPBL	4th	Champions
1965/66	EPBL	3rd, Eastern	Quarterfinals
1966/67	EPBL	2nd, Western	Semifinals
1967/68	EPBL	1st	Champions
1968/69	EPBL	3rd, Western	Quarterfinals
1969/70	EPBL	1st	Champions
1970/71	EBA	2nd, Southern	Semifinals
1971/72	EBA	1st	Champions
1972/73	EBA	4th	Quarterfinals
1973/74	EBA	1st, Western	Finals
1974/75	EBA	2nd	Champions
1975/76	EBA	1st	Champions
1976/77	EBA	1st	Finals
1977/78	EBA	4th, Western	did not qualify
1978/79	CBA	2nd, Southern	Semifinals
1979/80	CBA	1st, Southern	Quarterfinals
1980/81	CBA	4th, Eastern	Quarterfinals

References

External links

• Continental Basketball Association franchise history
• Delaware Stars
• Wilmington Bombers
• List of professional sports teams in Delaware

External links

Media related to Allentown Jets at Wikimedia Commons