The Baltimore Bullets were a professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team based in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. The Bullets competed in the American Basketball League (1944–1947), the

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA absorbed most of National Basketball League (NBL) and rebranded as the National Ba ...

(1947–1949), and (following the BAA's absorption of the National Basketball League) the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(1949–1954). On November 27, 1954, the team folded with a 3–11 record, making the Bullets the last NBA franchise to fold. Out of all defunct NBA teams, the Bullets were members of the association for the longest time and the only defunct team to win a championship. The Bullets name was revived in 1963, when the former Chicago Zephyrs relocated to Baltimore; even after these Bullets relocated to Washington in 1973, they kept their name for 24 more years until they were renamed to the Wizards.

Franchise history

ABL (1944–1947)

The Baltimore Bullets began play in 1944 as an American Basketball Association (ABL) team. The Bullets acquired their name in reference to the Phoenix Shot Tower. In the ABL, Baltimore reached the championship round all three seasons, winning the ABL title in 1946. The Bullets won a division title in 1947, but forfeited that season's championship in favor of playing in the

World Professional Basketball Tournament The World Professional Basketball Tournament was an annual invitational tournament held in Chicago from 1939 to 1948 and sponsored by the '' Chicago Herald American''. Many teams came from the National Basketball League, but it also included the b ...

(the Bullets' second appearance in the tournament).

BAA/NBA (1947–1954)

The Bullets moved to the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1947, and won the 1948 championship over the Philadelphia Warriors (now

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

). In 1949, the BAA absorbed the National Basketball League (NBL), and became the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Bullets struggled on the court after their championship season, and never posted another winning record. In 1954,

Ray Felix Raymond Darlington Felix (December 10, 1930 – July 28, 1991) was an American professional basketball player. He was born in New York City. He played high school basketball at Metropolitan High School in New York and college basketball at Long I ...

won the

NBA Rookie of the Year Award The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottl ...

and became the second African-American to be named an All-Star. Felix was traded to the

Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

on September 17, 1954, and on November 27, the Bullets became the last NBA franchise to fold.

Season-by-season records

Notes

List of notable personnel

Players

Coaches

* Ben Kramer * Red Rosan *

Buddy Jeannette Harry Edward "Buddy" Jeannette (September 15, 1917 – March 11, 1998) was an American professional basketball player and coach. Jeannette was widely regarded as the premier backcourt player between 1938 and 1948. He was named to the First T ...

Walt Budko Walter L. Budko Jr. (July 30, 1925 – May 25, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. He played collegiately for Columbia University. He was selected by the Baltimore Bullets with the sixth overall pick of the 1948 BAA draft. He ...

Fred Scolari Fred Joseph Scolari (March 1, 1922 – October 17, 2002) was an American professional basketball player. At 5'10", he played the point guard position. Though he was blind in one eye, deaf in one ear and often overweight, "Fat Freddie" excelled ...

* Chick Reiser *

Clair Bee Clair Francis Bee (March 2, 1896 – May 20, 1983) was an American basketball coach who led the team at Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York to undefeated seasons in 1936 and 1939, as well as two National Invitation Tournament titles in ...

* Albert Barthelme

Basketball Hall of Fame members

Notes: * ¹ He also coached the team in 1947–1951

Draft

References

Basketball Association of America teams American Basketball League (1925–1955) teams 1944 establishments in Maryland 1954 disestablishments in Maryland Basketball teams established in 1944 Basketball teams disestablished in 1954 Defunct National Basketball Association teams {{Maryland-basketball-team-stub