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1946–47 BAA Season
The 1946–47 BAA season was the inaugural season of the Basketball Association of America. The league launched with 11 teams playing a 60-game schedule. The postseason tournament (the 1947 BAA Playoffs) at its conclusion, ended with the Philadelphia Warriors becoming the first BAA Champion, beating the Chicago Stags 4 games to 1 in the BAA Finals. Following its third, the 1948–49 season, the BAA and National Basketball League merged to create the National Basketball Association or NBA. The NBA recognizes the three BAA seasons as part of its own history, sometimes without comment, so the 1946–47 BAA season is sometimes considered the first NBA season. By 1951, only three original BAA teams were still in the NBA: the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Philadelphia Warriors (now in San Francisco as the Golden State Warriors). All members of the inaugural Western Division had folded by 1950, with three of them lasting one season ( Detroit Falcons, Pittsburgh Ironmen, Cle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 merged with the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball League (NBL) to form the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Philadelphia Warriors won the inaugural List of NBA champions, BAA championship in 1947, followed by the Baltimore Bullets (1944–54), Baltimore Bullets and the Minneapolis Lakers in 1948 and 1949, respectively. Six teams from the BAA remain in operation in the NBA as of the 2024–25 NBA season, 2024–25 season, three that co-founded the league in 1946 (Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, and Philadelphia Warriors) and three that joined it from the NBL in 1948 (Fort Wayne Pistons, Minneapolis Lakers, and Rochester Royals). The 1946–47 BAA season, inaugural BAA season began with 11 teams, of which four dropped out before the second season. One team joined from the American B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in the world. The league is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The NBA was created on August 3, 1949, with the merger of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball League (NBL). The league later adopted the BAA's history and considers its founding on June 6, 1946, as its own. In 1976, the NBA and the American Basketball Association (ABA) ABA–NBA merger, merged, adding four franchises to the NBA. The NBA's regular season runs from October to April, with each team playing 82 games. The NBA playoffs, league's playoff tournament extends into June, culminating with the NBA Finals championship series. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 at the old French Hospital, attended Star of the Sea Catholic school and old Lowell High school. Playing career A 6'3" guard from Santa Clara University, Feerick played for the Washington Capitols from 1946 to 1950, the NBA's first four seasons of existence (the league was known as the Basketball Association of America during the first three). Playing under coach Red Auerbach, he was named to the All-NBA first team in 1947 and 1948 after averaging 16.8 (second in the league behind Joe Fulks's 23.1) and 16.1 points per game respectively. In 1949, the league's first season as the newly formed NBA, the Capitols named Feerick player-coach. In 221 games, he scored 2936 points for an average of 13.3 per game. Post-playing years After his short professional career, Feerick returned to Santa Clara as head coach of its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Providence Steamrollers
The Providence Steamrollers were a Basketball Association of America team based in Providence, Rhode Island. As of 2025, the Steamrollers were the last professional sports franchise from one of the Big Four leagues to be based in Rhode Island. Franchise history The Steamrollers were one of the original eleven NBA franchises (when the league was called the Basketball Association of America). The franchise posted an all-time record of 46–122 (.274) before folding after three seasons. The Steamrollers still hold the dubious NBA record for the fewest games won in a season with six, in the 1947–48 season, paired with 42 losses. However, the 2011–2012 Charlotte Bobcats hold the record for the lowest winning percentage in NBA history, with .106, the result of a 7–59 record. During that 1947–48 season, the Steamrollers' coach Nat Hickey activated himself as a player for two games, the second of which was two days before his 46th birthday, setting a still-standing record ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernie Calverley
Ernest A. Calverley (January 30, 1924 – October 20, 2003) was an American professional basketball player. He was an All-American while playing for the University of Rhode Island. He played professionally with the Providence Steamrollers of the Basketball Association of America for three seasons from 1946 to 1949. Calverley led the league in assists and was an All-BAA Second Team selection in his first season in the league. College career Calverley was retroactively declared the men's basketball season scoring leader for 1944. But Calverley was most notable for one particular shot. Dubbed the "shot heard round the world", it was a midcourt shot from 62 feet away, as time expired at Madison Square Garden in the 1946 National Invitation Tournament against Bowling Green to tie the game and send it to overtime. Even after 50 years, he stated that he didn't think it was going to go in, as he had to make sure it did not hit the scoreboard while shooting with both hands. Rhode Islan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ossie Schectman
Oscar Benjamin "Ossie" Schectman (March 30, 1919 – July 30, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. He is credited with having scored the first basket in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which would later become the National Basketball Association (NBA). Early life and career Schectman was born on March 30, 1919, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia. He had three siblings. He played basketball and baseball while attending Samuel J. Tilden High School in Brooklyn, New York, and played under coach Clair Bee at Long Island University. He was a member of the team in 1939, when they won the National Invitation Tournament and National Championship. He was named to the Converse All-American first team in 1941. Professional career Philadelphia Sphas (1941–1946) After obtaining his degree from LIU, Schectman played for Eddie Gottlieb's Philadelphia Sphas in the American Basketball League. The Sphas joined the ABL ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church and Wellesley, Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was originally constructed in 1931 as an indoor arena to host ice hockey games. Considered one of the "cathedrals" of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1931 to 1999. The Leafs won the Stanley Cup 11 times from 1932 to 1967 while playing at the Gardens. The first NHL All-Star Game, albeit Ace Bailey Benefit Game, an unofficial one, was held at the Gardens in 1934 as a benefit for Leafs forward Ace Bailey, who had suffered a career-ending head injury. The first official annual National Hockey League All-Star Game was also held at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1947. It was home to the Toronto Huskies (1946–1947) in their single season in the Basketball Association of America (a forerunner of the National Basketball Association), the Toronto Marlboros of the Onta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toronto Huskies
The Toronto Huskies were a team in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which was a forerunner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), during the 1946–47 season. They were based in Toronto. The team compiled a 22–38 win–loss record in its only season before disbanding in the summer of 1947. Franchise history In 1946, a group of owners and operators of some of the larger arenas in America held a meeting in New York, to establish the Basketball Association of America (now the NBA). The majority of the would-be basketball owners were involved with the National Hockey League and wanted to fill empty dates. The only Canadian delegation invited was from Maple Leaf Gardens: Frank Selke Sr., who was in charge of the Gardens while Conn Smythe was overseas, got in touch with Ben Newman (who had coached two Canadian national championship teams and had staged a game in the Gardens previously.) The franchise cost approximately $150,000 which was funded mostly from Bay St ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cleveland Rebels
The Cleveland Rebels were a basketball team in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), a forerunner of the modern National Basketball Association (NBA), based in Cleveland. Franchise history The Rebels were an inaugural franchise in the BAA's first season. In their only season, the team went 30–30, finishing 3rd in the Western Division and losing in the first round of the playoffs, two games to one to the New York Knickerbockers in its one season. However, the team lost money. Team president Al Suphin admitted that the team lost $75,000 while also saying he had a lack of desire to "promote" pro basketball. During the BAA's first meeting after the 1947 BAA Finals, the Rebels franchise declared that they would already not participate in the upcoming season in the BAA as a result of the loss of money and lack of desire to promote professional basketball, effectively forfeiting participation in the 1947 BAA draft. On June 9, 1947, the team announced they would suspend opera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pittsburgh Ironmen
The Pittsburgh Ironmen were a charter member of the Basketball Association of America (a forerunner of the National Basketball Association). The team was based in Pittsburgh and played at Duquesne Gardens. They ended their only season in the BAA in 1946–47 with a record of 15–45 with a .250 winning percentage, finishing in fifth and last place in the Western Division and worst overall in the league. According to Nate Silver and Reuben Fischer-Baum, applying the Elo rating system The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess or esports. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American chess master and physics professor. The Elo system wa ..., this was, through 2017, the worst season ever by a professional basketball team in a major league, even though the 1972–73 Philadelphia 76ers ended the season with only 9 wins against 73 losses for a .110 winning percentage, as well as the 2011-12 Ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Detroit Falcons (basketball)
The Detroit Falcons were a Basketball Association of America (forerunner of the National Basketball Association) team based in Detroit. It played in the inaugural 1946–47 season and folded soon after the season ended. Its demise alongside the Detroit Gems' move to Minneapolis to become the Minneapolis Lakers (now Los Angeles Lakers) left Detroit without a professional basketball team until a decade later, when the Fort Wayne Pistons moved there. History The Falcons played only in the inaugural season of the BAA and finished 4th in the Western Division with a 20–40 record, games out of first place. Stan Miasek was the team's star, scoring 895 points (14.9 points per game) and making the BAA's First-Team that year. Despite Detroit hosting the inaugural BAA (now NBA) draft, the Falcons would be one of two teams in the BAA to not participate in that inaugural event. Following the draft's conclusion, the Falcons would officially withdraw from the BAA on July 9, 1947, becomin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 in Philadelphia, the Warriors moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1962 and took the city's name before changing its geographic moniker to Golden State in 1971. The team plays its home games at Chase Center. The Warriors won the inaugural Basketball Association of America (BAA) championship in 1947, and won again in 1956, led by Hall of Fame trio Paul Arizin, Tom Gola, and Neil Johnston. After the trade of star Wilt Chamberlain in January 1965, the team finished the 1964–65 season with the NBA's worst record (17–63). Their rebuilding period was brief, however, as they drafted Rick Barry four months after the trade. Barry, along with Jamaal Wilkes, powered the Warriors to their third championship in 1975, widely considered o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
