Founded 1954 | ||
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Doncaster panthers feb 1996
The Doncaster Panthers Basketball Club was established in 1954 by Morris Wordsworth and played out of Balby High School Gym in their formative years and gained entry to the elite National Basketball League (NBL) in 1973 playing as Wilson Panthers. This was the NBL's second year of its existence and in 1987 it became the British Basketball League (BBL). After competing professionally, the team withdrew from the NBL in 1985. In the NBL the Panthers played out of Adwick Leisure Centre, Doncaster and later out of The Concord Sports Centre, Sheffield.
During their 12 years in the NBL the Panthers (Men), playing as Team Ziebart, won the NBL and National Cup in season 1978-79, and were National Cup finalists playing as John Carr Panthers, for the next two seasons. They represented England Basketball (EB) in the ' Jones Cup' International Tournament in Taiwan (1980), participated in the European Cup Winners Cup (1979-80 and 1980-81), made two tours of the mid-west USA (1981 and 1982), organised and participated in the South Yorkshire International Tournament (1976-84), played in an International Tournament in Berlin, Germany (1984) and various other tournaments throughout the UK and Ireland.
The Panthers also ran a successful Junior team programme, winning the National Cup in 1972 and 1975 and were Finalists on two other occasions.
The Doncaster Panthers Women's section was formed 1965 and are still in existence to date, participating at National League level at various age groups.
The Doncaster Eagles joined the NBL Division 2 in 1989 and were promoted within a year to NBL Division 1, the second-tier league after the newly established BBL. In 1992, the team with the co-operation of Morris Wordsworth, renamed to Doncaster Panthers and the following season joined the BBL. After three years in the elite league, the team withdrew due to financial difficulty and never returned to the league. The Panthers played out of The Dome Leisure Centre, Doncaster and competed professionally from 1993 to 1996 .
Doncaster Panthers Basketball Club
All-time playing record 1954-1980 Panthers Men
In the 26 campaigns the Panthers played 1457 games winning 1084 and losing 373