Louisville Alumnites were a team in the National Professional Basketball League (1950-1951), based in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...

History

The

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

contracted after the 1949–1950 season, losing six teams: The

Anderson Packers The Anderson Packers, also known as the Anderson Duffey Packers and the Chief Anderson Meat Packers, were a professional basketball team based in Anderson, Indiana, in the 1940s and 1950s. The team was founded and owned by brothers Ike Duffey, Ik ...

Sheboygan Red Skins The Sheboygan Red Skins (or Redskins) was a professional basketball team based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, which was an original National Basketball Association franchise during the 1949–1950 season. History Overview The Redskins played in th ...

and

Waterloo Hawks The Waterloo Hawks were a National Basketball League and National Basketball Association team based in Waterloo, Iowa. The Hawks remain the only sports franchise ever based in Iowa from any of the current Big Four Leagues. Franchise history ...

jumped to the NPBL, while the

Chicago Stags The Chicago Stags were a National Basketball Association team based in Chicago from 1946 to 1950. History 1946–47 season In the BAA's inaugural year, the Chicago Stags were placed in the Western Division, and after 60 games were tied with the ...

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

and St. Louis Bombers folded. The league went from 17 teams to 11 before the 1950–1951 season started. Midway through the 1950–1951 season, the

Washington Capitols The Washington Capitols were a former Basketball Association of America (forerunner of the National Basketball Association) team based in Washington, D.C. from 1946 to 1951. The team was coached from 1946 to 1949 by NBA Hall of Famer Red Auerb ...

folded as well, bringing the number of teams in the league down to ten. The National Professional Basketball League was formed around the former NBA teams, with teams added in new larger markets. The charter teams were the East Division: Sheboygan Redskins (Former NBA),

(Former NBA), Louisville Alumnites and

Grand Rapids Hornets Grand Rapids Hornets were a franchise for one season (1950) in the National Professional Basketball League, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. History The National Basketball Association contracted after the 1949–1950 season, losing six teams: T ...

. West Division: Denver Refiners/ Evansville Agogans, Saint Paul Lights, Kansas City Hi-Spots and

(Former NBA). The Alumnites competed in the Eastern Division of the NPBL. They compiled a record of 18 wins and 17 losses (.514), and finished in second place in the Eastern Division behind the Sheboygan Redskins (at 29–16, .644). The Alumnites were coached by Walt Kolish and were one of only three teams in the NPBL to finish with a winning record, the other two being the Sheboygan Redskins and the Western Division's

(32-24, .571). The Alumnites folded during the season, after their February 11, 1950 game, a fate shared by the

, St. Paul Lights and Kansas City Hi-Spots. After the demise of the Alumnites, professional basketball did not return to Louisville until the

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...

became a charter member of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...

in 1967.

The arena

The Alumnites played at the

Louisville Male High School Louisville Male Traditional High School is a public co-ed secondary school serving students in grades 9 through 12 in the southside of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. It is part of the Jefferson County Public School District. History Ninth and Che ...

Gymnasium. The gym is still in use and the facility it is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

. The location is 911 South Brook Street; Brook Street & Breckinridge Street. The school moved to a new location in 1991. The facility is owned and operated by the Salvation Army. Louisville Male High School, old building

Louisville Male High School, old building

Notable alumni

* Joe Graboski *

Stan Miasek Stanley Miasek (August 8, 1924 – October 18, 1989) was an American professional basketball player. A 6'5" forward, Miasek played six seasons (1946–1950; 1951–1953) in the Basketball Association of America and National Basketball Associ ...

Mike Novak Michael Donald Novak (April 23, 1915 – August 15, 1978) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the NBL, BAA, and NBA from 1939 to 1954. A 6'9" center from Loyola University Chicago, he was one of the first prominent "big ...

* Bill Roberts * Don Ray *

Kenny Rollins Kenneth Herman Rollins (September 14, 1923 – October 9, 2012) was an American professional basketball player. He competed at the 1948 London Olympics and was a member of the University of Kentucky's "Fabulous Five" who won the 1948 NCAA tourn ...

* Odie Spears

External links

Extinct Sports Leagues site on the National Professional Basketball League

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References

Defunct basketball teams in Kentucky Defunct sports teams in Louisville, Kentucky Basketball teams established in 1950 Sports clubs disestablished in 1951 National Professional Basketball League (1950–51) 1950 establishments in Kentucky 1951 disestablishments in Kentucky {{Louisville-sport-stub

History

The arena

Notable alumni

See also

External links