Louisville Alumnites were a team in the

National Professional Basketball League (1950-1951) There have been two professional basketball leagues known as the National Professional Basketball League. *National Professional Basketball League (1950–51) The National Professional Basketball League (NPBL) was a professional basketball leagu ...

, 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 border ...

History

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 St ...

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 W. and Jo ...

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 and

St. Louis Bombers The St. Louis Bombers were a National Basketball Association team based in St. Louis from 1946 to 1950. Franchise history The St. Louis Bombers were originally part of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946. The BAA merged wit ...

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 Auerbac ...

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 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 ...

(Former NBA),

(Former NBA), Louisville Alumnites and Grand Rapids Hornets. West Division:

Denver Refiners The Denver Refiners were a professional basketball team who played in Denver, Colorado, in 1950–1951 and were a member of the Western Division of the National Professional Basketball League, which lasted one season. History The National Basket ...

Evansville Agogans :''Also see: Sports in Evansville''. The Evansville Agogans were a professional basketball team who played in Evansville, Indiana, in 1951 and were a member of the Western Division of the National Professional Basketball League (1950–1951), Natio ...

Saint Paul Lights The St. Paul Lights were a franchise for the one season (1950) of the National Professional Basketball League, based in St. Paul, Minnesota. History The National Basketball Association contracted after the 1949–1950 season, losing six teams: ...

Kansas City Hi-Spots The Kansas City Hi-Spots were a franchise for one season (1950-1951) in the National Professional Basketball League, based in Kansas City, Missouri. History The National Basketball Association contracted after the 1949-1950 season, losing six te ...

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

(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

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 Grand Rapids Hornets, St. Paul Lights and

. After the demise of the Alumnites, professional basketball did not return to Louisville until the Kentucky Colonels became a charter member of the American Basketball Association 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 Ches ...

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 artistic ...

. 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 Joseph W. Graboski (January 15, 1930 – July 2, 1998) was an American professional basketball player. He spent 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the third player to enter the NBA without having played in college: ( T ...

* Stan Miasek *

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 Marion Odicea "Odie" Spears (June 17, 1924 – March 28, 1985) was an American basketball player. A 6'5" guard from Scottsville, Kentucky, Spears attended nearby Western Kentucky University but saw little playing time during his first two ...

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