Rochester Zeniths
Encyclopedia
| Rochester Zeniths | |
| Founded | 1977 |
| League | AABA All-American Basketball Alliance The All-American Basketball Alliance was formed in 1977, with the intention of competing with the established Continental Basketball Association as the premier basketball minor league in the United States... 1978 CBA Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :... 1978-1983 |
| Arena | Dome Arena (capacity 4,086) Rochester War Memorial Blue Cross Arena The Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial is a multi-purpose indoor arena, located in Rochester, New York. Its maximum seating capacity is 13,000... (capacity 7,200) |
| Team History | Rochester Zeniths 1977-1983 |
| Championships | 2 1978-79 1980-81 |
| Division Titles | 4 1978-79 1979-80 1980-81 1982-83 |
| Head Coach | Mauro Panaggio |
| Uniform colors | blue and gold |
| Logo design | A basketball player's legs in the form of a "Z" |
The Rochester Zeniths was a professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team in the Continental Basketball Association
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
. They played in Henrietta, New York
Henrietta, New York
Henrietta is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of Rochester. The population was 42,581 at the 2010 census. Established in 1818, the town is named after Henrietta Laura Pulteney, Countess of Bath, daughter of Sir William Pulteney, 5th Baronet, a major British...
, a suburb of Rochester at the Dome Arena and in downtown 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...
at (what is now known as) the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial
Blue Cross Arena
The Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial is a multi-purpose indoor arena, located in Rochester, New York. Its maximum seating capacity is 13,000...
. They existed for six basketball seasons, winning two league titles and generally had great success on the basketball court before they disbanded after the 1982-83 season.
Pro Basketball in Rochester before the Zeniths
The Rochester RoyalsRochester 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....
played in the National Basketball League
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 the National Basketball Association
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...
from 1945-46 through the 1956-57 season before moving to Cincinnati. They played their home games at the Edgerton Park Sports Arena and later the Rochester War Memorial
Blue Cross Arena
The Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial is a multi-purpose indoor arena, located in Rochester, New York. Its maximum seating capacity is 13,000...
in the city of Rochester. They enjoyed success at the turnstiles and on the basketball court, winning the NBA title in 1951 and finishing as runner-up in the NBL in 1947 and 1948. They were a typical NBL/NBA team of the era, playing in a smaller market and a smaller arena in an area that was to become known as the Rust Belt
Rust Belt
The Rust Belt is a term that gained currency in the 1980s as the informal description of an area straddling the Midwestern and Northeastern United States, in which local economies traditionally garnered an increased manufacturing sector to add jobs and corporate profits...
. Their move to Cincinnati in the summer of 1957 was part of the general franchise relocation process of the 1950s and 1960s in the NBA which saw these older smaller markets abandoned in favor of larger markets with larger arenas.
In the summer of 1958, a group of Buffalo businessmen announced that they were creating a team called the Rochester Colonels
Rochester Colonels
The Rochester Colonels were a short-lived franchise in the Eastern Professional Basketball League in the 1958-59 season. The franchise played just eight games and lost them all, before folding on December 17, 1958...
to begin play in the fall of that year in the Pennsylvania-based Eastern Professional Basketball League
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
. The team was intended to fill the void created when the Royals left town. Former Rochester Royals great Arnie Risen
Arnie Risen
Arnold D. Risen is a retired American basketball player.A 6'9" center from the Ohio State University, he led the Buckeyes to two straight Final Four appearances....
was recruited to join and coach the team to pique fan interest. The Colonels also featured former Royal Dick Ricketts and future Hall of Famer Hubie Brown. It was all for naught as the team went 0-8 and folded in December 1958, playing just two home games before modest crowds at the Rochester Community War Memorial.
Beginning in the 1959-60 season, the Syracuse Nationals
Syracuse Nationals
The Syracuse Nationals were an American professional basketball team that existed from 1946 to 1963 as part of the National Basketball League and National Basketball Association . They are currently known as the Philadelphia 76ers, and are the NBA's oldest continued franchise.The team began in...
of the NBA began playing regular season games in Rochester. During the 1959-60 and the 1960-61 seasons they played two games in Rochester and during the 1961-62 and 1962-63 seasons they played four games in Rochester (as well as playing a number of games in Utica, New York
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....
during the same period). These "neutral site" games were common during this period of the NBA (for instance, Wilt Chamberlain's historic 100 point performance occurred in Hershey, Pennsylvania
Hershey, Pennsylvania
Hershey is a census-designated place in Derry Township, Dauphin County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The community is located 14 miles east of Harrisburg and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Hershey has no legal status as an incorporated municipality...
, a regular site for NBA games) but they were not particularly well attended and definitely not popular with the players and coaches as they added more travel to
the schedule. The Syracuse Nationals
Syracuse Nationals
The Syracuse Nationals were an American professional basketball team that existed from 1946 to 1963 as part of the National Basketball League and National Basketball Association . They are currently known as the Philadelphia 76ers, and are the NBA's oldest continued franchise.The team began in...
became the Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
after the 1962-63 season ended and regular season NBA games ended in Rochester as well.
During the 1970-71 season the expansion Buffalo Braves
Buffalo Braves
The Buffalo Braves were a team in the National Basketball Association. They later moved to San Diego, California to become the San Diego Clippers then subsequently the Los Angeles Clippers....
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. 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 in to 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 Clippers. Not many fans made the seventy mile trip from Rochester to Buffalo to see the Braves play as, for the most part, they were not a competitive team.
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 All-American Basketball AllianceAll-American Basketball Alliance
The All-American Basketball Alliance was formed in 1977, with the intention of competing with the established Continental Basketball Association as the premier basketball minor league in the United States...
. They were primarily owned by Dick Hill
Dick Hill
Richard "Dick" P. Hill is an award winning scientist. His work in Applied Molecular Oncology has led to advance cancer treatments.In 2008, Hill was a senior scientist at the Ontario Cancer Institute and a Professor at the University of Toronto.-Honours:...
who owned Hill TV, a Rochester electronics store that sold Zenith brand televisions, hence the nickname Zeniths. The team began play in January 1978 along with the rest of the All-American Alliance, but the league quickly disbanded within a month. The Zeniths played 11 games and finished with a 10-1 record. Attendance at home games at the War Memorial was by the far the best in the league.
For the 1978-1979 basketball season, the Zeniths joined the newly renamed Continental Basketball Association
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
(formerly known as the "Eastern League") and started playing most of their home games at the Dome Arena at the Monroe County Fairgrounds in Henrietta, New York
Henrietta, New York
Henrietta is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of Rochester. The population was 42,581 at the 2010 census. Established in 1818, the town is named after Henrietta Laura Pulteney, Countess of Bath, daughter of Sir William Pulteney, 5th Baronet, a major British...
. The Dome Arena was built primarily as an exposition hall for the annual county fair and business shows and conventions and was not particularly well suited for basketball. It did not have a hardwood basketball floor. To solve this problem, the Dome bought a green basketball carpet from a Swedish firm that was used for basketball games. The carpets were used in Europe and while not popular with players and fans, met league approval and was used during league play. (The War Memorial had a standard hardwood basketball floor.)
The Zeniths were coached by local product Mauro Panaggio, a successful Division III basketball coach at SUNY Brockport and featured many former prominent Western New York college basketball players, most notably guard Glenn Hagan
Glenn Hagan
Glenn Kassabin Hagan is a retired American basketball player. He attended Cardinal Mooney High School in Rochester, New York, and St. Bonaventure University. After graduating from St...
from St. Bonaventure and forward Larry Fogle
Larry Fogle
Larry Fogle is a retired American basketball player. He was an ABA and NBA draft pick. He played in two games for the New York Knicks during 1975-1976 before playing for the CBA and starring on the team that won the league championship in the 1977-78 season.-Background:Fogle, born in Brooklyn, New...
from Canisius College
Canisius College
Canisius College is a private Roman Catholic college in Buffalo, New York, United States. The college was founded in 1870 by members of the Society of Jesus from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. The college is one of 28 institutions in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and...
(both had been second round NBA Draft picks). The team played a very fast, uptempo style that was the prevailing trend in the CBA at the time. They were the dominant team in the league that year, finishing 36-12 and winning the Northern Division title by 9 and a half games over the Anchorage Northern Knights
Anchorage Northern Knights
The Anchorage Northern Knights were a team in the Continental Basketball Association from 1977 to 1982.At the time they joined the league then known as the Eastern Basketball Association, the franchise attracted national attention as perhaps the most misplaced franchise in the history of...
. In the playoffs, they lost only once, beating the Allentown Jets
Allentown Jets
The Allentown Jets were a minor league basketball team that played in the Eastern Professional Basketball League from 1958 to 1981. The team was one of the most dominant franchises in CBA/Eastern League history, winning eight playoff championships and twelve division titles.Originally formed in...
three games to one and then sweeping the Knights in the finals. Star guard Andre McCarter
Andre McCarter
Andre McCarter is a retired American professional basketball player.A 6'3" guard, McCarter played college basketball at UCLA under legendary coach John Wooden....
was named both Newcomer of the Year and the overall league Most Valuable Player for the season. Panaggio was named league Coach of the Year.
Also of note during the 1978-79 season was that the Zeniths hosted CBA All-Star game at the Dome Arena on the infamous green carpet, playing as a team against a collection of star players from the rest of the league. When a blizzard knocked out electric power in the city and the arena just after the first half ended, an impromptu slam dunk competition, won by Billy Ray Bates
Billy Ray Bates
Billy Ray Bates is a retired American professional basketball player. Bates played shooting guard at McAdams High in Mississippi and attended Kentucky State University....
of the Maine Lumberjacks
Maine Lumberjacks
The Maine LumberjacksCBA Basketball Team's last season was 1982 / 1983, and was based in Bangor, Maine.Amongst other noteworthy points was responsible for the drafting of Billy Ray Bates into the NBA....
was conducted with the emergency lighting of the building as the only light. Power was not restored and fans were sent home. But, the game resumed the next night, and rather than just play two more quarters, league commissioner Jim Drucker decided to play another four quarters - making the six quarter, 72-minute game, the longest game in pro basketball history. Zenith Andre McCarter
Andre McCarter
Andre McCarter is a retired American professional basketball player.A 6'3" guard, McCarter played college basketball at UCLA under legendary coach John Wooden....
was named the game's Most Valuable Player.
The next season the Zeniths were again the class of the league but this time they only won the division over the Knights by one and half games and they lost a hard fought finals rematch with the Knights in seven games. 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. 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.
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 Lehigh Valley Jets in two games, beating Philadelphia two games to one and sweeping the Montana Golden Nuggets
Montana Golden Nuggets
The Montana Golden Nuggets are a former Continental Basketball Association that played from 1980/81 to 1982/83.Montana reached the CBA finals in 1981 and 1983, with George Karl earning Coach of the Year honors both seasons....
coached by George Karl
George Karl
George Matthew Karl is a former National Basketball Association and American Basketball Association player. He is the current head coach of the Denver Nuggets. On December 10, 2010 he became the seventh coach in NBA history to record 1,000 wins.-Biography:Karl was born in Penn Hills,...
in four straight games.
The team had winning seasons for each of its last two in existence but lost in the playoffs in the first round each year. By this time, all games had been moved to the War Memorial and attendance was on the decline. Faced with mounting financial losses and the competitive catchup of the rest of the league, the team disbanded following the 1982-83 season. Mauro Panaggio went on to continue his success in the CBA, and retired as the winningest coach in league history.
Legacy
- Mauro Panaggio's son, Dan Panaggio is currently the head coach of the Los Angeles D-FendersLos Angeles D-FendersThe Los Angeles D-Fenders are a NBA Development League team based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 2006, the team is owned by the Los Angeles Lakers, which became the first National Basketball Association franchise to own a D-League team...
of the NBA Development LeagueNBA Development LeagueThe NBA Development League, or NBA D-League, is the National Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. Known until summer 2005 as the National Basketball Development League , the NBA D-League started with eight teams in the fall of 2001...
after following in his father's footsteps and coaching the Quad City ThunderQuad City ThunderThe Quad City Thunder are a defunct professional basketball team that was based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. They played in the Continental Basketball Association from the 1987-1988 season until the league folded in 2001. The teams was CBA champions in the 1993-1994 and 1997-1998...
of the Continental Basketball AssociationContinental Basketball AssociationThe Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
to two league titles in 1994 and 1998. - After many false starts, professional basketball returned to Rochester in the form of an American Basketball Association (21st century)American Basketball Association (21st century)The American Basketball Association, often abbreviated as ABA, is a semi-professional men's basketball league that was founded in 1999. The current ABA has no affiliation with the original American Basketball Association that merged with the National Basketball Association in 1976...
franchise known as the Rochester RazorSharksRochester RazorsharksThe Rochester Razorsharks are a professional basketball team based in Rochester, New York. They are members of the Premier Basketball League and play their home games at the Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester. The Razorsharks were founded in 2005 as a member of the American Basketball...
. The RazorSharks began play in the ABA in November 2005, and won the ABA Championship in their inaugural season. In 2008, the team left the ABA to become a charter member of the Premier Basketball LeaguePremier Basketball LeagueThe Premier Basketball League, often abbreviated to the PBL, is a men's professional basketball minor league in the United States that began play in January 2008. The league had ten teams for the 2008 season and thirteen teams for the 2009 season. Nine teams from Canada and the United States...
. The Razorsharks won the first PBL Championship.
Notable players
- Andre McCarterAndre McCarterAndre McCarter is a retired American professional basketball player.A 6'3" guard, McCarter played college basketball at UCLA under legendary coach John Wooden....
, 1978-79 CBA Newcomer of the Year, 1979 All-Star Game MVP, 1978-79 CBA Most Valuable Player - Glenn HaganGlenn HaganGlenn Kassabin Hagan is a retired American basketball player. He attended Cardinal Mooney High School in Rochester, New York, and St. Bonaventure University. After graduating from St...
, named to the CBA Era 50th Anniversary team - Larry FogleLarry FogleLarry Fogle is a retired American basketball player. He was an ABA and NBA draft pick. He played in two games for the New York Knicks during 1975-1976 before playing for the CBA and starring on the team that won the league championship in the 1977-78 season.-Background:Fogle, born in Brooklyn, New...
, 1978-79 CBA Playoffs Co-MVP - Larry SpriggsLarry SpriggsLarry Michael Spriggs is an American former professional basketball player.Spriggs was born in Cheverly, Maryland. A 6'7" forward from Howard University, Spriggs began his professional career in the minor-league Continental Basketball Association, where he earned 1982 Rookie of the Year Honors...
, 1981-82 CBA Rookie of the Year - Larry McNeillLarry McNeillLarry McNeill was a National Basketball Association player. McNeill was drafted in the second round of the 1973 NBA Draft by the Kansas City-Omaha Kings and would play with the franchise until 1976. That year, he was traded to the New York Nets for a third-round draft pick. In 1977, he signed as a...
, 1978-79 CBA Playoffs Co-MVP - Lee JohnsonLee Johnson (American football player)Leland Eric Johnson Leland Eric Johnson Leland Eric Johnson (born November 27, 1961 in Dallas, Texas, is a former professional American football punter who played 18 seasons in the National Football League...
, 1980-81 CBA Playoffs MVP, 1980-81 CBA Rookie of the Year
External links
- Larry Fogle's page at basketball-reference.com
- Glenn Hagan's page at basketball-reference.com
- Andre McCarter's page at basketball-reference.com
- Larry Spriggs' page at basketball-reference.com
- Larry McNeill's page at basketball-reference.com
- Lee Johnson's page at basketball-reference.com
Year-by-year Record
| 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 |