1944-45 NATIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE
There were no franchise shifts this season so smaller midwestern cities like Akron and Fort Wayne were safe, at least for now. The East Division remained the same, at least at the top, with the Buffalo Bisons winning their fourth straight division title and the New York Knickerbockers finishing second each of the those years. The Bisons, who have made the league finals six straight seasons dating back to the franchise's days in Milwaukee, were led by reigning league MVP Jack Thornton. Thornton, a center out of California, would not repeat as the MVP but would make his second straight appearance on the first all-star team. The MVP, and the scoring title, went to the Knicks rising star Bill Laughlin as the power forward led the league in scoring for the third straight season, averaging 20.6 ppg.
The Baltimore Clippers enjoyed the best season of their brief 4 year existance in the NBL, finishing over .500 and making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The Clippers had a balanced attack led by 3rd year guard Robert Dietz, who had won an NCAA title at Wisconsin before being selected 4th overall by the Clippers in 1942. The Washington Brewers are the only team in the league never to play in a playoff game but they did improve to fourth in the East after finishing last each of their first 3 seasons. The Philadelphia Warriors and Boston Celtics both missed the playoffs this time around.
The West Division was a dog fight all year and when the dust settled just two games seperated top spot in the division from fourth place. The Fort Wayne Pistons, led by second team All-Stars Karel Terrell and Pi DiMarco, finished in first place for the first time since their last Midwest Basketball Association championship season of 1938-39. Chicago and Indianapolis were tied for second while the Akron Firestones, despite going on a tear late and winning 8 of their final 9 games, came up 1 win short of making the playoffs, making this the 6th straight season they failed to qualify for post-season action. The Minneapolis Lakers slumped to last place and were never in contention, finishing 19 games back of front running Fort Wayne.
Despite missing the playoffs the future does like bright for Akron as the Firestones have the league's hottest young star in guard Frankie Baumholtz. The second year guard was a first all-star team selection this season after winning the rookie of the year award last season. Baumholtz is also the NCAA's all-time leader in steals and 21st all-time in assists after an outstanding 4 year career at Mississippi State. He is also an aspiring baseball player.
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NBL STANDINGS
EASTERN W L PCT GB WESTERN W L PCT GBL
Buffalo 46 14 .767 - Fort Wayne 36 24 .600 -
New York 39 21 .650 7.0 Chicago 35 25 .583 1.0
Baltimore 32 28 .533 14.0 Indianapolis 35 25 .583 1.0
Washington 23 37 .383 23.0 Akron 34 26 .567 2.0
Philadelphia 20 40 .333 26.0 Minneapolis 17 43 .283 19.0
Boston 13 47 .217 33.0
SCORING LEADERS
# Player Pos Team Gms Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk To Pf
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1 Bill *Laughlin PF NYK 60 41.0 20.6 2.4 6.6 8.9 1.5 0.3 2.9 2.3 2.0
2 R.*Ochsenhirt SF CHS 60 42.1 18.9 1.0 3.6 4.6 3.3 0.9 0.3 2.6 1.1
3 Robert *Dro SF WSC 60 40.1 18.6 1.9 5.3 7.2 1.8 0.9 0.5 2.9 2.2
4 Jack *Thornton C BUF 57 40.8 18.5 2.9 6.1 9.0 1.5 1.2 3.9 1.9 2.2
5 T.*Bennett PF IND 55 40.1 17.2 1.7 3.3 5.0 2.3 0.9 0.1 2.4 2.9
6 Karl Terrell SF FTW 60 42.3 16.9 1.9 2.3 4.3 5.3 1.2 0.5 2.8 1.6
7 Jack *McCracken PF AKR 60 40.0 16.8 1.9 5.7 7.6 2.5 1.6 0.3 1.9 1.9
8 M.*Ziegenhorn SF PHI 45 42.9 16.6 0.6 2.8 3.4 2.3 1.3 0.8 2.8 1.3
9 Martin *Reiter SF BUF 58 40.1 16.6 1.9 3.5 5.4 6.2 1.9 0.3 2.6 2.8
10 Harvey Held PF CHS 51 38.5 16.3 2.5 7.0 9.5 1.8 0.3 3.3 2.1 2.2
11 Robert *Dietz SG BAL 56 41.4 16.3 0.9 4.2 5.1 2.7 1.0 0.7 2.9 2.2
12 Stan *Stutz SG MIN 55 40.2 15.8 0.9 2.0 2.9 4.3 0.6 0.1 3.0 2.5
13 William *Jesko SG BOS 60 40.4 15.0 1.9 5.4 7.3 3.0 0.8 0.3 3.3 1.1
14 Bob Moulton PG FTW 48 41.2 14.8 1.8 1.4 3.3 6.1 1.3 0.4 2.6 2.2
15 Robert *Regh SG WSC 60 41.8 14.7 0.8 1.5 2.3 2.6 0.8 0.2 2.8 1.0
16 Robert *Gruenig PF MIN 60 41.4 14.4 2.5 6.5 9.0 1.8 0.3 0.5 2.4 2.3
17 Earle Ralph PF FTW 60 40.8 14.0 1.7 5.0 6.8 1.2 0.8 0.6 1.8 2.7
18 F.*Baumholtz PG AKR 59 41.7 13.8 0.9 1.4 2.3 6.2 2.2 0.6 3.1 1.6
19 Theodore *Falda PG BOS 60 41.3 13.3 2.1 1.5 3.6 4.4 1.4 0.2 3.0 2.0
20 Si Pasquale SF BAL 60 40.2 13.2 1.1 3.7 4.8 3.7 2.0 0.3 2.7 2.6
Here is the All League team
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FIRST TEAM ALL-LEAGUE
POS NAME TEAM PPG RPG APG SPG BPG
C Jack *Thornton Buffalo 18.5 9.0 1.5 1.2 3.9
F Bill *Laughlin New York 20.6 8.9 1.5 0.3 2.9
F Martin *Reiter Buffalo 16.6 5.4 6.2 1.9 0.3
G Frankie *Baumholtz Akron 13.8 2.3 6.2 2.2 0.6
G William *Jesko Boston 15.0 7.3 3.0 0.8 0.3
SECOND TEAM ALL-LEAGUE
POS NAME TEAM PPG RPG APG SPG BPG[/b]
C Irving *Brenner Chicago 11.2 8.7 1.2 1.1 2.0
F Karl Terrell Fort Wayne 16.9 4.3 5.3 1.2 0.5
F Russell *Ochsenhirt Chicago 18.9 4.6 3.3 0.9 0.3
G Lou Brooks Indianapolis 10.0 6.6 3.1 2.0 0.5
G Pi DiMarco Fort Wayne 9.7 5.1 4.3 2.7 0.5
Most Valuable Plyer: Bill *Laughlin New York Knicks led league with 20.6 ppg
Rookie of the Year: Stan *Stutz Minneapolis Lakers 15.8 ppg
PLAYOFFS
The opening round of the playoffs saw the two second place clubs prevail over the third place teams in their best of five series'. The Chicago American Gears, despite going only 7-5 in regular season games with Indianapolis and ending the season tied with the Katuskys, had no trouble with Indianapolis in the playoffs in sweeping their series. None of the 3 games were close as Russell Ochsenhirt led the way for Chicago averaging 24.6 ppg in the series. The East Division series between New York and Baltimore was much tighter as the club's split the opening four games with each winning a pair at home. Home court proved the difference in the deciding contest as well as the Knicks beat the Clippers 69-56 behind a 17 point game from Jack Ozborn an a 12-point, 9 assist effort from Howard Vocke.
New York would also push Buffalo to the brink in the East Division Final as the Knicks took game six in a rout 82-52 to force the defending champs to a 7th game. It would need overtime to decide but the Bisons, winners of two of the last three league titles, prevailed 89-86 behind a 34 point effort from forward Martin Reiter. The Bisons were playing without all-star centre Jack Thornton, who season came to an end with an injury in game four. It was also an outstanding series for the Knicks' Bill Laughlin, who scored a series best 35 points in game seven.
In the West, the Fort Wayne Pistons took the opener of their best of seven Division Final with Chicago by a 74-73 score but the American Gears stormed back with 4 straight victories to take the series. The win proved costly as team scoring leader Russell Ochsenhirt suffered a broken hip in Game Four and would miss the Finals against Buffalo.
Each team was missing it's leading scorer as the Bisons and American Gears met for the second straight year to determine the NBL Champion. Buffalo took the opener at home 79-69 behind 24 points from Martin Reiter and 22 from guard Hyman Ginsburg but Chicago evened the series with a strong second half propelling the Gears to a 75-65 win in Game Two. Back home at Chicago Stadium for Game Three the Gears received 20 points from center Irving Brenner in an 83-71 victory and seemed in control of the season. However, Buffalo stole home court advantage back with a 77-67 win in the fourth game to even the series as Joe Fabel scored 32 points while Ginsburg had a dozen to go along with 11 assists.
Ginsburg would record another double-double in Game Five with the Bisons winning at home by an 87-65 count and two nights later in Chicago the visiting Buffalo Bisons won 87-66 to claim their third league title in the past four seasons. Ginsburg scored a game high 24 points in the series clinching game and, after averaging 11.8 points per game, 9.2 assists and 7.2 rebounds through the postseason was named the playoff MVP.
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE PLAYOFF HISTORY
Season Champ Wins Runner-up Wins Team
1944 Buffalo 4 Chicago 2 Hyman *Ginsburg Buffalo
1943 Buffalo 4 Chicago 3 Jack *Thornton Buffalo
1942 Indianapolis 4 Buffalo 1 Oris Martin Indianapolis
1941 Buffalo 4 Indianapolis 2 Martin *Reiter Buffalo
1940 Indianapolis 3 Milwaukee 0 Ralph Davis Indianapolis
1939 Indianapolis 3 Milwaukee 1 Ralph Davis Indianapolis
1938 Fort Wayne 3 Milwaukee 2 Bill Chaput Fort Wayne
1937 Fort Wayne 3 Toledo 2 Pi DiMarco Fort Wayne
1936 Fort Wayne 3 Lakers 1 Pi DiMarco Fort Wayne
1935 Indianapolis 3 Columbus 2 Harry Kell Indianapolis
1934 Columbus 3 Fort Wayne 2 Larry Johnson Columbus
1933 Indianapolis 3 Milwaukee 1 Chris Driscoll Indianapolis
1932 Indianapolis 3 Minneapolis 0 Rufus Glover Indianapolis
1931 Indianapolis 3 Milwaukee 2 David Robles Indianapolis
1930 Milwaukee 3 Indianapolis 1 Abraćo Nave Milwaukee
1929 Indianapolis 3 Milwaukee 2 David Robles Indianapolis
1928 Fort Wayne 3 Indianapolis 1 Svetozar Telacevic Fort Wayne
1927 Indianapolis 3 Fort Wayne 0 Chris Driscoll Indianapolis
1926 Indianapolis 3 Fort Wayne 0 David Robles Indianapolis
1925 Columbus 3 Indianapolis 2 Sonny Corso Columbus
1924 Indianapolis 3 Milwaukee 2 David Robles Indianapolis
OFF-SEASON
There was a franchise shift but it was not one of the smaller Midwestern teams that relocated. Instead the Baltimore Clippers, fresh off their first playoff appearance, decided to move to Providence and would now be known as the Steamrollers. Meanwhile the Washington entry decided to change it's nickname from the Brewers to the Capitols.
The top pick in the draft was former Alabama Poly star Chet Strumillo. Strumillo, along with Akron second round pick Bob Doll, were two key pieces of the Tigers 1943-44 National Championship club. The real life Strumillo played at Northwestern and then briefly for Chicago in the NBL. NYU, which won the NCAA title this year, had one player selected as Bob Synnott went fourth overall to Washington. Synnott, played for 3 NCAA championship teams in his four years at NYU and was strong enough at center this season to convince the Violets to move two-time National Player of the Year George Mikan to power forward. Mikan, a junior this past season, will likely be the top pick of next year's draft. The real-life Synnott had a long professional basketball career and also spent two seasons as a minor league pitcher at the Class C level.
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1945 NATIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE DRAFT
Pick TEAM PLAYER POS College
1 Boston Celtics Chet *Strumillo SF Alabama Poly
2 Minneapolis Lakers Dale *Morey SG Oregon
3 Philadelphia Warriors Chuck *Shanklin PG Washington
4 Washington Capitols Bob *Synnott PF NYU
5 Akron Firestones Matt *Vaniel SF South Carolina
6 Providence Steam Rollers Howie *Rader SG NYU
7 Indianapolis Kautskys Ken *Exel PG Washington
8 Chicago American Gears Warren *Fenley SF TCU
9 Ft. Wayne Pistons Danny Shaffer SG Georgia Tech
10 New York Knicks Gil *HodgesMLB PF South Carolina
11 Buffalo Bisons Roger *Jorgensen PF Yale
12 Boston Celtics Darrell *Brown PF TCU
13 Minneapolis Lakers Taylor Spradlin SG Maryland
14 Philadelphia Warriors Tony Chase C Santa Clara
15 Washington Capitols Don *Warnke C Kansas State
16 Providence Steam Rollers Huck *Hartman PF Mississippi State
17 Akron Firestones Bob *Doll SF Alabama Poly
18 Indianapolis Kautskys Butch England SG Mississippi
19 Chicago American Gears Jerry Elkins PG Georgetown
20 Ft. Wayne Pistons Buddy *O'Grady PG Brown
21 New York Knicks Fred *Campbell PG St. Mary's
22 Buffalo Bisons Bobby Parrett SG Georgia
Frankie Baumholtz was one of the three multi-sport guys I touched on in last season's NBL recap. He has obviously progressed very nicely in basketball but the other two have not. In fact, Jackie Robinson officially retired as a basketball player having played just 1 game (2 minutes of action total) in regular season play for Chicago in 1943-44. Robinson appeared in 4 playoff games the previous season with Indianapolis and was a member of their 1942-43 Championship team. So Robinson does have a chance to become the first athlete to win a title in 3 different professional sports. He has been on the Chicago Cardinals NFL roster for the past 4 seasons after the quarterback was selected out of UCLA in the 4th round of the 1941 draft and was on the Cardinals roster when they reached the NFL title game but lost to the Chicago Bears in 1941. Despite being in the league that long Robinson has yet to take a regular season NFL snap. He is presently the backup to Sid Luckman with the football Cardinals. Robinson's MLB career is still two years away before his debut in Brooklyn.
A likely future teammate of Robinson's with the Brooklyn Dodgers was just drafted. Gil Hodges was taken 10th overall by the New York Knicks out of South Carolina so he will likely play for the Knicks next season. Hodges is also slated to debut as a rookie first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers in my 1945 baseball update.
The third player I touched on last season, other than Baumholtz and Robinson was Otto Graham. Graham was taken 4th overall by the Boston Celtics a year ago and appeared in 23 games this season, averaging 2.0 ppg in 7 minutes of action per game. He was also selected first overall by the Baltimore Colts in the NFL draft and started 7 games for the Colts last year as a rookie, throwing for 815 yards.
Next up the 1945 Major League Baseball season.