History of the Hammond Calumet Buccaneers

The Hammond Calumet Buccaneers were a professional basketball team based in Hammond, Indiana, that played one season in the National Basketball League. The Buccaneers competed during the 1948-49 season, the final year of the NBL before most of its remaining franchises joined with the Basketball Association of America to form the National Basketball Association.

Although the Buccaneers lasted for only a single season, their brief existence came during one of the most important periods in professional basketball history. Hammond entered the NBL as the successor to the financially troubled Toledo Jeeps, reached the playoffs in its only season, and then disappeared when it was unable to join the new NBA in 1949.

Professional Basketball Returns to Hammond

Hammond, Indiana, already had a history with the National Basketball League before the arrival of the Calumet Buccaneers.

The Whiting Ciesar All-Americans had been one of the original NBL teams in 1937-38 before moving to Hammond and becoming the Hammond Ciesar All-Americans. That organization competed through the 1940-41 season.

Seven years later, major professional basketball returned to Hammond with the creation of the Calumet Buccaneers.

The End of the Toledo Jeeps

The origins of the Buccaneers were connected directly to the Toledo Jeeps.

The Jeeps had competed in the NBL from 1946 through 1948 but experienced financial difficulties. Toledo attempted to leave the NBL for the rival Basketball Association of America, but the proposed move never materialized.

The franchise was subsequently purchased as part of an effort to keep its players, contracts and other basketball assets within the National Basketball League. The Buccaneers, however, should not be seen as a continuation of the Toledo Jeeps. The Jeeps ceased to exist and the Buccaneers joined the league as a new team and just took some of the Jeeps players.

NBL president Ike Duffey, who was also associated with the Anderson Duffey Packers, played an important role in finding a new home for the struggling organization.

Creating the Calumet Buccaneers

A group of basketball supporters from the Calumet region stepped forward to establish the new franchise.

The organization represented more than just Hammond. Financial supporters came from communities throughout the industrial Calumet region, including Hammond, Whiting and East Chicago, Indiana, as well as Calumet City, Illinois.

This regional identity explains the use of "Calumet" in the team's name.

A Community-Owned Basketball Team

One of the most interesting aspects of the Hammond Calumet Buccaneers was their ownership structure.

Rather than being controlled by a single wealthy industrial corporation or individual owner, the organization was financed by approximately 200 local backers.

Shares were sold for approximately $100 each.

The concept resembled other community-supported professional sports organizations of the era, particularly the Green Bay Packers in football and NBL basketball teams such as the Oshkosh All-Stars and Sheboygan Red Skins.

The community ownership structure demonstrated the strong enthusiasm for professional basketball in northwest Indiana, but it also meant the organization lacked the enormous financial resources available to some of its competitors.

Calumet Fans, Inc.

The community ownership effort was organized through Calumet Fans, Inc.

Local businessman Walter H. Thornton became one of the central figures in the organization and served as general manager.

The objective was to create a professional basketball franchise supported by basketball fans and businesses throughout the Calumet region.

The Hammond Civic Center

The Buccaneers played their home games at the Hammond Civic Center in Hammond, Indiana.

The Civic Center provided the team with a considerably more substantial home than many early professional basketball franchises had enjoyed during the 1930s.

By the late 1940s, professional basketball was moving away from small gymnasiums and armories toward larger civic arenas.

Hammond's location near Chicago also placed the Buccaneers inside one of the largest population centers in the Midwest.

The 1948-49 National Basketball League

The Buccaneers entered the NBL at a turbulent time.

Professional basketball was divided primarily between the established National Basketball League and the newer Basketball Association of America.

The leagues competed for players, franchises and major markets.

Several powerful NBL organizations had already moved to the BAA before Hammond began play.

That meant the 1948-49 NBL was both a professional league and an organization fighting for its future.

Eastern Division

Hammond was assigned to the NBL's Eastern Division.

The division included:

• Anderson Duffey Packers
• Syracuse Nationals
• Hammond Calumet Buccaneers
• Detroit Vagabond Kings
• Dayton Rens

Anderson and Syracuse were clearly the strongest teams in the division.

Bob Carpenter Becomes Player-Coach

Veteran star Bob Carpenter began the season as Hammond's player-coach.

Carpenter was already one of the most accomplished players in NBL history.

He had spent much of his career with the Oshkosh All-Stars and had won an NBL championship with Oshkosh in 1941.

Carpenter had also led the National Basketball League in scoring during the 1945-46 season.

His combination of experience, size and scoring ability made him an obvious choice to lead the new Hammond franchise.

A Difficult Beginning

The Buccaneers struggled to establish consistency.

Carpenter's responsibilities as both a player and coach proved difficult as the newly assembled roster attempted to compete against established organizations such as Anderson and Syracuse.

Hammond eventually made a coaching change during the season.

Chips Sobek Takes Over

Chips Sobek replaced Carpenter as coach.

Sobek also played guard and forward for the Buccaneers and became one of the team's most productive players.

The coaching change did not transform Hammond into a championship contender, but the Buccaneers remained competitive enough to qualify for the postseason.

George Glamack

One of Hammond's biggest names was George Glamack.

The 6-foot-8 center had been one of the great college basketball players of the early 1940s.

Known as the "Blind Bomber," Glamack had starred at the University of North Carolina and twice earned national player of the year honors.

By the time he reached Hammond, Glamack was an experienced professional scorer.

He appeared in 43 games for the Buccaneers and scored 501 points, averaging approximately 11.7 points per game.

In the low-scoring professional basketball environment of the late 1940s, that made Glamack one of Hammond's most dangerous offensive players.

Chips Sobek

Sobek was another important member of the team.

He played 57 games and scored more than 500 points while also eventually taking over coaching responsibilities.

His ability to contribute as both a scorer and team leader made him one of the central figures in the Buccaneers' only season.

Jake Carter

Jake Carter provided additional frontcourt strength.

The former East Texas State player appeared in all 62 regular-season games.

Carter's durability made him one of the most consistent members of the Hammond lineup.

Stan Patrick

Stan Patrick was another experienced professional player on the roster.

The former University of Illinois player contributed at forward and guard and appeared in 61 games.

Patrick scored more than 400 points during the season and gave Hammond another veteran presence.

Bobby McDermott Comes to Hammond

The most famous player to appear for the Buccaneers was Bobby McDermott.

McDermott was one of the greatest scorers of professional basketball's pre-NBA era.

He had starred for the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons and had been named the NBL's Most Valuable Player four times.

McDermott had also led Fort Wayne to NBL championships in 1944 and 1945.

He joined Hammond after playing with the Tri-Cities Blackhawks.

Although his stay with the Buccaneers was brief, his presence gave the one-year franchise a direct connection to one of the most important players in NBL history.

Other Members of the Buccaneers

The Hammond roster changed throughout the season and included a mixture of established professionals and younger players.

Players associated with the Buccaneers included Joe Camic, Ken Campbell, Bob Carpenter, Jake Carter, Ted Cook, Aubrey Davis, Hal Devoll, George Glamack, Art Grove, Dick Hammond, Bobby Holm, Carl Loyd, Jack Maddox, Bobby McDermott, Al Miksis, Stan Patrick, Jack Phelan, Don Ray, Ollie Shoaff, Sterling Scott, Johnny Sebastian, Wayne See, Chips Sobek and Clint Wager.

1948-49 Hammond Calumet Buccaneers

Hammond's Offense

The Buccaneers scored 3,782 points during the regular season.

That worked out to approximately 61.0 points per game.

Hammond ranked sixth among the NBL's ten teams in scoring average.

The team had several capable scorers, but it lacked the offensive consistency of championship contenders such as Anderson.

Defensive Problems

Defense was a greater problem.

The Buccaneers allowed 4,016 points, approximately 64.8 per game.

That ranked near the bottom of the NBL.

Hammond was outscored by 234 points over the course of the regular season.

A 21-41 Record

The Buccaneers finished their only regular season with a 21-41 record.

The .339 winning percentage was unimpressive, but the unusual structure and instability of the Eastern Division allowed Hammond to finish third.

The Detroit Vagabond Kings folded during the season and were replaced by the Dayton Rens, further complicating the standings.

1948-49 NBL Eastern Division

The Buccaneers Reach the Playoffs

Despite finishing 20 games below .500, Hammond qualified for the NBL playoffs.

The Buccaneers faced the Syracuse Nationals in the Eastern Division opening round.

Syracuse entered the postseason with a 40-23 record and was clearly favored.

Game One at Hammond

The first playoff game was played on April 1, 1949 at Hammond.

The Buccaneers had home-court advantage for the opening game but could not stop the Nationals.

Syracuse defeated Hammond 80-69.

The loss left the Buccaneers one defeat away from elimination.

Game Two at Syracuse

The series moved to Syracuse for Game Two on April 3, 1949.

Hammond produced a stronger defensive performance and remained competitive, but Syracuse again prevailed.

The Nationals won 72-66 to complete a two-game sweep.

1949 NBL Playoffs

The Final NBL Season

Hammond's playoff elimination became historically significant because there would never be another National Basketball League season.

During the spring and summer of 1949, representatives of the NBL and Basketball Association of America negotiated a consolidation of the two competing leagues.

The result was the formation of the National Basketball Association.

Most of the strongest surviving NBL organizations entered the new league.

Hammond and the NBA Merger

The Buccaneers hoped to continue playing after the NBL disappeared.

However, admission into the new league required stronger financial resources than Hammond's community-backed organization could provide.

The Buccaneers attempted to raise enough money to continue into the combined league but were unsuccessful.

Hammond's proximity to Chicago was another potential problem. The Chicago Stags were already members of the BAA and became one of the original NBA teams.

With Hammond located only a short distance from Chicago, the new league had little incentive to add another financially vulnerable franchise in essentially the same metropolitan region.

Three NBL Teams Are Left Behind

The Hammond Calumet Buccaneers were one of the NBL teams that did not survive the creation of the NBA.

Hammond, the Oshkosh All-Stars and the Dayton Rens were left outside the new league.

The remaining major NBL franchises entered the NBA or otherwise participated in the consolidation process.

For Hammond, the result was immediate dissolution.

The Buccaneers Disappear

The franchise ceased operations in 1949.

There would be no second Hammond Calumet Buccaneers season.

The team's entire history consisted of 62 regular-season games and two playoff games.

Hammond Calumet Buccaneers Franchise Record

Team Statistical Summary

What Happened to the Players?

When Hammond failed to enter the new NBA, the Buccaneers' roster was broken apart.

Several players continued their professional careers elsewhere.

Some were connected with the Waterloo Hawks, another former NBL organization that became part of the NBA for the 1949-50 season.

Other Hammond veterans found opportunities with different teams as the consolidation of the two leagues reshaped professional basketball rosters throughout the country.

Bob Carpenter Reaches the NBA

Carpenter's career continued after Hammond disappeared.

He played for the Fort Wayne Pistons and Tri-Cities Blackhawks in the NBA.

His career therefore connected several different eras of professional basketball: the old NBL, Hammond's final-season franchise and the newly created NBA.

Bobby McDermott's Legacy

McDermott's brief appearance in Hammond also gave the Buccaneers an important connection to the history of the NBL.

Few players were more dominant during the league's peak years.

His time with Hammond came near the end of his remarkable professional career.

Although he was no longer the unstoppable scorer who had dominated the league earlier in the decade, his presence made the Buccaneers part of the career of one of early professional basketball's greatest stars.

George Glamack's Legacy

Glamack was another player whose career connected college basketball's early national era with professional basketball.

His scoring gave Hammond a legitimate interior offensive threat and helped make the Buccaneers competitive despite their losing record.

Glamack, Carpenter and McDermott were later recognized among notable players from the NBL era.

Two Different Hammond NBL Franchises

The Hammond Calumet Buccaneers should not be confused with the earlier Hammond Ciesar All-Americans.

The Ciesar All-Americans had begun as the Whiting Ciesar All-Americans before relocating to Hammond.

That franchise disappeared after the 1940-41 season.

The Calumet Buccaneers were a separate organization created seven years later from the remains of the Toledo Jeeps franchise.

The two teams nevertheless gave Hammond an unusual place in NBL history: the city hosted professional basketball during both the league's early years and its final season.

From the First Years of the NBL to the Last

Hammond's two franchises effectively bookended much of the National Basketball League's existence.

The Ciesar All-Americans participated during the league's formative years.

The Calumet Buccaneers arrived for its final campaign.

By 1949, professional basketball had changed dramatically. Player salaries were increasing, larger arenas were becoming important, and teams needed stronger financial backing to compete nationally.

The community-owned Hammond model belonged increasingly to an earlier era.

The Buccaneers and the Birth of the NBA

The most important part of the Buccaneers' story is not their 21-41 record.

It is what happened immediately afterward.

Hammond stood at the dividing line between the old regional professional basketball structure and the beginning of the modern NBA.

The Buccaneers were good enough to compete in the NBL and reach its playoffs, but they were not financially strong enough to survive the consolidation that created the NBA.

That distinction determined which professional basketball organizations became part of NBA history and which disappeared.

Hammond Calumet Buccaneers Timeline

Notable Hammond Calumet Buccaneers

• Bob Carpenter
• George Glamack
• Bobby McDermott
• Chips Sobek
• Stan Patrick
• Jake Carter
• Johnny Sebastian
• Don Ray
• Al Miksis
• Ken Campbell

Coaches

Home Arena

Legacy of the Hammond Calumet Buccaneers

The Hammond Calumet Buccaneers existed for only one season, but few one-year professional basketball franchises were positioned at such an important moment in the development of the sport.

The Buccaneers emerged from the remains of the Toledo Jeeps and represented basketball supporters throughout Hammond and the surrounding Calumet region. Approximately 200 local backers helped finance the community-oriented organization, while the team played its home games at the Hammond Civic Center.

Hammond assembled a roster containing several major figures from the NBL era. Bob Carpenter began the season as player-coach, George Glamack became one of the team's most productive scorers, Chips Sobek eventually assumed coaching responsibilities, and legendary NBL star Bobby McDermott briefly wore a Buccaneers uniform.

The results were mixed. Hammond finished 21-41 and was outscored by more than 200 points during the regular season. Nevertheless, the Buccaneers finished third in the Eastern Division and earned a playoff berth.

The Syracuse Nationals defeated Hammond 80-69 and 72-66 to sweep the Buccaneers from the opening round of the 1949 NBL playoffs.

Those two losses became the final games in franchise history.

When the NBL and BAA consolidated in 1949, Hammond was unable to raise the financial resources necessary to continue in the new National Basketball Association. Its proximity to the established Chicago market also worked against the franchise.

The Buccaneers consequently disappeared while teams such as Syracuse, Anderson, Fort Wayne, Tri-Cities, Sheboygan and Waterloo moved into the NBA.

Hammond's exclusion created one of the fascinating dividing lines in professional basketball history. Had the community-backed organization possessed greater financial resources in the summer of 1949, Hammond might have become one of the original cities represented in the NBA.

Instead, the Buccaneers became one of the last casualties of the National Basketball League era.

The franchise finished with a lifetime regular-season record of 21 wins and 41 losses, one playoff appearance and no championships.

Its significance extends well beyond those numbers. The Hammond Calumet Buccaneers were there for the final season of the NBL, employed some of the league's most recognizable veteran players, represented a rare community-owned professional basketball experiment, and came within one organizational transition of becoming part of the newly created NBA.

For those reasons, the Hammond Calumet Buccaneers remain an important forgotten franchise in the history of the National Basketball League and the transition from early Midwestern professional basketball to the modern NBA.