1947–48 BAA Season
The 1947–48 BAA season was the second season of the Basketball Association of America. The 1948 BAA Playoffs ended with the Baltimore Bullets winning the BAA Championship, beating the Philadelphia Warriors in 6 games in the BAA Finals. Although not celebrated at the time, this season was historic, with Wataru Misaka of the New York Knicks becoming the first person of color to play in modern professional basketball. The NBA recognizes the three BAA seasons as part of its own history so the 1947–48 BAA season is considered the second NBA season. Notable occurrences Preseason events Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Toronto folded before the season started, leaving the BAA with only seven teams. (All cities except Pittsburgh would get new NBA teams in future years.) The Baltimore Bullets were brought into the league from the American Basketball League to provide a more convenient number, eight. Final standings Eastern Division Western Division Playoffs S ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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Wataru Misaka
Wataru Misaka (December 21, 1923 – November 20, 2019) was an American professional basketball player. A point guard of Japanese descent, he broke a color barrier in professional basketball by being the first non-white player and the first player of Asian descent to play in the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The National Basketball Association (NBA), which was created in 1949 with the merger of the BAA and the NBL, later adopted the BAA's history and thus considers Misaka to be the first non-white player of the league. Misaka played college basketball for the Utah Utes and led the team to win the 1944 NCAA and 1947 NIT championships. He took a two-year hiatus between these titles to serve in the United States Army in the American occupation of Japan. Misaka subsequently played three games for the New York Knicks during the 1947–48 season. Early life Misaka was born a ''Nisei'' (second-generation Japanese American) in Ogden, Utah, to Tatsuyo and Fusaichi Mi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 Auerbach. 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 Anderson Packers, Sheboygan Red Skins and Waterloo Hawks jumped to the NPBL, while the Chicago Stags, Denver Nuggets 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, the first African American athlete to play for an NBA team, debuted for the C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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Howie Dallmar
Howard Dallmar (May 24, 1922 – December 19, 1991) was an American professional basketball player and coach. A forward from San Francisco, California, Dallmar played collegiately at Stanford University. He led Stanford to the 1942 NCAA Championship, earning Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. After transferring to Penn, he was an All-American selection in 1945. From 1946 to 1949, he played professionally for the Philadelphia Warriors of the Basketball Association of America (a forerunner to the NBA). Dallmar was the third leading scorer (behind Joe Fulks and Angelo Musi) on the team which won the 1947 BAA Championship. In the 1947–48 season, Dallmar led the BAA in total assists and was named to the All-BAA First Team. Dallmar coached the University of Pennsylvania basketball team from 1948 to 1954, before returning to Stanford as head basketball coach in 1954. He remained at Stanford for 21 seasons, compiling a 256–264 record. He died of congestive heart fail ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 originally meant to start out as the ''Chicago Atomics'', to the point of even playing an exhibition game against the New York Knicks under that moniker before playing as the ''Chicago Basketball Club, Inc.'' for one more exhibition game before officially becoming the ''Chicago Stags'' for the rest of their existence. During this time, the Stags were placed in the Western Division, and after 60 games were tied with the St. Louis Bombers at 38–22 each. A tiebreaker game between the two teams on March 31, 1947, resulted in the Stags defeating the Bombers in overtime, 73–66, to clinch the division and a first round bye. Under the initial playoff format, the two division champions faced each other in the Semifinals. The Stags defeated the Washington Capitols, the only team to finish with a better record tha ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American Basketball League (1925–55) (ABA)
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American Basketball League (ABL) is a name that has been used by four defunct basketball leagues in the US: * American Basketball League (1925–1955), the first major professional basketball league * American Basketball League (1961–1962), a league that only played a single full season * American Basketball League (1996–1998), a women's basketball league * American Basketball League (2013–2015), a semi-professional men's basketball league See also * American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nat Hickey
Nicholas J. "Nat" Hickey (born Nicola Zarnecić; January 30, 1902 – September 16, 1979) was a Croatian American professional basketball coach/player and baseball player. He turned to coaching basketball after his retirement from playing full-time in 1942 but occasionally activated himself as a player for the teams he was coaching. In 1948, at the age of 45, Hickey played two games with the Providence Steamrollers of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) while serving as the team's head coach, making him the oldest player in NBA history, a mark he still holds today. Early life Hickey was born Nicola Zarnecić on the Croatian island of Korčula (then Kingdom of Dalmatia, Austro-Hungary). He attended Hoboken High School in Hoboken, New Jersey. Professional basketball career As a 5'11" guard/ forward, Hickey played from the 1920s through 1940s with multiple early professional teams, including the Hoboken St. Joseph's, Eddie Holly's Majors, New York Crescents, Cleveland ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Albert Soar
Albert Henry Soar (August 17, 1914 – December 24, 2001) was an American football running back and defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) who went on to have a long career as an umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB). Soar played nine seasons for the New York Giants (1937–1944, 1946), and caught the game-winning touchdown pass in the 1938 NFL Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers at the Polo Grounds. Early life and career Born in Alton, Rhode Island, Soar later moved to Pawtucket, attending Pawtucket Senior High School (currently William E. Tolman High School) and Providence College. After being named to the ''Little All-American'' team, he left college to play semi-pro baseball and pro football, playing for the Boston Shamrocks in 1936. He served in the Army during World War II, and his officiating in a baseball game drew the attention of Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack, who recommended him for an umpiring career. After the war, Soar co ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Robert Morris (basketball)
Robert Bruce Morris (November 3, 1902 – November 1986) was an American basketball head coach as well as former collegiate athlete. He served as the head coach for the Providence Steamrollers, a Basketball Association of America team, in 1946–47. Morris then guided Brown University's men's basketball team from 1947 to 1954. He accumulated a 28–32 record with Providence and overall 61–87 record with Brown. While at Brown, one of his players was future College Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno, who earned two varsity letters. As an athlete, Morris lettered in football, baseball, and track at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. He was a member of a Penn Relays-winning track team and was later inducted into the school's athletic hall of fame in 1987. Upon the conclusion of his coaching career he became a schoolteacher and high school coach at Pawtucket High School in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Head coaching record Professional , - , style="text-align:left ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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Joe Lapchick
Joseph Bohomiel Lapchick (April 12, 1900 – August 10, 1970) was an American professional basketball player, mostly known for playing with the Original Celtics in the 1920s and 1930s. He is commonly regarded as the best center of his era, overshadowed (if anything) in his later years only by Tarzan Cooper. After ending his playing career in 1937, Lapchick became head coach at St. John's University, a position he held until 1947, when he took over the New York Knicks in the NBA. Lapchick coached the Knicks until 1957, leading them to three consecutive NBA Finals appearances (1951–1953). He returned to St. John's, coaching them until 1965. Early life Born in Yonkers, New York to Czech immigrants, Lapchick as a boy helped his struggling family make ends meet by scrounging for coal near railroad tracks. At age 12 the youngster started playing basketball around his neighborhood, wearing a uniform his mother had made for him. Like many youngsters of the era, he stopped going to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |