Team Talbot, Guildford

Team Talbot, Guildford was an English basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (NBL) for three seasons between 1979 and 1982, until the club moved to play in Bracknell.

Team Talbot, Guildford was formed as the Southern Pirates, by Brian Naysmith and was based in Portsmouth, where the club had strong ties to the Southern Grammar School for Boys. In 1957 Naysmith had started working at Southern as a PE teacher. He revived the school’s Basketball program, making it a major sport in the school. Matches were arranged both locally but also nationally. From next to nothing Mr Naysmith made the team a powerful force at both county and National Level. The pinnacle of their success was in 1971 when the Southern Grammar School for Boys won the Schools (U-18 men) Championship Cup beating Kings Norton Boys School, Birmingham. The Kings Norton team of that era included Steve Assinder a GB and England International who played for Team Fiat. Additionally in 1971 the English Basket Ball Association’s Junior Men’s final Southern Pirates defeated Doncaster Panthers 72-39. At that time Barry Hitchcock (who would be the coach of Team Talbot, Guildford) was a PE teacher at Southern, whilst two of the pupils Brian Hirschfield and Steven Bowden would go on to play for Team Talbot, Guildford in the NBL.

In 1975 the Grammar school was turned into a comprehensive and Brian Naysmith was appointed to be Director of Sport at the University of Surrey at Guildford and his basketball club followed him. The move coincided with the expansion of the National Basketball League (NBL) to include a second division, which Guildford Pirates entered. Although they won only three games and finished sixth out of seven teams. In some ways, it was a case of what might have been, as Guildford’s nine losses included six games lost by just 1 or 2 points. At the end of the season Guildford dropped out of the NBL.

After three years in the county leagues, Guildford Pirates rejoined the second division of the NBL for 1978-79 season. This was a much more successful campaign and Guildford ended the season as champions of the Second Division, with a 15-3 record. At that time, however, there was no automatic promotion or relegation between the two divisions of the NBL, so Guildford had to wait for an invitation to join the top tier, which duly arrived.

Key Players

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