Philadelphia Sphas
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The Philadelphia Sphas were a team that competed in the former American Basketball League. They played their home games in the Philadelphia Arena. They were one of the league's best teams.
The name "Spha" was originally an acronym, derived from South Philadelphia Hebrew Association, and naturally the team's players were primarily Jewish. Ironically, many pundits of the time tried to explain this on the basis of genetics, stating that Jews were naturally more dexterous, had better rhythm, and more intrinsic athletic ability, exactly the same sort of comments that would later be made about basketball with regard to blacks in later years.
The team was doomed once the National Basketball Association was formed and its owner got an NBA franchise (the Philadelphia Warriors) for the same arena. Essentially, the NBA destroyed the following of the entire league, which did not compete after 1953 although it did not formally cease to exist until 1955.