Toledo Jeeps | |
---|---|
Leagues | NBL: 1946–1948 |
Founded | 1946 |
History | 1946-48 |
Arena | University of Toledo Field House |
Location | Toledo, Ohio |
Head coach | Jule Rivlin |
Championships | none |
The Toledo Jeeps were a professional basketball team that played in the National Basketball League from 1946 to 1948. As with many other NBL teams, they owed their name to an industry of their hometown, in this case the Willys-Overland Jeep Plant. They played their games at the University of Toledo Field House.
The 1946–47 team featured players such as Chips Sobek, Hal Tidrick, Jule Rivlin and rookie Paul Seymour. Rivlin served as the player-coach. [1] It went 21–23 and qualified for the playoffs, where it lost to the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons. [2] It would, however, be invited to the 1947 World Professional Basketball Tournament, where it finished 2nd behind the Indianapolis Kautskys.
In the 1947–48 NBL season, Sobek, Tidrick and Rivlin returned, and were joined by Dick Mehen and Harry Boykoff. The team finished with a record of 22–37 and missed the playoffs. [3] The 1948 season proved to be the Jeeps' last; they were replaced for the NBL's final campaign with the Waterloo Hawks, who inherited Mehen and Boykoff.
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 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, but disbanded after going 11–50 in their inaugural season. This franchise is not directly connected to the current Denver Nuggets franchise of the NBA.
The Sheboygan Red Skins were a professional basketball team based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, which was an original National Basketball Association franchise during the 1949–50 season.
John Albert Kundla was an American college and professional basketball coach. He was the first head coach for the Minneapolis Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its predecessors, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL), serving 12 seasons, from 1947 to 1959. His teams won six league championships, one in the NBL, one in the BAA, and four in the NBA. Kundla was the head basketball coach at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul for one season in 1946–47, and at the University of Minnesota for ten seasons, from 1959 to 1968. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
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.
The Chicago American Gears were a National Basketball League (NBL) team who played from 1944 to 1947. The team also played in the Professional Basketball League of America (PBLA) in 1947–48 after leaving the NBL.
The World Professional Basketball Tournament was an annual invitational tournament held in Chicago from 1939 to 1948 and sponsored by the Chicago Herald American. 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.
The 1950 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the inaugural National Basketball Association 1949–50 season. The tournament concluded with the Central Division champion Minneapolis Lakers defeating the Eastern Division champion Syracuse Nationals 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.
The 1947 BAA draft was the 1st draft of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which later became the National Basketball Association (NBA). The fledgling BAA held a joint draft with the established National Basketball League (NBL). Both leagues wanted to control salaries by stamping out competitive bidding by assigning exclusive rights to the team selecting a player. The NBL had already signed 11 players, whom they did not feel should be exposed to the draft. The players included college stars Jack Smiley, Ralph Hamilton, Harry Boykoff, John Hargis, Frank Brian, and Charlie Black. As a trade-off, the BAA teams were allowed to select players before the NBL.
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 absorbed most of National Basketball League (NBL) and rebranded as the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Bernard Opper was an All-American basketball player at Kentucky and then professional player in the National Basketball League and American Basketball League.
John Arlington "Shotgun" Hargis was an American professional basketball player, first in the National Basketball League (NBL) and then in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born in Nacogdoches, Texas and attended Nacogdoches High School.
Julius Leon "Jule" Rivlin was a college men's basketball coach and professional basketball player. He was the head coach of Marshall from 1955 to 1963. He coached Marshall to a 100-88 record, winning one Mid-American Conference championship and making one NCAA tournament appearance.
Richard Peter Mehen was an American basketball player.
Joseph Mathew Patanelli was an American professional basketball and minor league baseball player. He played for the Toledo Jeeps and Minneapolis Lakers in the National Basketball League and averaged 3.6 points per game. He also played for the Kansas City Blues in the Professional Basketball League of America during the 1947–48 season.
John Joseph Bianco was an American professional basketball player. He played for the Toledo Jeeps in the National Basketball League during the 1946–47 season and averaged 1.0 point per game. He then played for the Portland Indians in the Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League in 1947–48, where he served as the team's player-coach and led them to the league championship.
Bernard Joseph Mehen was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball League for the Youngstown Bears and Toledo Jeeps and averaged 6.9 points per game. He served in the Army during World War II and suffered a foot injury caused by mortar shell. Bernie's younger brother Dick Mehen played alongside him at both the University of Tennessee and with the Toledo Jeeps.
The 1947 World Professional Basketball Tournament was the 9th edition of the World Professional Basketball Tournament. It was held in Chicago, Illinois, during the days of 7–11 April 1947 and featured 14 teams. It was won by the Indianapolis Kautskys who defeated the Toledo Jeeps 62–47 in the title game. The Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons came in third after beating the Oshkosh All-Stars 86–67 in the third-place game behind Ralph Hamilton's 26 points. Julie Rivlin of the Toledo Jeeps was named the tournaments Most Valuable Player.