PL Playoff Recaps, 1939-1970
(Non-Championship Games)
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1940
SEMIFINAL
At La Salle College
Overbrook 27, West 26
  Don Butler scored 15 points. His free throw and layup on the next possession gave ’Brook a 25-22 lead. Harold Landesberg, West’s top scorer with eight points, fouled out with 2:32 left.
  Note: Only three teams qualified for the playoffs.

1941
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
West 22, Northeast 19
  Charles “Sonny” Leonard led West with seven points. Free throws by Leonard and Stan Novak and Leonard’s field goal enabled West to reverse a 15-12 deficit. Walt Galecki had seven points for Northeast.
Southern 23, Roxborough 18
  Southern prevailed despite going without a field goal for just short of the first 10 minutes. Bill Koehler had 10 points. Bill Smith had nine points for Roxborough.

1942
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
West 26, Southern 23
  Gene Resnick scored six of his game-high 10 points in an eight-point spurt that reversed an 18-15 deficit. Ed Lerner scored nine points for Southern.
Bartram 29, Northeast 21
  Len Weiner scored two consecutive inside baskets to break the game’s last tie, 18-18. Fred Hearn (12) led Northeast.

1943
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
West 41, Overbrook 27
  Charlie Lamons (14 points) and Stu Tomkins (13) led West. Paul “Hook” Wallace (12) paced ’Brook.
Bartram 25, Southern 23
  Len Weiner (11 points) scored from the pivot with 45 seconds left to break a 23-23 tie.

1944
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at Convention Hall
Bartram 36, Northeast 29
  Bartram used a 15-point run to reverse a 17-14 halftime deficit. Steve Rullo scored 10 points.
Southern 29, Overbrook 26
  A free throw by Charles “Hotsy” Bellak and a basket by sub Bill Copestick enabled Southern (Ed Lerner 11) to score the game’s final three points.

1945
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at Convention Hall
Southern 42, Bartram 30
  Tom Sabol (15 points), Stan “Loady” Brown (13) and Charles “Hotsy” Bellak (12) led Southern, which used a 17-2 run to take command at 38-24. Al Trubin and Jack “Reds” Fanning had 10 apiece for Bartram.
West 26, Northeast 22
  Al Rapoport’s basket started the climb from a 17-12 deficit as West staged a major upset. Chester Zankman had eight points.

1946
PRE-PLAYOFFS
At La Salle High
Central 30, West 29
  Marv Barish scored 10 points for Central, which led, 30-21, before West staged a comeback that fell just short.
At SJ Prep
Bartram 40, West 36
  Ralph Naimoli scored 13 points. Dave Werther (12) topped West.
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at Convention Hall
Southern 36, Bartram 31
  Stan “Loady” Brown scored 21 points and his field goal with 2:00 left broke a 30-30 tie. Ed Altieri added a clinching basket and Jack Silver (10) had two free throws. Walt Plechner (13) led Bartram.
Northeast 34, Central 31
  Ed Koruba scored 14 points as the Archives won a playoff for the first time. Trailing by 32-22, Central rallied within 33-31 before calling an illegal timeout with 0:15 left. Joe Lang hit the clinching technical.

1947
PRE-PLAYOFFS
At SJ Prep
West 36, Southern 35
  Norm Grekin’s 21-point effort was capped by the winning basket with one minute left.
At SJ Prep
Southern 46, Central 39
  Joe Brancato (16) and Norm Lerner (12) led Southern, which spurted to a 39-29 lead after the game’s last tie at 28-28.
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
Bartram 43, West 35
  Walt Plechner scored 16 points. West’s Norm Grekin had 18.
Overbrook 44, Southern 28
  The inside scoring of Barry Love (14) and outside sniping of Cecil Mosenson (nine) paced the rout.

1948
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
Overbrook 36, Northeast 27
  Alan Stein (nine) and Jackie Moore (eight) led the way for ’Brook, which won the second half, 24-16, with the help of 10 consecutive points. Newton Jones (10) paced Northeast.
Bartram 41, West 33
  Herman Ingerman and Al MacCart scored 13 points apiece to spark Bartram. West (Norm Grekin 14) advanced within 33-31 with under 3:00 left, but was called for a costly technical and Bartram regrouped.

1949
PRE-PLAYOFF
At the Palestra
Central 55, Olney 39
  Paul Bomze scored 19 points and Larry Friedman was close behind with 16 as Central used a 37-22 second half to triumph. Olney was paced by Fred Iehle (16) in its first postseason appearance.
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
Overbrook 61, Bartram 46
  Jackie Moore (21 points) led the way. Murray Teller’s field goal and five points by Moore (tap-in, three-point play) provided ’Brook a 14-7 lead that proved decisive. Bartram’s Moe Tener scored 22 points while shooting 14-for-20 from the line.
Frankford 38, Central 37
  Hal “Hotsy” Reinfeld hit a set shot and Gordon Simpson followed with a jumper as Frankford turned a 35-34 deficit into a 38-35 lead and went on to make its first playoff appearance successful. Paul Bomze’s basket drew Central with close with 0:08 left.

1950
PRE-PLAYOFF
At SJ Prep
West 51, Dobbins 44
  Bill Johnson (20 points) and Jasper Brown (18) paced West, which scored the final seven points in the last 0:55. Rudy Miles (19) topped Dobbins, making its first postseason appearance.
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
Overbrook 55, West 45
  Jackie Moore scored 21 points while Gene Avella and Bob Alper added 10 apiece. Bill Showell had 14 points for West.
Central 44, Franklin 29
  Carl Hopfinger (14 points) led the way as Central used a 16-point run to storm back from a 24-16 deficit early in the third quarter. Franklin had never been in the playoffs.

1951
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
West 46, Northeast 35 (ot)
  Earl Jackson (19 points) and George Tomosky (12) were the stars for West, which won the overtime session, 14-3. Joe Belmont scored 18 points for Northeast.
Franklin 55, Southern 51
  John Chaney’s 25 points tied the PL postseason record set in 1949 by Overbrook’s Jackie Moore. Leon Whitley (12) and Bob Gainey (11) also reached double figures. Barry Goldstein hit 14 for Southern.

1952
QUARTERFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
Franklin 64, West 45
  Claude Gross scored 23 points as Franklin coasted.
Lincoln 51, Overbrook 44
  Clarence “Bud” Houck scored 22 points for playoff newcomer Lincoln, which dominated the second half, 28-14. Hal Lear had 16 for ’Brook.
Doubleheader at Lincoln
Southern 42, Central 39
  After waiving four fouls in 27 seconds, Southern scored the clinching basket with 0:50 left as Ralph Lauria (13 points) raced in for a layup.
Northeast 59, Frankford 45
  Jim Parker (20 points) and Joe Belmont (14) led Northeast. Ed Dobisch and Al Booth scored 13 each for Frankford.
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
Franklin 48, Northeast 47
  Devonne Muchison picked off a deflected pass with 14 seconds left and drove in for the winning layup; it was his only score of the game. Seconds earlier, Joe Belmont (17 points) had scored for Northeast after victimizing Muchison for a steal. Franklin’s Claude Gross had 19 points. Northeast’s Guy Rodgers had 10.
Lincoln 64, Southern 47
  Clarence “Bud” Houck scored 26 points — breaking the PL postseason record of 25 set by Overbrook’s Jackie Moore in ’49 and Franklin’s John Chaney in ’51 — as Lincoln rolled. Ed Givnish added 19 points. Lincoln had four starters 6-3 or taller. Southern had no starter taller than 5-10.

1953
PRE-PLAYOFF
At Sayre Jr. High
Franklin 46, Bok 41
  Bill Jackson (13), Ron Gee (12) and Devonne Muchison (10) led Franklin while Ron Jones (10) topped Bok.
QUARTERFINALS
At Temple’s South Hall
Northeast 74, Frankford 51
  Guy Rodgers paced the easy win with 32 points. Chuck Huebner scored 20 points for Frankford.
Doubleheader at the Palestra
Bartram 52, West 49
  Irvin “Bo” Roberson poured in 26 points and shot 12-for-14 from the line. Joe Howell scored 19 points for West, which squandered a 21-14 halftime lead.
Lincoln 69, Central 45
  Clarence “Bud” Houck and Ed Givnish led the rout with 26 and 21 points, respectively, as Lincoln ran its record to 19-0.
At SJ Prep
Overbrook 73, Franklin 47
  Wilt Chamberlain scored 24 points and Stan Guralnick (20) posted the Panthers’ first eight points. Franklin had won the teams’ regular-season meeting, 76-74, before losing three stars to mid-year graduations. Devonne Muchison scored 22 points.
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
Overbrook 72, Lincoln 56
  Wilt Chamberlain set a PL postseason record with 35 points, nine better than the 26 scored by Lincoln’s Clarence “Bud” Houck in 1952 and again in the ’53 quarterfinals. In one sequence, Chamberlain blocked four successive shots. George Hagopian (19) and Houck (17) led Lincoln.
Northeast 74, Bartram 61
  Wilt Chamberlain had the record all to himself only until the second game, when Northeast’s Guy Rodgers also scored 35 points. Irvin “Bo” Roberson (22) led Bartram, which shot 29-for-58 at the line.

1954
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
Overbrook 74, West 55
  Wilt Chamberlain poured in 41 points — most in PL playoff history — as ’Brook coasted. He outscored West in the first half, 22-20. Joe Howell scored 18 points for West.
Northeast 57, Bok 45
  Don Davis (18 points) and Jim “Tee” Parham (14) paced the winners. Joe Keegan (12) led Bok, a first-time playoff entrant.

1955
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
Overbrook 83, Bok 46
  Wilt Chamberlain sank 23 field goals en route to 48 points, a total that enabled him to expand his PL postseason record (41, set in ’54). He played all but the final 27 seconds.
West 58, Northeast 53
  Ray “Chink” Scott shot 13-for-14 at the line while scoring 25 points and Joe Goldenberg added 15 points. West took the lead for good, 48-47, on Pete Urquhart’s only basket of the game. For Northeast, the scoring leaders were Jim “Tee” Parham (14), William “Sonny” Hill and Bob Young (12 apiece).

1956
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
West 54, Gratz 45
  With West ahead, 41-39, Ray “Chink” Scott (26 points) and Hubie White (13) fueled a seven-point spurt that decided the issue. Leroy “Sweets” Alexander (21) led Gratz, absent from the playoffs since 1939.
Northeast 80, Bok 58
  Bob Young (23 points), Herb Adderley (18), sub Gene Lennox (15) and Jim “Tee” Parham (13) led the barrage. Charles Stewart (26) and Dave Riddick (14) paced Bok.

1957
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
Overbrook 57, Franklin 35
  Wayne Hightower led the way with 26 points and 20 rebounds. Franklin’s Jimmy May, the PL’s leading scorer (28.1 ppg.), missed 17 consecutive shots and finished 4-for-32 for 12 points.
Lincoln 70, Edison 59
  Fred Schmidt (30 points), Bruce Fleming (21) and Bruce Drysdale (13) paced the win. George Timbers (18) and Ben Ellis (14) led Edison, which began the season as Northeast before that school moved from 8th and Lehigh to Cottman and Algon.

1958
PRE-PLAYOFF
At Southern
Edison 50, West 37
  Bob Wynn (13), Ron Ford (12) and John Dunston (11) led the way. Ernest “Sonny” Jackson (14) was the lone Speedboy in double figures.
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
Overbrook 44, Lincoln 22
  Richie Richman (12) and Walt Hazzard (10) led the way as ’Brook overcame Lincoln’s slowdown tactics. Ralph Heyward blocked eight shots. Rich Krassen (seven) led Lincoln.
Germantown 49, Edison 45
  Making its first postseason appearance in 43 years of PL membership, Germantown received 17 points from Obie Snyder and 13 from Earl Proctor and, with the score tied, 34-34, ran off seven consecutive points to seize command. Ron Ford (14) led Edison.

1959
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
Overbrook 49, Northeast 35
  Walt Hazzard (17) and Ralph Heyward (15) led the way. No one reached double figures for Northeast, which edged within 34-30 before fading.
Germantown 45, West 38
  Obie Snyder had 15 points and Fred Davis (11) posted three of his baskets in the fourth quarter. Ernest “Sonny” Jackson (12) and Tyrone “Tee” Shields (11) led West.

1960
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
West 56, Bartram 54 (3 ot)
  The teams scored two points each in a regulation OT and then went scoreless through a sudden-death OT. Finally, four seconds into a second sudden-death OT, sub Bill Daisey, a 5-8, 128-pound junior, was hacked while driving in for a layup attempt. He made two free throws to give West the necessary two points and the win. Asked about the free throws, Daisey said, “I was afraid to miss ‘em.” Ernest “Sonny” Jackson scored 17 points. For Bartram, which trailed, 46-37, after three quarters, Richie Moore scored 15 points.
Overbrook 72, Northeast 57
  Walt Hazzard (27), Wali Jones (18) and 5-5 Rick Beckett (15) led ’Brook, which stormed to a 41-20 halftime lead. Howie Turnoff scored 26 for Northeast.

1961
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
Bartram 55, Gratz 49
  Chris Kefalos had 18 points and 10 rebounds while Boyd O’Neal mixed 15 points and 32 rebounds. Gratz’s Ted Blunt scored 15 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter.
Franklin 51, West 45
  Austin Garner (24 points) hit four consecutive free throws to start the fourth quarter and put Franklin ahead for good. Six-nine Stoney McMorris, nicknamed “The Franklin Flamingo,” grabbed 13 rebounds. Deforia Coleman (14) led West.

1962
FIRST ROUND
At Southern
Bartram 65, Franklin 46
  Earl Monroe scored 26 points. Irv Peacock (17) topped Franklin.
West 54, Lincoln 37
  Ken Morgan (11) led 11 West scorers. Joe Hindelang had 15 for Lincoln.
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
Bartram 52, Overbrook 39
  Unheralded sophomore Al Alston scored seven of his nine points in a 17-8 fourth quarter to spark Bartram, which was led by Earl Monroe (14) and Chris Kefalos (13). Gil Smith had 17 points for ’Brook.
West 56, Edison 48
  Sixth man Paul Jackson had all eight of his points and many key rebounds as West controlled the second half. Deforia Coleman (16) and Frank Card (13) led in scoring. John “Moose” Jackson had 21 points for Edison. Star George Mack was held to six.

1963
FIRST ROUND
At Frankford
West 55, Germantown 44
  John Beach scored 20 points. Lou Gambrell had 13 for G-town.
At Franklin
Central 52, Overbrook 50
  Making its first postseason appearance since 1953, Central received double figures from Joe Heiser (18), Art King (14) and Dave Van Horn (11). Heiser’s steal and layup gave Central a 51-50 lead with 0:33 left. He added a free throw at 0:09 and then Overbrook’s Al Shipon missed a buzzer-beating 20-footer. Sub Gene Sayles (15) led ’Brook.
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at St. Joseph’s
West 62, Bartram 61
  John Evans made a layup with 3:08 left to give West a 60-59 lead and John Beach (20 points) added two clinching free throws. Al Alston (17) led Bartram.
Franklin 49, Central 47
  Fred Carter was held to five points, 12 below his average, but grabbed 22 rebounds and made a fullcourt outlet pass that enabled Bill Lofton, scoreless beforehand, to hit the winning basket on a jumper. Fred Ruben (10) was the only Franklin player to reach double figures. Joe Heiser (14) topped Central.

1964
FIRST ROUND
At Frankford
Lincoln 81, Franklin 71
  Larry Cannon netted 34 points while George May contributed 22 points and 15 rebounds and Dave Scheinfeld grabbed 16 boards. Fred Ruben (17) led Franklin.
At Franklin
Central 71, West 57
  Joe Heiser scored nine of his 27 points in a 19-9 second quarter. Dave Van Horn and Bob Gelman added 15 points apiece. Elijah Small (13) topped West.
SEMIFINALS
Doubleheader at the Palestra
Germantown 60, Central 56
  Bob Reid (18 points) and Lou Gambrell (15) combined for 13 of G-town’s 17 fourth-quarter points. Bob Gelman (24) led Central.
Bartram 81, Lincoln 66
  Richard “Toby” Tyler and Clarence Brookins scored 20 points apiece and combined for 31 rebounds. Brookins (16-for-19) helped Bartram go 35-for-47 at the line. George May (24) and Dave Scheinfeld (17) topped Lincoln, which lost four players on fouls.

1965
QUARTERFINALS
At Northeast
Lincoln 84, Roxborough 78
  Larry Cannon shot 21-for-47 en route to 49 points (34 in the second half) to set a PL and city-leagues postseason record. Overbrook’s Wilt Chamberlain had scored 48 points in a ’55 semifinal. Cannon added 15 rebounds while Dave Scheinfeld had 19 points. For Roxborough, the first playoff team in PL and city history with a losing league record (6-8), Walter “Buddy” Harris pumped in 35 points.
At Lincoln
Franklin 70, Overbrook 67 (ot)
  Walt Diggs scored 25 points, including five in OT, and Alton Laughinghouse added 23. For ’Brook, Hank Beckett scored 24 points and John Broadwater scored four late points to force the extra session.
At Washington
Central 55, Germantown 47
  John Ashby scored 18 points. G-town’s Greg Parker had 20.
At Roxborough
Dobbins 57, Edison 38
  Jim Bowles (21 points) and Bernie Bull (16) sparked Dobbins to its first playoff victory. Erv “Stu” Staggs (14) led Edison.
SEMIFINALS
At Washington
Lincoln 73, Dobbins 71
  Larry Cannon scored 29 points for Lincoln, which led by nine points with one minute left before Dobbins (Jim Bowles 25) closed hard.
At Lincoln
Franklin 59, Central 55
  Six-nine Greg Fillmore scored 20 points and unfurled two consecutive dunks to break a tie at 46-46. Alton Laughinghouse added 15 points.

1966
SEMIFINALS
At Lincoln
Edison 55, West 52
  After a two-week delay because of a coaches’ strike, Sam Gore (17) and Erv “Stu” Staggs (14) were the leaders as the Inventors won a playoff for the first time. Bill Evans converted a tap-in to draw West (Cliff Robinson 19) within 51-50 with 1:30 left, but Staggs and Gore converted one-and-ones to settle the issue.
At Roxborough
Germantown 39, Southern 37
  Stan Best and Donnell Greene (15) scored consecutive baskets as the Bears left behind a 35-35 tie. Wilf Shamlin and Jerry Lee scored nine apiece for Southern.

1967
PRE-PLAYOFFS
At Franklin
Bok 67, Bartram 54
  Ron Stewart scored 18 points and Lou Exum and Arthur Evans added 16 apiece as Bok won a postseason game for the first time. Mickey Grimes (17) led Bartram, which went scoreless for 7:29 as Bok reeled off 11 points for a 36-26 lead.
At Northeast
Franklin 74, Lincoln 60
  Ira Miles scored 13 of his 28 points in the last quarter and received assistance from Don Easley (23). Doug Gray (19) and Ron Moyer (18) led Lincoln.
SEMIFINALS
At Roxborough
Overbrook 70, Franklin 63
  Mike Gale shot 16-for-19 from the line en route to 30 points and Ron Eleby added 19 points while Eldred “Jay” Bagley and Carlyle Corbin combined to hound Franklin scorer Ira Miles into a seven-point showing. Don Easley managed 19 points to pick up the slack.
At Frankford
Germantown 61, Bok 56
  Willie Sojourner scored 11 of his 19 points in the second half for the Bears, who fashioned a 50-40 lead with 2:15 left and then held on. Dwight Patterson (15) and Wesley Person (13) helped. Lou Exum (23) and Ronald Stewart (19) led Bok.

1968
SEMIFINALS
At Lincoln
West 76, Edison 74
  Five-eight Freddie Stokes, the league scoring champ, shot 14-for-17 from the line en route to 28 points. Brady Small added 21 points. Edison, down by 20 points early in the third quarter, had a chance to tie at the buzzer, but a jumper by Romie Thomas from the key was unsuccessful. Pedro Barez had 18 points.
At Roxborough
Overbrook 45, Olney 36
  Ron Eleby scored 13 points and Charles Hudson hit three baskets in the final minute to make sure Olney (Dave Bell 13) would not catch up. The Trojans were making their first postseason appearance since losing a pre-playoff in 1949.

1969
SEMIFINALS
At Lincoln
Edison 93, Gratz 56
  The Inventors zipped to an 11-1 lead and finished with 51 percent shooting from the floor. Romie Thomas scored 25 points while Dennis Mathews totaled 21 points and 15 rebounds. Gratz soph Joe Anderson had 20 points, 13 rebounds.
At Roxborough
Southern 53, Overbrook 50
  Six-11 junior Roland “Tree” Grant collected 25 points and 15 rebounds. Elgren Green added 17 points, 10 rebounds. Two late steals by Jeff Gubernick led to a field goal by Green and two free throws by Gubernick to provide a 53-46 lead. Overbrook’s Ron Eleby had 12 points, 13 boards.

1970
SEMIFINALS
At Lincoln
Overbrook 59, Southern 45
  After Southern pulled within 10 points early in the third quarter, Andre McCarter (21 points) exploded during a 70-second span for three jumpers, two layups and a pass for another field goal. Jerry Thomas added 14 points. Southern’s Roland “Tree” Grant had 16 points.
At Roxborough
Gratz 66, Dobbins 46
  Leonard Poole (17), Joe Anderson (16), Leon White (13) and Al Walker (11) scored in double digits for Gratz, which avenged a regular season loss to the Mustangs (Dennis Caldwell 12).