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 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 ...

(BAA) in 1946. The BAA merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1949 to become the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Bombers were one of seven teams that quickly left the NBA. The NBA contracted after the 1949–50 season, losing six of its 17 teams. The Anderson Packers, Sheboygan Red Skins 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,

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 Bombers folded. Midway through the 1950–51 season, the Washington Capitols folded as well, bringing the number of teams in the league down to ten. The NBA would return to St. Louis in 1955 when the Milwaukee Hawks became the St. Louis Hawks. Ed Macauley would end up back in St. Louis in a deal that sent Bill Russell to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

, and played a key role in the Hawks 1958 NBA championship. The Hawks have played in their current home of Atlanta since 1968.

Arena

The Bombers played at the

St. Louis Arena St. Louis Arena (known as the Checkerdome from 1977 to 1983) was an indoor arena in St. Louis, Missouri. The country's second-largest indoor entertainment venue when it opened in 1929, it was home to the St. Louis Blues and other sports franchis ...

. The arena was torn down in 1999.

Notable alumni

Players

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

Season-by-season record

* The

1948 BAA Playoffs The 1948 BAA playoffs was the postseason tournament following the Basketball Association of America 1947–48 season. Following its third, 1948–49 season, the BAA and National Basketball League merged to create the National Basketball Assoc ...

did not establish Eastern and Western finalists and generated one finalist from the East, one from the West, only by coincidence. Philadelphia and St. Louis were the finalists from the Eastern and Western divisions and met in a best-of-seven series to determine one league championship finalist."1947–48 BAA Season Summary"
Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-03-01. * The

1949 BAA Playoffs The 1949 BAA playoffs was the postseason tournament following the Basketball Association of America 1948–49 season, its third and last. Later that year the BAA and National Basketball League merged to create the National Basketball Associati ...

matched Eastern teams exclusively, and Western teams exclusively, so that the league semifinals generated Eastern and Western finalists as well as championship finalists.

References

{{NBAdefunct Defunct National Basketball Association teams Bombers Basketball Association of America teams Basketball teams established in 1946 Basketball teams disestablished in 1950 1946 establishments in Missouri 1950 disestablishments in Missouri