National Basketball League History

The National Basketball League grew out of the Midwest Basketball Conference, which had begun play in 1935. The league adopted the National Basketball League name in 1937 as organizers attempted to expand professional basketball beyond its regional roots.

Unlike the modern NBA, many early NBL teams were closely associated with businesses and industrial companies. General Electric, Firestone and Goodyear were among the corporations connected to the league's early development. This helped produce team names such as the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots, Akron Firestone Non-Skids and Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons.

Other important NBL franchises included the Oshkosh All-Stars, Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, Detroit Gems, Anderson Packers, Chicago American Gears, Sheboygan Red Skins and Rochester Royals.

The league began relatively informally. Scheduling was largely left to individual teams as long as league requirements were met. During the early years, some games were played using four 10-minute quarters while others used three 15-minute periods, with the home team often determining the format.

The NBL was centered primarily in smaller industrial cities throughout Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois and the Great Lakes region. While some clubs operated independently, others were backed by companies that could provide employment for players in addition to basketball.

Early Years: Oshkosh and Leroy "Cowboy" Edwards

The first great NBL dynasty belonged to the Oshkosh All-Stars. Oshkosh appeared in the championship series five consecutive times from 1938 through 1942 and won championships in 1941 and 1942.

The center of that success was Leroy "Cowboy" Edwards, one of professional basketball's first dominant big men. Edwards had starred at the University of Kentucky before leaving college to pursue a professional basketball career, something that was highly unusual during that era.

Edwards led the NBL in scoring for three consecutive seasons from 1937-38 through 1939-40. His dominance around the basket helped influence the development of basketball's three-second rule.

Edwards remained with Oshkosh throughout the NBL era and became one of the league's defining players. The All-Stars remained a major force through much of the league's existence and helped establish professional basketball in Wisconsin long before the arrival of the modern NBA.

Middle Years: The Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons

The next major NBL power was the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons. The team was owned by Fred Zollner, whose company manufactured pistons for engines, giving the franchise the nickname that survives today with the Detroit Pistons.

Fort Wayne was led by Bobby McDermott, one of the greatest guards of the pre-NBA era. The Pistons finished second in the NBL in both 1942 and 1943 before winning consecutive league championships in 1944 and 1945.

Like many professional basketball teams of the period, the Pistons often played in facilities that would seem unusual by modern standards, including armories, high-school gymnasiums and ballrooms.

Fred Zollner would later become an important figure in the survival of the early NBA. His franchise moved from Fort Wayne to Detroit in 1957 and continues today as the Detroit Pistons.

The Sheboygan Red Skins and Rochester Royals

The Sheboygan Red Skins were another major NBL power. Beginning in 1941, Sheboygan reached five championship series in six seasons. The Red Skins defeated Fort Wayne for the 1943 championship before losing to the Pistons in the 1944 and 1945 finals.

The balance of power changed again with the arrival of the Rochester Royals. Led by players such as Al Cervi, Bob Davies and Red Holzman, Rochester won the NBL championship during its first season in the league in 1945-46.

Later Years: George Mikan Changes Professional Basketball

The final era of the NBL was dominated by George Mikan, the 6-foot-10 center from DePaul who became professional basketball's first true superstar.

Mikan initially joined the Chicago American Gears and led them to the 1947 NBL championship. After Gears owner Maurice White removed the team from the NBL and attempted to establish the Professional Basketball League of America, that new league quickly collapsed.

Mikan then joined the Minneapolis Lakers. Alongside Jim Pollard and a talented supporting cast, he led Minneapolis to the 1948 NBL championship.

The Lakers would soon become one of the most important franchises in the battle between the NBL and the emerging Basketball Association of America.

The NBL vs. the BAA

The professional basketball landscape changed dramatically after the Basketball Association of America began play in 1946.

While the NBL was strongest in smaller Midwestern markets and already featured many of the country's best professional players, the BAA operated primarily in larger cities and major arenas. The two leagues competed for players, franchises, spectators and control of professional basketball.

The rivalry intensified when leading NBL franchises began moving to the BAA. After the 1947-48 season, Minneapolis, Rochester, Fort Wayne and Indianapolis moved from the NBL to the rival league.

The loss was particularly damaging because the Minneapolis Lakers brought George Mikan, professional basketball's biggest star, with them.

The 1949 NBL-BAA Merger and the Formation of the NBA

By 1949, continued competition between the two leagues was becoming increasingly difficult to sustain. On August 3, 1949, representatives of the NBL and BAA met at the BAA offices in New York's Empire State Building and finalized an agreement that brought the leagues together.

The resulting National Basketball Association began the 1949-50 season with 17 franchises representing both major metropolitan areas and small Midwestern basketball markets.

Maurice Podoloff, who had headed the BAA, became president of the newly organized NBA.

The modern NBA recognizes the BAA's three seasons as part of its official historical record. NBL statistics and championships, however, remain separate from official NBA totals. As a result, much of the NBL's history exists outside the NBA record book despite the league's enormous influence on the development of professional basketball.

NBL Franchises That Became Modern NBA Teams

Five current NBA franchises can trace their histories through teams that played in the National Basketball League. These franchises provide one of the strongest direct connections between the NBL and today's NBA.

Former NBA Teams With NBL Roots

Several franchises that later played in the BAA or NBA also spent time in the National Basketball League before eventually disappearing from major professional basketball.

Integration and the NBL's Role in Basketball History

The NBL's legacy extends beyond franchises and championships. The league provided important opportunities for African-American basketball players before the NBA became integrated.

During the 1942-43 season, the Toledo Jim White Chevrolets and Chicago Studebakers used African-American players at a time when racial segregation remained common throughout major American professional sports.

The Chicago roster included several players associated with the Harlem Globetrotters who also worked at the Studebaker plant.

In the NBL's final season, the league also welcomed the New York Renaissance, one of the most important African-American basketball teams in history. The Rens completed the season in Dayton, Ohio, as the Dayton Rens.

The NBL's Lasting Legacy

The National Basketball League survived for 12 seasons and helped shape almost every aspect of the early professional game. It developed some of basketball's first major professional stars, brought high-level basketball to industrial cities throughout the Midwest and helped establish several franchises that remain part of the NBA today.

The league produced stars such as Leroy Edwards, Bobby McDermott, Bob Davies, Al Cervi and George Mikan. It also provided the foundation for organizations that eventually became the Lakers, Pistons, Kings, Hawks and 76ers.

The Akron Goodyear Wingfoots, champions of the first NBL season, continued playing basketball outside the NBA structure after the NBL era ended, providing another connection to the early industrial roots of professional basketball.

Although official NBA statistics do not include NBL records, the league's influence is impossible to separate from the history of the NBA. The NBL helped establish the players, franchises and professional structure that made the modern league possible.

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