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RetroSeasons
RetroSeasons recaps past sports seasons through stories, photos, videos, and stats from every team, league, and stadium in history. Coverage includes the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL, as well as vintage media from defunct teams and leagues.
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National Basketball League III logo

National Basketball League III (NBL)
1946-47 NBL Teams

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Leagues / Basketball / NBL / 1947 / Teams

Recap

For all the interest in the new BAA, the best pro teams remained in the less glamorous National Basketball League. Cleveland dropped out, but five new members: Anderson (Indiana), Buffalo, Detroit, Syracuse and Toledo joined holdover teams in Chicago, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Rochester, Oshkosh, Sheboygan and Youngstown.

The main attraction of the new season was 6’10″ George Mikan, the first big man to combine size and muscle with true athletic ability. Mikan was outstanding in every facet of the game. He was a proficient scorer, an excellent rebounder and outstanding defender. With Mikan in the lineup, the Chicago Gears were considered the pre-season favorite, but a contract squabble forced Mikan to sit out six weeks of the season throwing open the Western Division race. Five teams finished within four games of each other. A trio of hard-nosed veterans, Leroy Edwards, Bob Carpenter and Gene Englund, led Oshkosh to first place in the Western Division. Indianapolis captured second place behind the scoring of string bean center Arnie Risen. The Gears, with Mikan finally back on the court, surged from way behind to land in a third place tie with the Sheboygan Redskins. Anderson, despite an admirable 24-20 record, was left out of the playoffs.

In the Eastern Division, Rochester proved that last year’s fine performance was not a fluke by handily winning first place. Fort Wayne finished second, despite heavy personnel losses. Buddy Jeannette had jumped to the ABL, while Ed Sadowski had been hired as player-coach of the Toronto entry in the new BAA. After a midseason row with two teammates, Pistons’ player-coach Bobby McDermott was shipped to Chicago. New teams in Syracuse and Toledo played well enough to capture the next two spots.

Four teams from each division entered the playoffs. Rochester established its dominance over the once indestructible Pistons 76-47 in the clinching contest of the Eastern Division playoffs. In the West, the Chicago Gears subdued Indianapolis in five tough games and then ousted Oshkosh to reach the championship series against Rochester. The Royals offense was geared to the speedy trio of Bob Davies, Red Holzman and Al Cervi, but Rochester also had the muscle to defend against Mikan, with beefy George Glamack, Arnie Johnson and Dolly King taking turns doubling up against big George. In the opener, Mikan was limited to fourteen points and the Royals prevailed, but Mikan and forward Bob Calihan came on strong as the Lakers won the next three in a row to capture the National League title.

Close
Other basketball leagues in 1947:    
BAA  ·  ABL
1946-47 Chicago American Gears Season
1946-47 Chicago American Gears
26-18 (.591)
Won NBL Championship
1946-47 Rochester Royals Season
1946-47 Rochester Royals
31-13 (.705)
Lost NBL Championship
1946-47 Fort Wayne Pistons Season
1946-47 Fort Wayne Pistons
25-19 (.568)
Lost Eastern Semi-Finals
1946-47 Oshkosh All-Stars Season
1946-47 Oshkosh All-Stars
28-16 (.636)
Lost Western Semi-Finals
1946-47 Syracuse Nationals Season
1946-47 Syracuse Nationals
21-23 (.477)
Lost Eastern Quarter-Finals
1946-47 Toledo Jeeps Season
1946-47 Toledo Jeeps
21-23 (.477)
Lost NBL Eastern Quarter-Finals
Lost World Pro Basketball Tournament
1946-47 Indianapolis Kautskys Season
1946-47 Indianapolis Kautskys
27-17 (.614)
Lost NBL Western Quarter-Finals
Won World Pro Basketball Tournament
1946-47 Sheboygan Red Skins Season
1946-47 Sheboygan Red Skins
26-18 (.591)
Lost Western Quarter-Finals
1946-47 Anderson Duffey Packers Season
1946-47 Anderson Duffey Packers
24-20 (.545)
Missed Playoffs
1946-47 Buffalo Bisons Season
1946-47 Buffalo Bisons
19-25 (.432)
Missed Playoffs
1946-47 Youngstown Bears Season
1946-47 Youngstown Bears
12-32 (.273)
Missed Playoffs
1946-47 Detroit Gems Season
1946-47 Detroit Gems
4-40 (.091)
Missed Playoffs

1 Comment

  1. Davan S. Mani says:
    April 17, 2020 at 11:36 pm

    what a year. the competitiveness of the ABL really brought the NBA out of its duldrums.

Comments are closed.

1947 NBL

  • Season Overview
  • Standings
  • Playoffs
  • Teams
  • Pro Tournament
  • Stories & Photos
  • Audio & Video Clips
  • Collectibles
  • NBL History
  • Links Wikipedia
    Research
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