Joseph Carr, who was in 1925 the president of then-new National Football League, organized the ABL from nine of the best independent pro teams from the East and the Midwest.
Other teams were the Boston Whirlwinds, Brooklyn Arcadians, Buffalo Bisons, Detroit Pulaski Post Five, Fort Wayne Hoosiers, and Rochester Centrals.
The Boston Whirlwinds, in conflict with the other owners over the status of the Celtics, refused to take part in the second half of the season and dropped out of the league.
The ABL also eliminated the double dribble, which was done to encourage many of the game's top college stars to play in the league.
They could either join the American Basketball League, or they could try and schedule games against lesser competition, thus possibly losing out on drawing bigger crowds.
Honey Russell, without a doubt the team's top star, got into a dispute with owner Max Rosenblum, thus leading to his contract being sold to Chicago.
Cleveland also lost Vic Hanson, who had been one of the top college stars, but did not like the rough style of the pro level, and also did not care for the overall lack of playing time he was getting.
Joe Lapchick, Nat Holman, Pete Berry, Dutch Dehnert and Davey Banks led the New York Celtics to a 40–9 record.
John J. O'Brien the League's president, took the viewpoint that the "Great Depression" economic / financial slump would not last long, and the ABL continued business as usual.
However, the players were quickly becoming past their prime, and Nat Holman didn't play weekend games because he was a coach for the City College of New York.
During the 1930–31 season, Max Rosenblum shocked the world of basketball when he announced that his Cleveland team would cease operations.
George Halas at the end of the season, opted to fold his struggling Chicago Bruins club, and Toledo, which featured three former Celtics stars (Denhert, Lapchick, and Berry) shockingly finished in last place, with a record of four wins and eleven losses.