The National Basketball League (NBL) was a professional basketball league in the United States established in 1937. After the 1948–49 season, its twelfth, it merged with the Basketball Association of America (BAA) to create the National Basketball Association (NBA). Five current NBA teams trace their history back to the NBL: the Atlanta Hawks, the Detroit Pistons, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Sacramento Kings.
The National Alliance of Basketball Leagues (NABL) is the descendant of the industrial-based basketball clubs that formed into the National Basketball League (NBL) in the early 1930s.
The Akron Goodyear Wingfoots are one of the oldest basketball teams in the United States. They were founded in 1918, by the workers at the Goodyear Tire Company, in Akron, Ohio. The teams, while giving workers recreation, also helped to promote one of the first canvas/rubber based shoes made specifically for athletics, the wingfoot.
The Goodyear Silents were a semi-professional football team based in Akron, Ohio, composed of deaf players. Most, if not all, of the team worked for the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.
Paul Preston "Pepper" Sheeks was an American football and basketball player and coach. He played professional football with the Akron Pros of the National Football League (NFL) in 1922 and 1923. Before he joined the NFL, Sheeks played college football and college basketball at the University of South Dakota.
John Moir was a professional basketball player between 1938 and 1946 in the United States' National Basketball League.
Talmadge Wesley Bennett was an American basketball player who played for Westminster College where he twice led the nation in scoring and won honors as the Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year in 1934. Bennett was a participant on the first college doubleheader played in New York City's Madison Square Garden on December 29, 1934, where he led Westminster to an upset over the hometown St. John's University team.
The 1937–38 NBL season was the inaugural season of the National Basketball League (NBL). The league was the evolution of the Midwest Basketball Conference, a league that had a duration of two years before becoming the NBL. The league launched with nine franchises, it was irregular because the teams were the ones that had to choose the day and the hour of the match, even the duration was chosen by the local team before the match. The season ended with the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots becoming the NBL's first championship team.
Chelso Peter Tamagno was an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Michigan and in the National Basketball League for the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots.
Howard Wilson "Soup" Cable was an American professional basketball player. He bypassed college basketball after graduating from high school and jumped right to the professional ranks, first with the Akron Firestone Non-Skids (1937–1941) and then to the Toledo Jim White Chevrolets (1941–42). Cable led the Non-Skids to consecutive National Basketball League championships in 1938–39 and 1939–40. In both of those seasons he was named to the All-NBL First Team. He was married to Catherine Tobin and had three children. Catherine's brother was Paul Tobin, a teammate of Cable's with Akron.
John Andrew Ozburn was an American basketball player who played five seasons in the American National Basketball League (NBL), a precursor to the modern NBA.
Paul Samuel Tobin was an American professional basketball player. Hyatt played in the National Basketball League from 1937 to 1940, competing for the Akron Firestone Non-Skids, and won two league championships in 1938–39 and 1939–40. He was the brother-in-law of Soup Cable, a teammate of Tobin's with Akron.
Thomas William Wukovits was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball League for several teams in the 1930s and 1940s, including the Akron Firestone Non-Skids, Toledo Jim White Chevrolets, and Cleveland Allmen Transfers. In 109 career games he averaged 6.3 points per game. Wukovits won an NBL championship in 1939–40 with Akron.
Warren Wayne Whitlinger was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball League for the Akron Firestone Non-Skids during the 1937–38 season and averaged 4.5 points per game. As a senior at Ohio State in 1935–36, Whitlinger led the Big Ten Conference in scoring and was named to the All-Big Ten team. He also earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Ohio State, graduating in 1940, and then accepted a job to work for Kimberly-Clark Corporation.
The 1937–38 Akron Goodyear Wingfoots season was the Wingfoots' inaugural year in the United States' National Basketball League (NBL), which was also the first year the league existed. Thirteen teams competed in the NBL, comprising six teams in the Eastern Division and seven teams in the Western Division. The Wingfoots were one of two teams from Akron, Ohio in the league, the other being the Akron Firestone Non-Skids.
The 1938–39 Akron Firestone Non-Skids season was the Non-Skids' second year in the United States' National Basketball League (NBL), which was also the second year the league existed. Eight teams competed in the NBL, comprising four teams each in the Eastern and Western Divisions. The Non-Skids were one of two teams from Akron, Ohio in the league, the other being the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots.
The 1939–40 Akron Firestone Non-Skids season was the Non-Skids' third year in the United States' National Basketball League (NBL), which was also the third year the league existed. Eight teams competed in the NBL, comprising four teams each in the Eastern and Western Divisions. The Non-Skids were one of two teams from Akron, Ohio in the league, the other being the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots.
The 1940–41 Oshkosh All-Stars season was the All-Stars' fourth year in the United States' National Basketball League (NBL), which was also the fourth year the league existed. Seven teams competed in the NBL in 1940–41, and for the first time the league did not use divisions.
Clifton Andrew "Lefty" Byers was an American professional basketball coach for the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots in the United States' National Basketball League (NBL). He was the NBL Coach of the Year in 1937–38. During Byers' tenure, the Wingfoots transitioned from the Midwest Basketball Conference (MBC) in 1936–37 into the NBL in 1937–38. Byers led the Wingfoots to win the first-ever NBL championship in 1938. The year before, the team had also won the MBC championship.
