Grand Rapids Hornets

Last updated
Grand Rapids Hornets
Leagues National Professional Basketball League
Founded1950
FoldedDecember 26, 1950
Arena Civic Auditorium
Location Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids Hornets were a franchise for one season (1950) in the National Professional Basketball League, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Contents

History

The National Basketball Association 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. [1]

The National Professional Basketball League was formed around the former NBA teams, with teams added in new larger markets. The charter teams were the East Division: Sheboygan Redskins (Former NBA), Anderson Packers (Former NBA), Louisville Alumnites and Grand Rapids Hornets. West Division: Denver Refiners/Evansville Agogans, Saint Paul Lights, Kansas City Hi-Spots and Waterloo Hawks (Former NBA). [2]

The Hornets competed in the Eastern Division of the NPBL. They compiled a record of 7 wins and 12 losses and finished in fourth place in the Eastern Division, behind the leading Sheboygan Redskins (at 29–16, .644). The Hornets were coached by future Naismith Hall of Fame inductee Bobby McDermott, George Glammack and Blackie Towery. On November 14, the Refiners played against Grand Rapids in Casper, Wyoming. After the game against Denver in Casper, McDermott was dismissed as Coach of Grand Rapids, due to his behavior during the game. It was stated in a complaint from the Chamber of Commerce, that McDermott's profanity could be heard all over the stadium by fans and officials and that he tore doors off lockers and shouted that his team had been "robbed." [3] [4]

The Hornets actually folded before the season ended, a fate shared by the Louisville Alumnites, St. Paul Lights and Kansas City Hi-Spots, playing their last game on December 26, 1950. [5]

After the demise of the Hornets, professional basketball did not return to Grand Rapids until the Grand Rapids Hoops of the Continental Basketball Association (1989–2003). [6]

The NPBL permanently folded after the 1950–1951 Season.

The arena

Civic Auditorium, Grand Rapids, Michigan Civic auditorium, Grand Rapids, Michigan (64097).jpg
Civic Auditorium, Grand Rapids, Michigan

The Hornets played at Civic Auditorium, which still exists today. With the "Civic Auditorium" front façade and lobby remaining intact, the auditorium portion was imploded in 2003, and in February 2005 was incorporated as a part of the Steelcase Ballroom of the DeVos Place Convention Center. The address of Civic Auditorium is 303 Monroe Avenue NW, Grand Rapids, Michigan. [7] [8] [9]

Notable players

Related Research Articles

The National Professional Basketball League (NPBL) was a professional basketball league in the United States from 1950–51, serving as a successor league to the National Basketball League that operated from 1937 to 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Stags</span> Basketball team in Chicago, Illinois

The Chicago Stags were a National Basketball Association team based in Chicago from 1946 to 1950.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denver Nuggets (1948–1950)</span> Basketball team in Denver, Colorado

The Denver Nuggets were a professional basketball team based in Denver. 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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Capitols</span> Basketball team in Washington, D.C.

The Washington Capitols were a former Basketball Association of America 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.

The Waterloo Hawks were a National Basketball League and National Basketball Association team based in Waterloo, Iowa. The Hawks remain the only sports franchise ever based in Iowa from any of the current Big Four Leagues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby McDermott</span> American basketball player (1914–1963)

Robert Frederick McDermott was an American professional basketball player in the 1930s and 1940s. He was known as an outstanding shooter and has been called "the greatest long-distance shooter in the history of the game" by contemporaries. His grandson is businessman Bill McDermott. McDermott was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988.

The 1950–51 NBA season was the fifth season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Rochester Royals winning the NBA Championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Louis Bombers</span> Defunct basketball team (1946–1950)

The St. Louis Bombers were a National Basketball Association team based in St. Louis from 1946 to 1950.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doxie Moore</span> American basketball player and coach (1911–1986)

John Doxie Moore was an American basketball player and coach. He attended Delphi High School in Delphi, Indiana, and played college basketball at Purdue University from 1930 to 1934, playing alongside John Wooden as Purdue laid claim to the 1932 Helms Athletic Foundation National Championship. He coached several professional basketball teams, including the Sheboygan Red Skins, the Anderson Packers and the Milwaukee Hawks in the 1940s and 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Share</span>

Charles Edward Share was an American basketball player. Share has the distinction of being the first NBA draft pick ever: Share was the No. 1 draft pick in the first organized National Basketball Association draft on April 25, 1950. Share was selected by the Boston Celtics as the No. 1 overall pick in the inaugural 1950 NBA draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wally Osterkorn</span> American basketball player

Walter Raymond Osterkorn was an American professional basketball player.

Milton W. Schoon was an American professional basketball player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Burmaster</span> American basketball player and coach

John Hagelou "Jack" Burmaster was an American basketball player and coach.

Louisville Alumnites were a team in the National Professional Basketball League (1950-1951), based in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Evansville Agogans were a professional basketball team who played in Evansville, Indiana, in 1951 and were a member of the Western Division of the National Professional Basketball League.

The Denver Refiners were a professional basketball team who played in Denver, Colorado, in 1950–1951 and were a member of the Western Division of the National Professional Basketball League, which lasted one season.

The Kansas City Hi-Spots were a franchise for one season (1950-1951) in the National Professional Basketball League, based in Kansas City, Missouri.

The St. Paul Lights were a franchise for the one season (1950) of the National Professional Basketball League, based in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The Watertown Athletics were a minor league baseball team based in Watertown, New York.. The Athletics played from 1946 to 1951 and were preceded by the 1936 Watertown Greys and an 1888 Watertown team. Watertown teams played as members of the 1888 Eastern International League, 1936 Canadian–American League and Border League from 1946 to 1951. The Watertown Grays and Athletics hosted home games at Duffy Fairgrounds. Watertown was a minor league affiliate of the Boston Bees in 1936.

References

  1. ↑ "1949-50 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.com.
  2. ↑ "1950 National Professional Basketball League (NPBL) Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  3. ↑ "Joplin Globe Newspaper Archives, Nov 21, 1950, p. 7". NewspaperArchive.com. November 21, 1950.
  4. ↑ "1950 Denver Refiners Game-by-Game Results on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  5. ↑ "1950 Grand Rapids Hornets Game-by-Game Results on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  6. ↑ "Grand Rapids, Michigan sports teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  7. ↑ www.grcmc.org, Grand Rapids Community Media Center-. "Civic Auditorium". History Grand Rapids.
  8. ↑ "GRAND RAPIDS CIVIC AUDITORIUM". Architecture Grand Rapids.
  9. ↑ "CIVIC AUDITORIUM". Architecture Grand Rapids.
  10. ↑ "1950 Grand Rapids Hornets Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.