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The Pittsburgh Ironmen were a charter member of the Basketball Association of America. The team was based in Pittsburgh and played at Duquesne Gardens.
The Duquesne Gardens was the main sports arena located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the first half of the 20th century. Built in 1890, the building originally served as a trolley barn, before becoming a multi-purpose arena. The Gardens opened three years after a fire destroyed the city's prior sports arena, the Schenley Park Casino, in 1896. Over the years, the Gardens was the home arena of several of Pittsburgh's historic sports teams, such as ice hockey's Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Hornets. The Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, which was the first ice hockey league to openly hire and trade players, played all of its games at the Gardens. The arena was also the first hockey rink to ever use glass above the dasher boards. Developed locally by the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, Herculite glass was first tested in Pittsburgh. Most rinks were using wire mesh before the shatterproof glass was invented. Finally, the Pittsburgh Ironmen, a charter member of the Basketball Association of America, played at the Gardens from 1946 to 1947.
Zigmund John "Red" Mihalik was an American basketball player and referee of Polish descent. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1986, he was then inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame at St. Mary's College in Orchard Lake, Michigan on June 13, 1996.
John M. Abramovic Jr. was an American professional basketball player. He played in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) for the Pittsburgh Ironmen, St. Louis Bombers and Baltimore Bullets. Abramovic was nicknamed "Brooms" and worked in his family's broom manufacturing business after his playing retirement.
Clyde Clifton McNeely was an American basketball player and coach. A 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) forward, he played college basketball for the Texas Wesleyan Rams for three seasons and led the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in scoring during his senior season in 1946–47. McNeely was the first player ever drafted in the National Basketball Association (NBA) when he was selected by the Pittsburgh Ironmen as the first pick of the league's inaugural 1947 draft. He never played professional basketball and instead pursued a coaching career at Pampa High School in Texas.
Paul Vincent "Polly" Birch was an American basketball player and coach. He coached the now-defunct Pittsburgh Ironmen of the Basketball Association of America in 1946, and the NBA's Fort Wayne Pistons from 1951 through 1954. Birch had played for the Pistons during the early 1940s, and the Youngstown Bears of the NBL.
Morris Robert Becker was an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Duquesne Dukes.
Michael John Bytzura was an American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball League and the Basketball Association of America, later known as the NBA. He played in college for Waynesburg University and Long Island University.
The Seattle Totems were a professional ice hockey franchise in Seattle, Washington. Under several names prior to 1958, the franchise was a member of the Pacific Coast Hockey League between 1944 and 1974. In their last season of existence, the Totems played in the Central Hockey League in the 1974–75 season. They played their home games in the Civic Ice Arena and later at the Seattle Center Coliseum. The Totems won three WHL Lester Patrick Cup championships in 1959, 1967 and 1968.
Anthony George Kappen was an American professional basketball player.
Richard C. Ives was an American basketball player for the University of Iowa from 1943–44 to 1946–47. A native of Diagonal, Iowa, Ives passed up the opportunity to play college basketball at Drake University on a full athletic scholarship so that he could play at Iowa under coach "Pops" Harrison. Ives had been a stand-out basketball player at Diagonal High School and led the team to the state championship.
Enno Henry Knoche was an American intelligence officer who served as deputy director of the CIA and acting Director of Central Intelligence.
Noble Gordon "Jorgy" Jorgensen was an American professional basketball player. He was a center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and other leagues. He was a member of Portland's first professional basketball championship when Portland Indians won the Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League in 1948. He retired from professional basketball following the 1952–53 NBA season.
Roger Kennedy Jorgensen was an American basketball player. He played high school basketball at Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where in 1938 he set the city high school record for most points in a season with 220 points, which stood until 1945.
Nathan Frankel was a professional basketball player. He spent one season in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) as a member of the Pittsburgh Ironmen during the 1946–47 season, but he spent the majority of his playing career as a member of teams in the American Basketball League (ABL). He attended Brooklyn College.
Joseph A. Fabel was a professional basketball player. He spent one season in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) as a member of the Pittsburgh Ironmen. He attended the University of Pittsburgh.
The 1946–47 Pittsburgh Ironmen season was the only season of the Pittsburgh Ironmen of the Basketball Association of America. They finished with a record of 15-45.
Edward Michael Melvin was an American professional basketball player. He played in the Basketball Association of America for the Pittsburgh Ironmen during the 1946–47 season.
John P. Mills was an American professional basketball player. After a collegiate career at Western Kentucky University, Mills played for the National Basketball League's Cleveland Allmen Transfers from 1944 to 1946, then for the Pittsburgh Ironmen in the 1946–47 Basketball Association of America season.
References
- Pittsburgh Ironmen all-time roster @ basketball-reference.com