Filarets
Encyclopedia
- This is an article about a women's basketball team. For a 19th century Polish student movement, see Filaret AssociationFilaret AssociationThe Filaret Association was a secret organization created in 1820 by Tomasz Zan within the Philomates following the dissolution, under pressure from Wilno University authorities, of the Radiant Association...
.
The Filarets was a women's basketball team in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
that played in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. They were a regional and national powerhouse, winning a record 211 consecutive games between 1940 and 1944.
History
In the 1930s, St. Stanislaus ChurchSt. Stanislaus Church
St. Stanislaus Church or St. Stanislaus Catholic Church or variants thereof, may refer to:in the United States* St. Stanislaus Parish * St. Stanislaus Parish...
in Rochester, New York started a girls' basketball team as part of its teens recreation program. The team was called the Filarets and was coached by Roy Van Graflan
Roy Van Graflan
Roy R. Van Graflan was a professional baseball umpire who worked in the American League from 1927 to 1933. Van Graflan umpired 1,034 major league games in his 7 year career. He also umpired in two World Series . He died from injuries he sustained in an automobile accident in 1953...
, an American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
baseball umpire. They played by men's rules against mostly women's and some men's teams. In 1932–33, they won 25 of 26 games. By 1940, they had a record of 338 wins and 12 losses. On February 25, 1940, they scored 100 points in a 100–16 win against Utica's
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
Sacred Heart. In 11 years, their record was 523 wins and 12 losses.
The team often packed Falcon Hall, and sometimes played a lead-in game for the Rochester Seagrams (predecessor to the NBL
National Basketball League (United States)
Founded in 1937, the National Basketball League, often abbreviated to NBL, was a professional men's basketball league in the United States. The league would later merge with the Basketball Association of America to form the National Basketball Association in 1949.- League history :The...
and NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
and the Rochester Royals
Rochester Royals
The franchise that would become the Sacramento Kings initially started in the city of Rochester, New York, as the Rochester Royals of the National Basketball League....
). They once played against the Harlem Globetrotters
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...
(a rare loss for them). The team folded in 1957, with an unofficial 554 wins.