The Washington Capitols were a former

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 ...

(forerunner of 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 ...

) team based in Washington, D.C. from 1946 to 1951. The team was coached from 1946 to 1949 by NBA Hall of Famer

Red Auerbach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. He served as a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Boston Celtics. ...

History

The team was founded in 1946 as a charter BAA team; it became a charter NBA team in 1949. It folded on January 9, 1951 (with a 10–25 record). The Capitols were one of seven teams that quickly left the NBA: The NBA contracted after the 1949-1950 season, losing six teams: The

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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,

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 folded as well, bringing the number of teams in the league down to ten.

Earl Lloyd Earl Francis Lloyd (April 3, 1928 – February 26, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He was the first African American player to play a game in the National Basketball Association (NBA). An All–American player at ...

, the first African American athlete to play for an NBA team, debuted for the Capitols at Uline Arena on October 31, 1950. The franchise played the 1951–52 season in the American Basketball League, but the team folded again in January, 1952. The teams wore green and white. The NBA returned to the Washington, D.C. area in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

, when the Baltimore Bullets became the Capital Bullets, now known as the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

. The Capitols' 81.7 win percentage in the BAA's inaugural season was the highest in the NBA until surpassed by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1966–67. The Capitols captured two Divisional Championships: ( 1946–47 and 1948–49) and made the playoffs in (

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

tie-breaker,

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

and

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

Winning streaks

The Washington Capitols are also noteworthy for two long win streaks during their short history. In 1946, the Capitols won 17 straight games — a single season streak that remained the NBA's longest until 1969. The 15–0 start of the 1948–49 team was the best in NBA history until the

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 ...

broke it in 2015–16 by starting 24-0, though the

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had previously tied the Capitols' record in 1993–94.

The arena

The Capitols played in historic Uline Arena, located at 1132, 1140, and 1146 3rd St. NE, Washington, District of Columbia. The capacity was 7,500. The facility still exists and has been repurposed into retail and office space.

Players of note

Basketball Hall of Fame

Notes: * ¹ Lloyd was inducted as a contributor as the first African American player and bench coach in the NBA.

Notable alumni

Gene Gallette Eugene Henry Gallette (February 22, 1919 - November 19, 1976) was a professional basketball player. He spent one season in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) as a member of the Washington Capitols The Washington Capitols were a former ...

(1946–1947) * Jack Nichols (1949–1950) *

Don Otten Donald Frederick Otten (April 18, 1921 – September 18, 1985) was an American professional basketball player. A 6'10" center from Bellefontaine High School (Ohio) and Bowling Green State University, Otten began his professional career in 1946 w ...

(1949–1951) *

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 i ...

(1946–1951)

Leading scorers by season

*1947 –

Bob Feerick Robert Joseph Feerick (January 2, 1920 – June 8, 1976) was an American professional basketball player, coach and general manager. He was born in San Francisco, California. Playing career A 6'3" guard from Santa Clara University, Feerick played ...

– 16.8 ppg *1948 – Bob Feerick – 16.1 ppg *1949 – Bob Feerick – 13.0 ppg *1950 –

– 14.9 ppg (in 18 games. Jack Nichols scored 13.1 over 49 games, but

scored the most points, with 860 in 66 games.) *1951 –

Bill Sharman William Walton Sharman (May 25, 1926 – October 25, 2013) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is mostly known for his time with the Boston Celtics in the 1950s, partnering with Bob Cousy in what was then considered ...

– 12.2 ppg

Coaches and others

*1947–1949 –

*1950 –

– player-coach *1951 – Bones McKinney – player-coach *1950 –

– first African American to play in the NBA

Season-by-season records

The inaugural 1947 BAA Playoffs did not establish Eastern and Western champions and generated one finalist from the East, one from the West, only by coincidence. Washington and Chicago won the Eastern and Western Divisions and met in a best-of-seven series to determine one league championship finalist. (Washington lost the first two games, both at home, by 16 points each and lost the series four games to two; every game but the last was decided by at least 10 points.) Meanwhile, four runners-up played best-of-three matches to determine the other finalist. Philadelphia, second in the East, won that runners-up bracket and defeated Chicago in a best-of-seven series to win the BAA championship."1946–47 BAA Season Summary"
Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-03-01. The Capitols folded midway during the season on January 9, 1951.

References

External links

Team page
at Basketball-reference.com {{NBAdefunct Defunct National Basketball Association teams Basketball Association of America teams Basketball teams in Washington, D.C. Basketball teams established in 1946 Basketball teams disestablished in 1951 1946 establishments in Washington, D.C. 1951 disestablishments in Washington, D.C.