History of the Warren Penns and Cleveland White Horses

The Warren Penns and Cleveland White Horses were two names used by the same early professional basketball organization during the formative years of the National Basketball League. The club originated in Warren, Pennsylvania, under the leadership of Gerry Archibald, competed in the Midwest Basketball Conference before becoming a charter member of the NBL in 1937, and moved to Cleveland midway through the 1938-39 season after obtaining sponsorship from White Horse Motors.

The franchise spent one full NBL season as the Warren Penns and began a second season in Warren before relocating to Cleveland on February 10, 1939. The renamed Cleveland White Horses completed the season with a combined 14-14 record. Among the players who appeared for the organization were future Basketball Hall of Famer Buddy Jeannette, Bill Laughlin, Walter Stankey, Bill Holland, Frank Maury, Johnny Pawk and Reno Strand.

The Cleveland identity lasted only part of one season. Before the 1939-40 campaign, Archibald moved the organization again, this time to Detroit, where it became the Detroit Eagles. The Eagles continued in the NBL through 1940-41.

Professional Basketball in Warren, Pennsylvania

The roots of the Warren Penns extended well before the creation of the National Basketball League.

Warren, Pennsylvania, was a small industrial community located in the northwestern part of the state near the New York border. Like many cities throughout Pennsylvania and the Midwest during the 1920s and 1930s, Warren developed a strong tradition of independent and semi-professional basketball.

One of the central figures in that tradition was Gerald "Gerry" Archibald.

Gerry Archibald

Archibald was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, in 1907 before his family eventually settled in Warren.

Basketball was part of the Archibald family history from the very beginning of the sport. Gerry's father, Lyman Archibald, had been one of the players associated with James Naismith's earliest basketball classes in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Gerry Archibald developed into a prominent basketball figure in Warren, playing for and organizing several local teams.

His roles often extended far beyond simply playing. Archibald operated as an owner, general manager, coach and player, a combination that was not unusual in early professional basketball.

Early Warren Basketball Teams

Archibald played for several Warren-area clubs before the creation of the Penns.

His teams included the Warren Clothes Shop, Warren Crescents, Warren Merchants and Warren Transits.

By the middle of the 1930s, Archibald was associated with a team sponsored by the Hyvis Oil Corporation.

The club became known as the Warren Hyvis Oilers.

The Warren Hyvis Oilers

Hyvis Oil was a lubricant company that had relocated its operations to Warren.

Company sponsorship was extremely important to professional basketball during the 1930s.

Many of the strongest clubs were supported by industrial businesses that provided financial backing and sometimes employment for players.

The Akron Firestone Non-Skids, Akron Goodyear Wingfoots and Fort Wayne General Electrics were prominent examples.

Warren followed a similar model through Hyvis Oil.

The Midwest Basketball Conference

The Warren club joined the Midwest Basketball Conference for the 1936-37 season.

The MBC had been organized in 1935 as an attempt to create a more structured league for many of the industrial and independent teams operating throughout the Midwest.

Archibald served as the team's head coach while also remaining available as a player.

From the MBC to the NBL

After two seasons, the Midwest Basketball Conference was reorganized as the National Basketball League.

The NBL officially began play during the 1937-38 season.

The new league represented an important step toward fully professional basketball and eventually became one of the two leagues whose histories led directly to the formation of the NBA in 1949.

Warren became one of the NBL's original clubs.

Hyvis Oil Ends Its Sponsorship

The transition to the new professional league created a problem for Archibald.

Hyvis Oil ended its sponsorship of the basketball team before the inaugural NBL season.

Without the company name attached, the club became known simply as the Warren Penns.

Unlike many of its NBL rivals, Warren did not have the financial strength of a major industrial corporation behind it.

A Small-Market NBL Team

Warren was one of the smallest communities represented in the early NBL.

The league included teams connected to major corporations as well as clubs from cities such as Akron, Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and Oshkosh.

The Penns therefore faced substantial financial and competitive disadvantages from the beginning.

Beaty Junior High Gym

The Penns played their Warren home games at the gymnasium of Beaty Junior High School.

The building reportedly seated approximately 900 spectators.

Such a venue was typical of the early NBL, when professional teams frequently played in school gyms, armories, recreation centers and industrial facilities.

The league had not yet developed the large-arena model that later became common in the Basketball Association of America and NBA.

The 1937-38 Warren Penns

The first NBL season proved difficult for Warren.

The Penns finished with a 3-9 record, placing fifth in the Eastern Division.

Warren scored only 26.5 points per game, ranking near the bottom of the league.

The Penns allowed 38.6 points per game.

The large scoring differential reflected the challenges facing a small-market roster against better-financed opponents.

Frank Maury

Frank "X" Maury became Warren's leading scorer during the inaugural NBL season.

The guard appeared in all 12 games and scored 75 points.

His 6.3 points per game were significant in an era when team scoring totals were much lower than in modern basketball.

Maury remained with the organization during the following season and moved with the team to Cleveland.

Walter Stankey

Walter Stankey provided another important scoring option.

The forward-center appeared in nine games and scored 59 points, averaging approximately 6.6 points per game.

Stankey became even more productive during the following season.

Johnny Pawk

Johnny Pawk appeared in all 12 games during the 1937-38 season.

The forward scored 54 points and became another regular member of Archibald's rotation.

Jack Stirling

Center Jack Stirling appeared in six games and scored 36 points.

His six points per game made him one of Warren's more productive scorers when available.

Red Malackany

Guard Red Malackany played in 11 games and scored 34 points.

He was one of several regional players who helped form the core of Warren's first NBL roster.

Steve Pawk

Steve Pawk also appeared for the Penns.

The forward-center played six games and scored 21 points.

Other Warren Penns

Other players who appeared for Warren during the 1937-38 season included Emmett Morrison, Bill Holland, Stub Jacobson, Gerry Archibald and Bob Lytle.

Archibald himself appeared in seven games while simultaneously operating and coaching the team.

1937-38 Warren Penns Roster Leaders

The Unusual Early NBL

The 1937-38 National Basketball League was far less standardized than modern professional basketball.

There was no completely balanced league schedule, and teams played different numbers of games.

Some clubs played fewer than 10 league games while others played approximately 20.

Even the length and structure of games could vary depending on the home team's rules.

Some games were played with four 10-minute quarters, while others experimented with three 15-minute periods.

A Difficult Eastern Division

Warren competed against several strong teams in the Eastern Division.

The Akron Firestone Non-Skids finished 14-4, while the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots went 13-5.

The Pittsburgh Pirates also finished above .500.

Warren's 3-9 record left the Penns ahead of only Columbus Athletic Supply among the division's full-season teams.

No 1938 Playoff Appearance

The Penns did not qualify for the inaugural NBL playoffs.

The franchise therefore entered the 1938-39 season looking for both improved talent and stronger financial backing.

Archibald succeeded in improving the basketball team dramatically.

The 1938-39 Warren Penns

The second NBL season began much more successfully.

Warren added several talented players, including a young guard named Buddy Jeannette.

The improved roster turned the Penns from one of the league's weakest teams into a competitive Eastern Division club.

Buddy Jeannette

Harry "Buddy" Jeannette began his legendary professional basketball career with the Warren Penns during the 1938-39 season.

The guard had starred at Washington & Jefferson College and quickly demonstrated the passing, shooting and defensive ability that would later make him one of the finest guards of his era.

Jeannette appeared in 26 games for Warren and Cleveland and scored 173 points, averaging 6.7 per game.

A Future Hall of Famer

Jeannette's brief time with Warren and Cleveland was only the beginning of an extraordinary professional career.

He later starred with the Detroit Eagles, Sheboygan Red Skins and Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons.

Jeannette became a multiple-time All-NBL selection and won NBL championships with Sheboygan and Fort Wayne.

He later became player-coach of the Baltimore Bullets and led them to championships in both the American Basketball League and Basketball Association of America.

Jeannette was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994.

Bill Laughlin

Bill Laughlin became the leading scorer for the Warren/Cleveland club in 1938-39.

The forward appeared in 27 games and scored 232 points.

His 8.6 points per game led the team.

Walter Stankey's Big Season

Stankey improved dramatically in his second NBL season.

He played 27 games and scored 219 points, averaging 8.1 per game.

His ability to contribute both inside and away from the basket made him one of the club's most valuable players.

Bill Holland

Bill Holland became a full-time contributor after appearing only twice during the previous season.

He played 27 games and scored 180 points, averaging 6.7 per game.

Frank Maury Returns

Maury remained with Archibald's team and appeared in 27 games.

He scored 112 points.

Maury's two-season tenure made him one of the most consistent players associated with the Warren portion of the franchise's history.

Art Hyatt

Veteran guard Art Hyatt appeared in seven games during the 1938-39 season and averaged 5.3 points.

Hyatt had been a major college star at the University of Pittsburgh and brought experience to the club.

The Penns Start 9-5

The 1938-39 Penns began their season with a strong 9-5 record.

The improvement was enormous compared with the previous year's 3-9 finish.

For the first time, Archibald's team appeared capable of competing for a strong position in the Eastern Division.

Despite the success, the team's future in Warren remained uncertain.

Financial Reality in Warren

The Penns remained one of the NBL's least financially powerful clubs.

Warren's small population and modest gym capacity limited potential gate revenue.

Without a major corporate sponsor, Archibald had difficulty competing financially with industrial teams backed by companies such as Firestone and Goodyear.

The solution came from Cleveland.

White Horse Motors

During the 1938-39 season, Archibald secured sponsorship connected to White Horse Motors in Cleveland.

The new backing offered the organization the opportunity to move from Warren into a much larger metropolitan market.

Archibald accepted the opportunity.

The Move to Cleveland

On February 10, 1939, the Warren Penns relocated to Cleveland during the middle of the NBL season.

The franchise became known as the Cleveland White Horses.

The change was unusual by modern professional sports standards but was not unprecedented during early basketball history.

Franchises frequently changed sponsorships, cities and names with little notice.

A Midseason Relocation

The move is one of the more unusual relocations in NBL history because the team was actually playing well when it occurred.

Warren had reportedly built a 9-5 record before leaving Pennsylvania.

The relocation therefore was not simply an attempt to escape a terrible basketball situation.

It was primarily a financial and sponsorship decision.

The Cleveland White Horses

The newly renamed White Horses completed the 1938-39 schedule in Cleveland.

The club's results declined after the move.

After going 9-5 as the Penns, the team went approximately 5-9 following the relocation.

The combined Warren/Cleveland record was 14-14.

Third in the Eastern Division

The 14-14 record placed the White Horses third in the NBL Eastern Division.

Akron Firestone dominated the division with a 24-3 record.

Akron Goodyear and Cleveland both finished 14-14.

The Pittsburgh Pirates followed closely at 13-14.

No Playoff Berth

Despite finishing at .500, the Cleveland White Horses did not qualify for the NBL playoffs.

The league's postseason format allowed only a limited number of teams to advance.

As a result, the franchise's strongest NBL season still ended without a playoff appearance.

1938-39 Warren Penns / Cleveland White Horses Leaders

Offensive Improvement

The improvement between the two NBL seasons was substantial.

Warren averaged only 26.5 points per game in 1937-38.

The Warren/Cleveland team increased that figure to 36.7 points per game in 1938-39.

The additions of Laughlin and Jeannette, combined with larger roles for Stankey and Holland, gave the team significantly more scoring depth.

Defense Remains a Problem

The improved offense did not completely solve the team's problems.

Warren/Cleveland allowed 38.1 points per game.

The negative scoring differential helped explain why the team finished only .500 despite its improved talent.

Gerry Archibald as Coach

Archibald remained the head coach throughout both Warren seasons and the Cleveland portion of the 1938-39 season.

He also maintained his roles as owner and general manager.

His ability to keep a professional team operating despite the limited financial resources available in Warren was itself an accomplishment.

Archibald's Connection to Early Basketball History

The Archibald family provides one of the most unusual connections between the invention of basketball and early professional basketball.

Gerry's father, Lyman, had participated in basketball during James Naismith's Springfield years.

Nearly half a century later, Gerry was operating a professional team in one of the leagues that eventually helped create the NBA.

The White Horses Last Only Part of One Season

Cleveland's White Horses identity was extremely short-lived.

The team had arrived in February 1939 and finished the season in March.

Before the next NBL campaign began, Archibald decided to move the franchise again.

The Move to Detroit

For the 1939-40 NBL season, Archibald relocated the organization to Detroit, Michigan.

The White Horse sponsorship was dropped and the team was renamed the Detroit Eagles.

Archibald stopped playing but continued to operate and coach the franchise.

The move completed one of the quickest sequences of relocations in early professional basketball history: Warren to Cleveland to Detroit within approximately one year.

The Detroit Eagles

The move to Detroit immediately produced improved results.

The Eagles finished 17-11 in 1939-40 and reached the NBL playoffs.

Buddy Jeannette continued with the organization and began developing into one of the league's premier guards.

Detroit returned to the playoffs in 1940-41 before the Eagles themselves eventually ceased operations.

Franchise Lineage

Warren and Cleveland NBL Season Records

Warren/Cleveland NBL Record

Warren Penns Home Court

Notable Warren Penns / Cleveland White Horses Players

• Buddy Jeannette
• Bill Laughlin
• Walter Stankey
• Bill Holland
• Frank Maury
• Art Hyatt
• Johnny Pawk
• Reno Strand
• Gerry Archibald
• Jack Stirling
• Red Malackany
• Steve Pawk
• Emmett Morrison

Buddy Jeannette's Legacy

Jeannette is easily the most accomplished player associated with the Warren Penns and Cleveland White Horses.

His professional career began with Archibald's organization, but his greatest achievements came after leaving Cleveland.

Jeannette became one of professional basketball's premier guards during the 1940s.

He won championships in several leagues, earned repeated All-NBL recognition and became one of the earliest successful player-coaches.

His Hall of Fame career gives the Warren/Cleveland franchise an important connection to basketball history far beyond its modest win-loss record.

Bill Laughlin's 1938-39 Season

Laughlin may not possess Jeannette's historical fame, but he was the leading scorer on the franchise's strongest Warren/Cleveland team.

His 232 points led the club and represented one of the largest offensive totals recorded by a player in franchise history.

Walter Stankey's Importance

Stankey was one of the few important players to contribute substantially during both NBL seasons.

He improved from 59 points during the inaugural campaign to 219 in 1938-39.

His development mirrored the improvement of the team itself.

Frank Maury's Continuity

Maury also remained with the organization through its Warren seasons and the move to Cleveland.

He led the inaugural Penns in total scoring and remained a regular the following year.

His 39 combined NBL appearances represented one of the largest totals accumulated by a player during the Warren/Cleveland portion of the franchise's history.

Why Warren Lost the Team

The move from Warren was largely the result of economics rather than basketball failure.

The team had actually improved dramatically and reportedly possessed a 9-5 record at the time of its relocation.

However, operating without significant corporate backing in a town of Warren's size made professional basketball financially difficult.

White Horse Motors offered Archibald the sponsorship and larger market that he could not find locally.

The Importance of Corporate Sponsorship

The history of the Penns illustrates how dependent early professional basketball was on businesses.

The NBL included several teams whose identities were directly connected to corporations.

Firestone, Goodyear and General Electric supported some of the league's best organizations.

When Warren lost Hyvis Oil sponsorship, its financial position weakened considerably.

The later White Horse Motors arrangement temporarily solved that problem but required the franchise to leave Warren.

Why Cleveland Lasted Only a Few Months

Cleveland offered a larger market, but the White Horses had little time to establish an audience.

The team arrived in February and completed only the final portion of the NBL season there.

Archibald soon identified another opportunity in Detroit.

As a result, the White Horses became one of the shortest-lived team identities in NBL history.

The NBL Before the NBA

The Penns and White Horses existed during a period when professional basketball remained highly unstable.

Teams could relocate during seasons, switch sponsors, change names and withdraw from leagues with relatively little advance notice.

Franchise identities were often tied more closely to owners and sponsors than to cities.

The Warren-Cleveland-Detroit organization is a particularly strong example of that reality.

The Connection to the Modern NBA

Neither the Warren Penns nor Cleveland White Horses survived long enough to become NBA franchises.

The National Basketball League nevertheless became a direct predecessor of the NBA.

In the late 1940s, several NBL clubs moved to the Basketball Association of America.

The remaining NBL and BAA organizations then came together in 1949 under the National Basketball Association name.

Teams such as the Fort Wayne Pistons, Rochester Royals, Minneapolis Lakers and Syracuse Nationals carried the NBL's legacy into the NBA.

Warren's Place in Professional Basketball History

Warren never again became a major professional basketball market.

The city's role in the inaugural NBL season nevertheless gives it a permanent place in the history of the professional game.

For one full season and part of another, a town of modest size competed in the same league as some of the organizations that eventually helped establish the NBA.

Cleveland Basketball Before the BAA

The White Horses were also an early chapter in Cleveland professional basketball history.

The city later hosted the Cleveland Rebels during the first Basketball Association of America season in 1946-47.

Cleveland would host several additional professional clubs before the NBA's Cavaliers were established in 1970.

The White Horses therefore form part of a much longer and more complicated professional basketball tradition in northeast Ohio.

Franchise Timeline

An Unusual Franchise Journey

Few professional basketball organizations changed identities as quickly as Archibald's club.

The organization had evolved from the Warren Hyvis Oilers into the Warren Penns, moved to Cleveland as the White Horses and then moved again to Detroit as the Eagles.

All of those changes took place during an era before professional basketball franchises developed the permanent geographic identities associated with modern sports.

The Warren Years

The Warren portion of the story represents the club's grassroots beginnings.

Archibald had spent years organizing teams in the community before entering a national professional league.

Without wealthy corporate ownership, he successfully placed Warren into the inaugural NBL despite the city's small size.

The first season was difficult, but the roster improved dramatically in year two.

The Cleveland Experiment

The Cleveland White Horses were essentially an attempt to give a rapidly improving basketball team a more sustainable financial environment.

The new sponsorship and larger city provided greater potential, but the move came too late in the season for the team to establish a strong Cleveland identity.

Only a few months later, the organization was moving again.

The Detroit Continuation

The move to Detroit demonstrated that Archibald's basic basketball operation remained viable even if its location did not.

The Eagles improved immediately and reached the playoffs in both of their NBL seasons.

Buddy Jeannette continued developing there before becoming one of the greatest guards of the pre-NBA era.

Legacy of the Warren Penns and Cleveland White Horses

The Warren Penns and Cleveland White Horses occupy a small but fascinating place in professional basketball history.

The organization grew from a series of independent Warren teams built by Gerry Archibald and entered the Midwest Basketball Conference as the Warren Hyvis Oilers.

When Hyvis withdrew its sponsorship, Archibald kept the team alive as the Warren Penns and brought it into the newly formed National Basketball League in 1937.

The inaugural NBL season was difficult. Warren finished 3-9 and possessed one of the league's weakest offenses.

Frank Maury led the team in scoring, while Walter Stankey, Johnny Pawk, Jack Stirling and others formed the core of the roster.

The second season brought dramatic improvement.

Bill Laughlin became the leading scorer, Stankey developed into a major offensive contributor and future Hall of Famer Buddy Jeannette began his professional career in Warren.

The Penns reportedly opened the season 9-5.

Basketball success, however, could not completely overcome the financial limitations of operating a professional team in Warren without major corporate backing.

Archibald secured sponsorship in Cleveland and moved the club there on February 10, 1939.

Renamed the Cleveland White Horses, the team completed the season with a combined Warren/Cleveland record of 14-14.

The White Horses never reached the playoffs and existed under that name for only part of a season.

The franchise moved to Detroit before the next campaign and became the Eagles, beginning another chapter in the organization's unusual history.

Across their two seasons representing Warren and Cleveland, the Penns and White Horses went 17-23.

Their statistical record was modest, but their historical connections were significant.

Warren was part of the first National Basketball League season. Cleveland briefly provided the team with corporate sponsorship and a larger market. Buddy Jeannette began a Hall of Fame professional career with the organization, while Gerry Archibald connected the team through his family to the earliest days of basketball itself.

Most importantly, the franchise demonstrates just how different professional basketball was before the NBA. Teams could be built around local businessmen, lose sponsors, relocate in the middle of a season and appear under several identities within only a few years.

The Warren Penns and Cleveland White Horses were products of that era and remain an important part of the complicated history that eventually produced modern professional basketball.