Rochester Zeniths (basketball)
Rochester Zeniths | |
---|---|
Rochester War Memorial (capacity 7,200) | |
Location | Rochester, New York |
Team colors | blue, gold, white |
Head coach | Mauro Panaggio |
Championships | 1979, 1981 |
Division titles | 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983 |
The Rochester Zeniths were a professional
Pro-basketball in Rochester before the Zeniths
The
The
In the summer of 1958, a group of Buffalo businessmen announced that they were creating a team called the
Beginning in the 1959–60 season, the
During the 1970–71 season the expansion Buffalo Braves of the NBA played two regular season games in Rochester (as well as two in Syracuse) in an effort to build Western New York interest in the nascent franchise.[12] The Braves were not a very good team and the games were not as successful at the gate as the team hoped and the Braves did not return the next season. The Braves were bucking the south and west trend of NBA franchise movement and the hope was their large market, large arena and fan interest in nearby NBA abandoned cities (they played fifteen games in Toronto during the 1973–74 and 1974-75 season in an effort to regionalize into Canada) would be enough to make the team successful. The Braves played their last game in Buffalo as the Braves in April 1978 and the club moved to Southern California to become the San Diego (and later, Los Angeles) Clippers. Not many fans frequently made the 70-mile trip from Rochester to Buffalo to see the Braves play as, for the most part, they were not a competitive team.[13]
The move of the Braves out of Buffalo coincided with rise of another professional, albeit minor league team in Rochester known as the Zeniths.
History
The Rochester Zeniths were organized in the fall of 1977 to play professional basketball in the newly formed
For the 1978–79 basketball season, the Zeniths joined the newly renamed
The Dome Arena was built primarily as an exposition hall for the annual county fair, as well as business shows and conventions. It was not particularly well suited for basketball; for one thing, it did not have a hardwood floor. Instead, the Dome bought a green basketball carpet from a Swedish firm and used that for Zeniths games. While not popular with players or fans, the carpet met with the league's approval, despite the odd muffled sound made every time a player dribbled the ball. (The War Memorial had a standard hardwood basketball floor.)The Zeniths were coached by local product
Also of note was the Zeniths' hosting of the 1979 CBA All-Star game at the
The Zeniths were again the top team in the CBA in 1979-80 but only won the division over Anchorage by a game and a half, then lost a hard-fought finals rematch with the Knights in seven games.[26]/ For this season, the Zeniths were coached by co-owner and nightclub proprietor Art Stock, who bought a stake in the team after his Jersey Shore Bullets folded the previous season.[27] Mauro Panaggio moved to the front office as General Manager, but resumed his duties as head coach for the 1980-81 season until the demise of the team in 1983.[14][28]
The 1980-81 campaign was the high water mark for the Zeniths franchise as they ran away with the Eastern Division title at 34-6 and once again took the league title while only losing one game in the playoffs, sweeping the
In their final two season in Rochester, the Zeniths had back-to-back winning seasons but lost was bounced in the first round of the playoffs each year. By this time, all games had been moved to the War Memorial, but attendance was on the decline.[31] Faced with mounting financial losses, the team disbanded following the 1982-83 season.[32][33][34] Panaggio went on to continue his success in the CBA, and retired as the winningest coach in league history. He died in 2018.[35]
Legacy
After many false starts, professional basketball returned to Rochester in the form of an
All-time roster
- Wayne Abrams
- Jerry Baskerville
- Jim Baron
- Lawrence Boston
- Norman Bounds
- Jim Bradley
- Ed Brown
- Mike Buescher
- Marty Byrnes
- Dan Callandrillo
- Clint Chapman
- Tim Claxton
- Kevin Cluess
- Harry Davis
- Ernie Douse
- David DuPree
- Dave Everett
- Larry Fogle
- Ken Garrett
- Mike Gibson
- Ernie Graham
- Ken Green
- Glenn Hagan
- Larry Harris
- Jerome Henderson
- Essie Hollis
- Larry Holmes
- Don Johnson
- Harold Johnson
- Lee Johnson
- Ron Jones
- Larry Lawrence
- Al Leslie
- Andre McCarter
- Larry McNeill
- Monroe McTaw
- Randy Owens
- Jim Panaggio
- Mike Panaggio
- Derrick Rowland
- Larry Spriggs
- Al Smith
- Willie Smith
- Bill Terry
- Dean Tolson
- Gordon Turner
- Nick Urzetta
- Tim Waterman
- Terry White
- James Williams
- Sam Worthen
- Paul Zaretsky
Season-by-season records
Year | GP | W | L | Pct | Finish | GA/GB | Playoffs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1977-78 AABA | 11 | 10 | 1 | .909 | 1st, Northern Division | 3.5 | league disbanded |
1978-79 CBA | 48 | 36 | 12 | .750 | 1st, Northern Division | 9.5 | CBA Champions |
1979-80 CBA | 46 | 31 | 15 | .674 | 1st, Northern Division | 1.5 | Lost in Finals |
1980-81 CBA | 40 | 34 | 6 | .850 | 1st, Eastern Division | 12 | CBA Champions |
1981-82 CBA | 46 | 29 | 17 | .630 | 2nd, Eastern Division | 5 | Lost in first round |
1982-83 CBA | 44 | 29 | 15 | .659 | 1st, Eastern Division | * | Lost in first round |
Awards and accolades
- Andre McCarter, 1978-79 CBA Newcomer of the Year, 1979 All-Star Game MVP, 1978-79 CBA Most Valuable Player
- Glenn Hagan, named to the CBA Era 50th Anniversary team
- Larry Fogle, 1978-79 CBA Playoffs Co-MVP
- Larry Spriggs, 1981-82 CBA Rookie of the Year
- Larry McNeill, 1978-79 CBA Playoffs Co-MVP
- Lee Johnson, 1980-81 CBA Playoffs MVP, 1980-81 CBA Rookie of the Year
References
- ^ a b Morrell, Alan. "Whatever Happened To ... Rochester Zeniths?". Democrat and Chronicle.
- ^ "ROCHESTER CENTRALS".
- ^ "American Basketball League 1925-26 to 1930-31, 1933-34 to 1952-53". apbr.org.
- ^ "1950-51 Rochester Royals Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
- ^ Morrell, Alan. "Whatever Happened To ... The Rochester Royals?". Democrat and Chronicle.
- ^ "Rochester Royals Team History | Sports Team History". sportsteamhistory.com. December 27, 2016.
- ^ "History of the Eastern League". apbr.org.
- ^ "Daytona Beach Morning Journal - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
- ^ "1959-60 Syracuse Nationals Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Five things you didn't know about Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game". www.sportingnews.com.
- ^ "1962-63 Syracuse Nationals Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference.com.
- ^ "1970-71 Buffalo Braves Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference.com.
- ^ Morrell, Alan. "Whatever Happened To ... the Buffalo Braves?". Democrat and Chronicle.
- ^ a b "1977-1983 Rochester Zeniths Basketball & Softball • Fun While It Lasted". February 22, 2013.
- ^ Kramer, David. "That Championship Season thirty five years later". Democrat and Chronicle.
- ^ "Clipped From Democrat and Chronicle". December 9, 1977. p. 53 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Clipped From Democrat and Chronicle". December 31, 1977. p. 25 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Clipped From Democrat and Chronicle". January 6, 1978. p. 38 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Clipped From Democrat and Chronicle". January 6, 1978. p. 41 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Clipped From Democrat and Chronicle". July 10, 1978. p. 28 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Network, DON DOXSIE Lee News. "Mauro Panaggio lived full hoops life". Dispatch Argus.
- ^ Doxsie, Don. "Early Thunder coach Mauro Panaggio dead at 90". The Quad-City Times.
- ^ "1979 Rochester Zeniths Statistics on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- ^ "Clipped From Democrat and Chronicle". January 26, 1979. p. 8 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Clipped From Democrat and Chronicle". January 26, 1979. p. 9 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Clipped From Democrat and Chronicle". November 22, 1979. p. 71 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Clipped From Democrat and Chronicle". November 20, 1980. p. 45 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "1980 Rochester Zeniths Statistics on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- ^ "1981 Rochester Zeniths Statistics on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- ^ "History of the Continental Basketball Association". apbr.org.
- ^ "Clipped From Democrat and Chronicle". December 3, 1982. p. 6 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Clipped From The Post-Star". June 30, 1983. p. 26 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Clipped From Democrat and Chronicle". January 24, 1982. p. 73 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Clipped From Democrat and Chronicle". June 30, 1983. p. 7 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ DiVeronica, Jeff. "Rochester basketball icon Mauro Panaggio dies". Democrat and Chronicle.
- ^ Jauss, Bill. "DAD, SON CLASH IN HISTORIC CBA COACHING DUEL". chicagotribune.com.
- ^ Doxsie, Don. "Ex-Thunder coach Panaggio is grooming Hawkeyes recruits". The Quad-City Times.
- ^ Fanelli, Gino. "Rochester RazorSharks say pot and pro sports are a slam dunk". CITY News.
- ^ "RazorSharks History | Rochester RazorSharks". www.leagueathletics.com.
- ^ "Rochester RazorSharks – Basketball".
- ^ "1978-79 Rochester Zeniths Roster". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- ^ "1979-80 Rochester Zeniths Roster". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- ^ "1980-81 Rochester Zeniths Roster". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- ^ "1981-82 Rochester Zeniths Roster". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- ^ "1982-83 Rochester Zeniths Roster". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved May 21, 2018.