Little Falls was basketball pioneer

When basketball was new, Little Falls (along with Herkimer) was one of its pioneering communities and had some of its better teams. A glimpse of some of those early area teams follows.

Basketball was invented in the winter of 1891-92 by Dr. James Naismith, an instructor at the YMCA Training College, now Springfield College, in Springfield, Mass. in order to provide exercise and competition for students between football and baseball seasons. Because he had 18 players available, Naismith’s original rules called for nine players on a side.

One of the early basketball pioneers in the Mohawk Valley was Lambert Will of Little Falls who was physical education director of the Herkimer YMCA for three years in the early 1890s. Will sent for a copy of the basketball rules from the 23rd Street YMCA in New York City. After 2-3 weeks of practice, a team was picked by Will, who became its captain and coach.

Herkimer Y officials induced the Utica and Syracuse Ys, to organize teams with an eye to future competition. The national Y formed a rules committee which, in 1893, decided that seven players on a side was enough. They later reduced that to five players.

Meanwhile, in Little Falls, a group of boys that eventually formed the Little Falls Athletic Association was practicing. In their first game ever, the Little Falls team, which included Alec MacCallum, “Banty” Moyer, Leland Petrie, Arthur Cunningham, Frank Ottman of St. Johnsville, and Francis Edick of Mohawk, played the Herkimer team which probably included Will, Peterson, Metzger, “Kid” Gray, and Stensel.

Very early rules (which were ever evolving) called for 20-minute halves with no rest periods unless there was an injury. A replacement had to be made immediately or the game went on with no substitutes. There were no basketballs, as such, as medicine balls were used. There were no hoops; peach baskets were used and had to be repaired when the ball hit the side of the baskets.

There weren’t too many teams in the mid to late 1890s, and Little Falls and Herkimer played the best of them. These included the 23rd Street team of New York City, the All-Americans of Troy, the Celtics of Patterson, N.J., Syracuse Stars, and Buffalo Germans, a team that was later inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

“In those days, basketball was a rough and ready affair. There were seven players on a team and we played Naismith’s ‘97 rules,” recalled MacCallum (1878-1951) in a 1951 interview. “We used to charge a quarter and we packed them in every game. In those days it wasn’t so much a matter of brawn as it was endurance,” he said, remembering a pair of black eyes in a rough and tumble encounter with the 23rd Street team, the best the locals went up against.

The games were low scoring, such as the 3-2 win over the Patterson team.

“If you got 15 points you were considered a high scoring team,” MacCallum said. The 1898 AA team was described by a local paper as “one of the strongest teams in the state.”

The Athletic Association and Little Falls High School had a fierce rivalry, too fierce apparently, by 1903.

Commenting on a late season game between the two squads, a newspaper article noted: “The rivalry between the two teams is too strong for a good contest. There were a number of ‘mix-ups’ near the end and a few of the players became unmanageable.”

The high school players left the floor when the referee refused to disqualify an Athletic player for rough play. The Athletics won 16-15 before a small crowd.

The Athletic Association team’s popularity faded.  A championship series with Herkimer in March, 1903 was terminated prematurely because of a lack of interest. “The old time players have nearly all left the city,” a newspaper article said. For the last game it was necessary to secure three Troy men.

The high school team, however went on to greater fame. One of the best basketball teams anywhere during the 1904-05 season was that of Little Falls High. In 1905, the team beat the Company E team of Schenectady which was on its way to St. Louis where it won the (unofficial) world championship.

An account of that game is as follows: “A fine game of basket ball was played in the gymnasium Tuesday night between the Company E team of Schenectady and the Little Falls High School team. It was by far the best game played in Little Falls this season. The high school boys proved more than a match for the Company E five, who enjoy and deserve the reputation of a first-class basket ball team. The score was 20-15 in favor of Little Falls. The local team played as follows: Forwards: Walrath and Leon, Center, W. Wright, Guards, C. Wright and Gowen.”

The Little Falls team lost only one game all season – to Cortland at Cortland by a score of 15-12 although, said the Journal and Courier, “the boys claim they were not fairly treated.” One of their wins was over St. Lawrence University, 20-15.  Another was over an independent team from Fort Plain by a 46-23 score. Games against college, professional, and semi-professional teams were scheduled because of a lack of competition.

Several other basketball teams existed in Little Falls in 1905 including the Invincibles, formed in January. In one game, the All-Troys of Troy beat the Invincibles 28-20. Said the Journal and Courier, “there were encounters in which the Troys were the aggressors and the feeling against them ran high.” The Invincibles also didn’t do well against the 23rd Street team from New York City, losing 36-18. Their 23-17 loss to the Buffalo Germans was described by The Evening Times as “without doubt the cleanest and best exhibition of basketball that has ever taken place in this city.” Stark scored two baskets for the Invincibles with Leon scoring all the rest.

The Invincibles game against the Electric Five of Cohoes, however, was described as featuring “wrangling and rough work of the kind that at one time threatened to make the game unpopular in this city.” The visitors won that one, too, 19-12.

Other Little Falls teams in 1905 included the “Baracas” and “Second Baracas” both of which were apparently associated with the Baptist Church, playing their home games at the church’s gym; the “Pastimes” of John Street; the Chemical Engine Co. team; the Rifle Corps basketball team; the McKinnion’s Mill team; and the All Herkimer County team.

Little Falls girls took up the game before 1900

Girls’ basketball began in earnest in Little Falls before the turn of the 20th century.

A newspaper article of May 23, 1898 said, “An interesting game of basket ball was played at the gymnasium Friday evening between the ladies representing Utica and Little Falls, the latter winning by a score of 14-6. The large audience of 500 was composed entirely of ladies and all were highly pleased. Miss Petrie, the physical director, gave a very good exhibition of club swinging. Games of battle ball between children and curtain ball between ladies added to the interest.”

Another article, from January 27, 1900, is as follows.

“There were about 75 ladies at the local gymnasium last evening to witness the basketball game between the ladies from Little Falls and Utica. The game was highly interesting and exciting. The Little Falls girls clearly demonstrated their superiority. The misses Daley and Hayes threw all the goals for Little Falls and the Misses Cummings and Sullivan did all the scoring for Utica. The first half was 8-7 in Utica’s favor. The final was 24-14 Little Falls.”

Some Little Falls players included Nora Place, Clement Hayes, Nellie Daley, Anna Daley, Carr, and Herbert.