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).
Andrew Barry Casson Gaze, AM is an Australian former professional basketball player and coach. He played 22 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL) with the Melbourne Tigers from 1984 to 2005, winning the league's MVP award seven times and winning the scoring title 14 times. He also guided the Tigers to two NBL championships, in 1993 and 1997, and was named an All-NBL First Team member for a record high 15 consecutive years. Gaze has been described as one of the greatest players Australia has ever produced.
The National Industrial Basketball League was founded in 1947 to enable U.S. mill workers a chance to compete in basketball. The league was founded by the industrial teams belonging to the National Basketball League (NBL) that did not join the National Basketball Association when the NBL merged with the Basketball Association of America.
The Denver Nuggets were a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. The Nuggets joined the National Basketball League (NBL) for the 1948–49 season, and then joined the National Basketball Association when the NBL was absorbed by the Basketball Association of America to create the NBA for the 1949–50 season. The Nuggets were the first major professional sports franchise in Colorado, and the first NBA franchise west of the Mississippi.
The Sheboygan Red Skins was a professional basketball team based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, which was an original National Basketball Association franchise during the 1949–1950 season.
Fort Wayne, Indiana, is home to three minor league sports teams. These include the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA G League, and the Fort Wayne TinCaps of baseball's Midwest League.
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 World Professional Basketball Tournament was an invitational tournament held in Chicago and sponsored by the Chicago Herald American. The annual event was held from 1939 to 1948, and the winner was generally acknowledged as the World Champions of basketball. Many teams came from the National Basketball League, but it also included the best teams from other leagues and the best independent barnstorming teams such as the New York Rens and Harlem Globetrotters. Games were played at various sites including Chicago Coliseum, International Amphitheater and Chicago Stadium.
Leroy H. Edwards, nicknamed "Cowboy" and "Lefty", was one of the greatest basketball players of his era. He was an NCAA All-American at the University of Kentucky and also one of the most lauded professional players in the United States' National Basketball League's history.
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 and the National Basketball League (NBL) merged to create the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The Akron Firestone Non-Skids were an American professional basketball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team was one of the thirteen founding members of the National Basketball League (NBL), which formed in 1937. The team was named for the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, which was headquartered in Akron.
The 1937–38 NBL season was the inaugural season of the National Basketball League (NBL). This league is 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.
The 1941–42 Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons season was the inaugural season of the franchise in the National Basketball League. The team was led by guard Bobby McDermott who would go on to become one of the best shooters in NBL history and the league's all time leader in points. The Pistons finished the season with a record of 15 wins and 9 losses which earned them the #2 seed in the inaugural NBL Playoffs. In the first round the team defeated the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots in the games before losing to the Oshkoh All-Stars in 3 Games in the Championship series.
The 1944–45 Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons season was the fourth season of the franchise in the National Basketball League. The team was led by the star backcourt of 2 time league MVP Bobby McDermott and Buddy Jeannette. The season ended with the Pistons winning a league best 25 out of 30 games and McDermott being awarded his third MVP award. As of 2019 this is still the best record in franchise history. The playoffs began with a 2-0 sweep over the Cleveland Allmen Transfers to make the team's fourth straight NBL Championship series. There they were met by the Sheboygan Redskins for the third straight year. The series went to a full five games but ended with Fort Wayne defeating Sheboygan to successfully defend their NBL Championship. The Pistons would not return to the finals for another decade and would not win another championship until the 1989 NBA Finals. At the end of the season Blackie Towery left the team to join the military for World War II, however he would return one season later.
The 1942–43 season was the second season of the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons franchise in the National Basketball League. The Pistons came into the season off of a championship appearance and ended the year with a 17-6 record that earned them the #1 seed in the playoffs and set the team up as clear favorites to win the championship. Unfortunately it wasn't to be as after defeating Chicago in the first round in 3 games the Pistons were upset by the Sheboygan Red Skins in the NBL Championship Series. After the season Redskins guard Buddy Jeanette joined Fort Wayne to form one of the best backcourts in NBL History with Bobby McDermott, along with one of basketballs earliest examples of a super team.
The 1943–44 Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons season was the third season of the franchise in the National Basketball League. The Pistons entered the season with the big three of league MVP Bobby McDermott, Buddy Jeanette and Jake Pelkington and off of two straight losses in the championship series. The team finished the season 18–4 and defeated the Cleveland Chase Brassmen in the first round in a two-game sweep to earn their third straight finals birth and a rematch of last year against the Sheboygan Redskins. From there the Pistons swept the Redskins in 3 games to win their first NBL Championship.
Bartus A. Quinn was an American basketball player. He was an All-American college player at the University of Toledo and played one season in the National Basketball League (NBL) of the United States, one of the major American leagues that later became the National Basketball Association.
Scott Thomas Armstrong Jr. was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball League for the Fort Wayne General Electrics, Oshkosh All-Stars, and Indianapolis Kautskys. Armstrong was an NBL all-star during his lone season on Oshkosh (1938–39). While living in Indianapolis, Indiana and playing for the Kautskys, he also served as an assistant coach for Butler University's men's basketball team, his alma mater where he had previously played. Armstrong's post-basketball life included serving in the United States Navy and becoming a principal of a junior high school.
The 1941–42 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 1941–42 and the league did not use divisions.
The 1942–43 Sheboygan Red Skins season was the Red Skins' fifth year in the United States' National Basketball League (NBL), which was also the fifth year the league existed. Five teams competed in the NBL in 1942–43, the league's lowest number to that point, and the league did not use divisions.
