National Basketball League (1898–1904)
First professional basketball league in the world, 1898–1904 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the other defunct National Basketball League (NBL) in the United States, see National Basketball League (United States). For the pre-eminent professional men's basketball league in Australasia, see National Basketball League (Australasia). For other national basketball leagues, see NBL.
The National Basketball League was the first professional basketball league in the world. Centered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the league's teams stretched from New York City to Central New Jersey, through the Philadelphia area and down to Wilmington, Delaware. The league began operations with the 1898–99 season and disbanded in January 1904, before completing the 1903–04 season.
The league was originally intended to consist of two separate geographic districts, one based in Philadelphia and the other in New York City. The New York district never got off the ground, however.