The 1943 arrival of the US Naval and Air Force units stationed in Derry and Belfast initiated a phase of significant growth in irish Basketball . Many games were hosted at the naval military stations as well as on board aircraft carriers and other vessels in the ports starting in the the 1940's. After winning the All Ireland Blitz in 1957, it appears that the US naval team in Derry (known as the Derry Dolphins) may have become one of the first super teams in Ireland as seen in the picture (below)
of their haul of trophies from around 1965. This included the Roy Curtis Tournament trophy (Dublin), the Arbutus Cup (Killarney) , the Queens Blitz (Belfast) and the Cork Lota Tournament championships. The Navy team continued to compete at the upper echelon of Irish and International basketball up thru the early 1970's
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Programme from 1968-1969 Naval Station XMAS Tournament
(Alconbury England)
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1969 International Exhibition Game
US Navy Derry Dolphins hosts Slovan Orbus ( Prague)
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1969 Glen Abbey Tournament
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1969 Tournament in Tralee
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