The National Basketball Association today is a juggernaut that showcases the best players from across the globe competing for a trophy that little boys dream about as they shoot baskets in their driveways or neighborhood basketball courts. However, this wasn't always the case. In the early days, many different leagues competed for the attention of fans and the services of players. It would not be until after World War II that these leagues came together to become the NBA.
Predecessor Teams and Leagues
The NBA's official creation in 1949 was preceded by many different regional leagues that often lasted only a few years. Independent teams also barnstormed the country playing, and usually defeating, whoever happened to be their opponent on any given night. One of the longer-lasting and largest leagues that preceded the NBA was the American Basketball League (ABL), which operated from 1925 to 1931 (and again in a less successful version from 1933 to 1955) across the East Coast and as far West as Chicago. Of the barnstorming teams, among the most well-known were the Philadelphia Sphas, New York Renaissance (Rens), Harlem Globetrotters, and the Original Celtics. The ABL, some of the early barnstorming teams, and the basketball color barrier are potential topics for later posts (which will eventually be posted here). Until then, we suggest you check out blackfives.com and the film, On the Shoulders of Giants.
Beginnings
After the demise of the ABL's initial and most successful version in 1931, basketball remained primarily a regional and barnstorming affair. A new league of major significance did not emerge until the National Basketball League (NBL) began play in the midwest in 1937. The NBL was an interesting creation, comprised of three corporate teams (the Akron Firestone Non-Skids; Akron Goodyear Wingfoots; and Ft. Wayne General Electrics) and 10 previously independent professional teams. It wasn't a tremendous moneymaker, and teams would come and go during the course of its 12 year existence, but the NBL would survive long enough to form part of the NBA in 1949 and produce teams such as today's Los Angeles Lakers, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, and Sacramento Kings. After a disorganized beginning, the NBL grew stronger over the next several years and successfully competed with a new version of the ABL to sign top college talents such as Buddy Jeannette.
While leagues such as the NBL and ABL provided opportunities for teams to consider themselves league champions, the absence of a single dominant league meant that there was no clear way to determine who deserved the moniker of "World Champion" (or, at the very least, the best team in the United States). In 1939, the World Professional Basketball Tournament, hosted by the Chicago Herald American, changed this by providing an opportunity for top professional teams from across the country to compete against one another. Two teams from the NBL, the Oskkosh All-Stars and Sheboygan Redskins, joined other well-known teams such as the New York Rens, Harlem Globetrotters, and Original Celtics, at this inaugural tournament. During the tournament's nine year run, NBL teams would win six titles, but not before the New York Rens and Harlem Globetrotters demonstrated that they belonged by winning the first two tournaments. In 1943, another all-black team, the Washington Bears, also won the tournament. Although the African American players demonstrated that they belonged, basketball would not be truly integrated for many years to come.
The Harlem Globetrotters in 1950
Growing Pains
After the founding of the BAA, the BAA and NBL found themselves competing for players and fans. Each league had its strengths. For example, the NBL featured the game's biggest star, George Mikan, who was sure to draw a crowd wherever the Lakers played. The BAA also had it's share of stars, including Joe Fulks and Max Zaslofsky. In addition, the BAA featured larger arenas in big cities, such as Madison Square Garden and The Boston Garden. If these arenas could be filled, the gate receipts could prove a strong incentive for the teams to stay afloat. While this was the case, NBL teams had the potential to establish more dedicated fan bases because NBL teams faced less competition for fans from other potential draws, such as big league hockey and baseball.
However, the BAA and NBL also faced a number of related issues that might have caused either of them to fold had they remained separate entities. Some of these issues included general instability, war, and competition for the best players.
Instability: It's difficult to build a league-wide fan base without a certain amount of stability. However, for a number of different reasons, the NBL and the BAA faced a recurring issue of teams folding or choosing to leave the leagues. For example, by 1942, the NBL had collapsed from the 13 teams that began play in 1937 to four. As noted below, World War II played a significant role in the league's shrinkage, but it wasn't the only reason. Some teams left to become independent and not every team was able to support itself financially. For example, the Ft. Wayne General Electrics disbanded in 1937 due to a lack of financial success and the Indianapolis Kautsky's left in 1940 to become independent (they rejoined the NBL 5 years later). By 1948, the year before the merger, the NBL had grown back to ten teams. In 1947, the BAA shrunk from 11 to 8 teams after losing 4 franchises and compensated by adding one team from the ABL.
Shrinkage
War: The BAA didn't exist before World War II, but the war had a significant impact on the NBL. In particular, due to a significant number of players leaving either due to enlistment or the draft, the NBL shrunk to a low of four franchises in 1942 (The Toledo Jim White Chevrolets would have been the fifth team, but they folded after 5 games). The league might have shrunk to only three teams if not for the Chicago Studebaker Flyers, who were added before the season began to replace George Halas' Chicago Bruins. The War also contributed to the first integrated teams, as both Chicago and Toledo added African American players to their rosters in 1942.
Chicago Bears & Chicago Bruins
Owner George Halas in 1919
Each of the leagues would have liked to crown their champion as the best team in the land, but since BAA teams did not participate in the World Professional Basketball Tournament, it wan't possible to formally crown any of the major league teams as a true champion. With this in mind, and with each of the two major leagues rumored to be suffering financially, it made sense for them to find ways to collaborate or perhaps even merge. However, the leagues each had distinctive cultures and business practices, which limited their ability to cooperate and that presented significant barriers to any potential merger.
Perhaps the biggest issues preventing a merger were cultural. NBL teams were typically less concerned about making money and instead were focused on establishing a team that would contribute to company or civic pride in their mid-sized midwestern towns. In addition, some of the NBL teams were sponsored by businesses such as Firestone or Goodyear and sometimes provided off-season employment for their players. In contrast, the BAA was based in larger cities, used larger arenas, and team owners cared less about civic pride and more about making money. Moreover, due to their locations, NBL teams also had less competition from other sports teams, while BAA teams typically competed with major baseball and hockey teams for the hearts and wallets of local fans.
The BAA took a more bottom-line oriented approach to its franchises, with a salary cap to limit what teams could spend on players. In addition, its teams typically did not play in exhibitions against independent teams and did not compete in the World Basketball Tournament. While NBL teams played exhibition matches, such extracurricular competitions could potentially limit the perceived strength (and thus the gate appeal) of the upstart BAA if its teams were to lose.
A more practical consideration to the two leagues cooperating was location. In the days before airplane travel was routine, a league that consisted of teams stretching from New York throughout the midwest would certainly put tremendous strain on players' bodies as the larger than normal men criss-crossed the country in busses or trains. Despite the issues, both the BAA and the NBL were looking for ways to help ensure long term survival and establish a league to rival the National Football League and Major League Baseball.
MergerThe BAA took a more bottom-line oriented approach to its franchises, with a salary cap to limit what teams could spend on players. In addition, its teams typically did not play in exhibitions against independent teams and did not compete in the World Basketball Tournament. While NBL teams played exhibition matches, such extracurricular competitions could potentially limit the perceived strength (and thus the gate appeal) of the upstart BAA if its teams were to lose.
A more practical consideration to the two leagues cooperating was location. In the days before airplane travel was routine, a league that consisted of teams stretching from New York throughout the midwest would certainly put tremendous strain on players' bodies as the larger than normal men criss-crossed the country in busses or trains. Despite the issues, both the BAA and the NBL were looking for ways to help ensure long term survival and establish a league to rival the National Football League and Major League Baseball.
The leagues initially worked out an arrangement for a joint draft in 1948 to contribute a sense of order to their rivalry, but before the draft could occur four teams left the NBL to join the BAA and the NBL pulled out of the draft arrangement. BAA commissioner Maurice Podoloff, for whom the NBA's current MVP award is named, was a shrewd businessman and he wanted to limit his league's competition by either merging with or otherwise eliminating the NBL. He also understood the potential benefits that NBL teams could gain from playing in the BAA's larger cities and arenas. After successfully appealing to the ego of Pistons' owner Fred Zollner and convincing him to move his team to the BAA, Podoloff then convinced the Indianapolis Kautskys to leave the NBL. The next two dominoes to fall would be the star-laden Rochester Royals and George Mikan's Minneapolis Lakers.
After losing four teams to the BAA, two additional NBL franchises disbanded. However, the NBL would not give up and it added four new teams to replace the six that it lost. While the Lakers showcased their skills along the East coast during the 1948-49 BAA season, the remaining NBL teams showcased their talents in cities such as Hammond, Indiana; Waterloo, Iowa; and Denver, Colorado. The final NBL season also brought an interesting twist, as the newly established Detroit Vagabond Kings folded after a 2-17 start, then were moved to Dayton, Ohio, and were replaced by the all-black New York Renaissance who played as the Dayton Rens. However, due to being saddled with Detroit's 2-17 record, their age, illness, and small number of home games the Rens did not achieve the success they might have otherwise expected.
After this NBL season, Podoloff continued to work his magic. In doing so, he convinced the Syracuse Nationals, Anderson Duffey Packers, Tri-Cities Blackhawks, Waterloo Hawks, Sheboygan Redskins, and Denver Nuggets to join the BAA, ending the NBL and creating the NBA. The Indianapolis Olympians, led by the University of Kentucky's graduating seniors (and not coached by John Calipari), also debuted in 1949. The BAA's Providence Steam Rollers and Indianapolis Jets as well as the NBL's Hammond Calumet Buccaneers, Oskkosh All-Stars, and Dayton Rens either folded or did not join the NBA. The remaining teams began playing for the NBA Finals Trophy, which was intended to be the Stanley Cup of Basketball, and which was renamed the Walter Brown Trophy in 1964. It was later replaced by the more familiar Larry O'Brien Trophy.
The Walter Brown Trophy
Photo by Cmcnicoll, edited by JoeJohnson2
Sources and further reading
Books:
Charley Rosen. The First Tip-Off. The Incredible Story of
the Birth of the NBA. 2009.
Michael Schumacher. Mr. Basketball. George Mikan , the
Minneapolis Lakers, and the Birth of the NBA. 2007.
Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M. The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Basketball, 5th Edition. 1992.Nelson, Murry R. The National Basketball League: A History, 1935-1949. 2009.
Rosen, Charlie. The First Tip-Off: The Incredible Story of the Birth of the NBA. 2009.
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