THE PIONEERS

Who knows where the interest came from but there can be no doubt about the commitment of the early basketball enthusiasts. Faced with seemingly impossible hurdles they flourished. Facilities were almost non-existant, equipment was hard to find and there were no stand-alone basketball clubs.

In Glasgow, Frank Agnew started the Outram Press Basketball Club comprising staff members of the Glasgow Herald and Evening Times. An American business man, Bill Bird, was involved with the Kings Park basketball club, an offshoot of the athletic club. John Muirhead was the catalist who formed a basketball section at the flourishing Maryhill Boys Club.

In the Edinburgh area Pleasance Boys Club reigned supreme. John Fisher, Alex Kirk and Alex Leslie continued a programme initiated before the second World War by American students at Edinburgh University. Polish ex-servicemen who had played basketball in their native country prior to World War 2, had stayed in Scotland after the cease fire and most had decided to stay in the Edinburgh area. They formed Polonia Basketball Club. The leading lights were Borys Szifris and Kajick Herman. On the west side of the City, David Reid, Tucker Johnston and Jim Connor formed a basketball section of Redford Athletic Club. Mike Troup and Jim Young established the Cherokee Basketball Club. Frank McLeod and Walter Smail brought to-gether members of the Post Office Staff to form PO Nomads, so named because they had no home court. In Craigmillar a young solicitor, David Young, was the driving force behind the Craigmillar Boys Club Team. In addition there were two Former Pupils clubs at George Heriot's and the Royal High School born of the enthusiasm of PT teachers at the schools.

Meanwhile the missionary work undertaken by Jock Kerr Hunter and the SCPR Team in the years 1947 to 1951 had established basketball footholds in Aberdeen, Inverness and Dundee. Equipment purchased through grants from the Scottish Education Department was distributed throughout the length and breadth of Scotland.

Gradually the SCPR staff withdrew from their hands-on involvement in specific sports. In 1955 Jock Kerr-Hunter stepped down from the post of ABAS Secretary. Jack Millar was elected to the post at the ensuing AGM. Tom Hermiston, a PE Teacher at Morgan Academy, was appointed Treasurer of the ABAS but in these early days the committee became jack-of-all-trades tackling whatever tasks needed to be undertaken. A prime example of this early multi-tasking excercise was the organisation of a Scotland V England International at Falkirk Ice Rink in 1951. The Chairman would be responsible for drumming up sponsorship., the Secretary for arranging the venue, and committee members dealing with promotion & advertising, and the Treasurer looking after the gate receipts and paying the bills.