The Doncaster Panthers Basketball Club was established in 1954 by Morris Wordsworth and played out of Balby High School Gym in their formative years, then at various centres in Doncaster. Initially the team participated in an Anglo-American League based in a hanger on Doncaster Airport (where The Dome Leisure Centre is now) and the Sheffield and District League. In 1957, the Doncaster and District Basketball Association was formed with a League comprising seven teams.
In 1960, the Panthers participated in an International Basketball Tournament in Dublin. In 1961 and 1964, the Panthers played exhibition matches against US Menwith Hill of Harrogate and RAF Bomber Command respectively in the Doncaster Corn Exchange (no mean feat) and in 1965 played against St. Germain in France being the s...