History of the Pittsburgh Pirates of the NBL

The Pittsburgh Pirates were one of the early professional basketball teams that helped establish the National Basketball League (NBL) during the late 1930s. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Pirates competed during the NBL's first two seasons, 1937-38 and 1938-39, after previously playing as the Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A. in the Midwest Basketball Conference.

Although the Pirates never won an NBL championship, their history is significant because they were present during the formative years of a league that became one of the principal predecessors of the NBA. Pittsburgh also produced one of the NBL's earliest stars in Moe Becker, a prolific scorer who became one of the best players of the league's first season.

The Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A.

The roots of the Pittsburgh Pirates can be traced to the Young Men's Hebrew Association (Y.M.H.A.) basketball program in Pittsburgh.

Y.M.H.A. organizations were important centers for basketball during the early decades of the twentieth century, particularly in cities with large Jewish communities. Pittsburgh developed a strong basketball tradition through the organization and produced teams capable of competing against some of the best independent and professional clubs in the region.

By the middle of the 1930s, Pittsburgh was ready to participate in a more organized professional league.

The Midwest Basketball Conference

In 1935, the Midwest Basketball Conference was organized with teams primarily located in industrial cities throughout the Midwest.

The league was dominated by company-sponsored and independent basketball organizations. Teams such as the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots, Akron Firestone Non-Skids, Indianapolis Kautskys and Fort Wayne General Electrics helped establish the foundation of the circuit.

The Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A. joined the Midwest Basketball Conference for the 1935-36 season.

Pittsburgh's First Midwest Basketball Conference Season

Pittsburgh immediately proved competitive.

The Y.M.H.A. finished the 1935-36 Midwest Basketball Conference season with a 5-3 record.

The team competed in the league's Eastern Division and established itself as one of the better clubs in the young circuit.

Pittsburgh returned for the following season as professional basketball continued to develop throughout the region.

The 1936-37 Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A.

The Y.M.H.A. again competed during the 1936-37 Midwest Basketball Conference season.

By this point, league officials were already considering ways to expand the organization and give it a more national identity.

The result would fundamentally change the history of professional basketball.

Birth of the National Basketball League

In 1937, the Midwest Basketball Conference was reorganized and renamed the National Basketball League.

The NBL officially began competition with the 1937-38 season.

Pittsburgh joined the new league and adopted a new identity: the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The basketball Pirates were not the same organization as the city's Major League Baseball team, despite sharing the familiar Pittsburgh nickname.

One of the Original NBL Teams

The Pittsburgh Pirates were therefore among the teams that participated in the inaugural National Basketball League season.

The first NBL was very different from the modern NBA.

Teams were concentrated primarily in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. Many were sponsored by corporations or local businesses, and several played their home games in relatively small gymnasiums.

Schedules were uneven, travel could be difficult and franchises sometimes folded or relocated in the middle of a season.

Pittsburgh entered that environment as one of the league's more established basketball organizations.

The 1937-38 NBL

The inaugural NBL season included 13 teams divided into Eastern and Western divisions.

Pittsburgh competed in the Eastern Division alongside several powerful Ohio and Pennsylvania organizations.

The Pirates faced teams such as the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots, Akron Firestone Non-Skids, Warren Penns and Buffalo Bisons.

A Strong First NBL Season

Pittsburgh performed well during its first NBL campaign.

The Pirates finished the 1937-38 season with an 8-5 record, giving them a .615 winning percentage.

They finished second in the Eastern Division, behind the powerful Akron Goodyear Wingfoots.

That was enough to send Pittsburgh into the inaugural NBL playoffs.

Moe Becker

The star of the Pittsburgh Pirates was Morris "Moe" Becker.

Becker was a 6-foot-1 forward who became one of professional basketball's outstanding scorers during the late 1930s and 1940s.

He had played college basketball at Duquesne University and was ideally positioned to become one of Pittsburgh's first professional basketball stars.

During the inaugural NBL season, Becker established himself as one of the league's elite offensive players.

One of the NBL's First Scoring Stars

Becker scored 190 points in 13 league games during the 1937-38 season.

That worked out to approximately 14.6 points per game, an enormous scoring average for the era.

Basketball games in the 1930s were considerably lower scoring than modern contests. Teams frequently finished games with fewer than 40 points.

A player averaging more than 14 points per game was therefore providing a huge percentage of his team's offense.

Moe Becker Earns All-NBL Honors

Becker's outstanding season earned him First Team All-NBL honors.

That made him one of the first players selected to an All-NBL team in league history.

His performance gave the Pirates a legitimate star and helped Pittsburgh reach the playoffs in the league's inaugural season.

Other Pittsburgh Players

The Pirates featured a collection of players with strong connections to Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania basketball.

Among the players associated with the club were Press Maravich, Ed Milkovich, John Abramovic, Harry Zeller, Stanley Modzelewski and Paul Birch during different stages of the Pittsburgh professional basketball organization.

The fluid nature of professional basketball during this era meant players frequently moved among independent, industrial and league teams.

Press Maravich

One of the interesting names associated with Pittsburgh basketball during this period was Press Maravich.

Maravich later became better known as a college basketball coach and as the father and coach of future basketball legend Pete Maravich.

Press Maravich was himself a talented basketball player who competed professionally during the 1930s and 1940s.

His playing career connected Pittsburgh's early professional basketball era with one of the most famous basketball families in American history.

Pittsburgh's 1937-38 Record

The First NBL Playoffs

The structure of the inaugural NBL postseason was considerably different from the modern NBA playoffs.

Pittsburgh qualified by finishing near the top of the Eastern Division.

The Pirates faced the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots, one of the strongest teams in professional basketball.

Akron ultimately eliminated Pittsburgh.

The Wingfoots went on to become the first champions in National Basketball League history.

Akron Goodyear Wingfoots

The Wingfoots were backed by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and represented the corporate basketball model that helped sustain the NBL.

Corporate backing provided teams such as Goodyear with financial stability that smaller independent clubs often lacked.

The Wingfoots finished the season with a dominant record and defeated Oshkosh to capture the inaugural NBL championship.

Pittsburgh's playoff loss therefore came against the eventual champions.

Pittsburgh's First NBL Season in Perspective

An 8-5 record and playoff appearance represented an impressive beginning.

The Pirates had established themselves as one of the better teams in the new league.

With Becker developing into a major star, Pittsburgh appeared capable of becoming an important NBL market.

Instead, the franchise declined dramatically during its second season.

The 1938-39 Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh returned to the NBL for the 1938-39 season.

The league itself had undergone significant changes.

Several teams from the inaugural season had disappeared, while surviving organizations continued trying to create a more stable professional league.

The Pirates struggled throughout the year.

A Dramatic Decline

After winning eight of 13 games in their first NBL season, the Pirates fell to 4-20 in 1938-39.

Their winning percentage dropped to .167.

It was one of the poorest records in the league.

The decline effectively ended Pittsburgh's first sustained attempt at National Basketball League competition.

Why Pittsburgh Declined

Several factors contributed to Pittsburgh's collapse.

Early professional basketball rosters were rarely stable from year to year. Players moved frequently, sponsors changed and teams operated with limited financial resources.

The strongest NBL organizations were increasingly those backed by major industrial companies.

Pittsburgh did not enjoy the same financial foundation as clubs such as Goodyear and Firestone.

The Pirates also struggled to consistently generate enough offense beyond their leading players.

Moe Becker Remains the Star

Despite the team's difficulties, Moe Becker remained an important professional player.

His career extended well beyond Pittsburgh.

Becker later played for several professional organizations and became one of the better-known players of the NBL era.

His career included stops with teams such as the Philadelphia Sphas, Cleveland Allmen Transfers, Youngstown Bears, Detroit Falcons and Boston Celtics.

That career eventually connected the earliest NBL period to the Basketball Association of America.

Becker and the Boston Celtics

Becker later appeared for the Boston Celtics during the early years of the BAA.

That gave one of the original Pittsburgh Pirates stars a direct connection to a franchise that became one of the NBA's most famous organizations.

Becker's professional career is an example of how players from the small industrial and regional teams of the 1930s helped bridge the gap between early professional basketball and the NBA era.

The End of the Pirates

The Pirates did not return for the 1939-40 NBL season.

Their departure ended Pittsburgh's first period in the National Basketball League.

The team's official NBL existence consisted of only two seasons.

Pittsburgh had gone from a playoff team in 1937-38 to one of the league's weakest clubs in 1938-39.

Pittsburgh Pirates NBL Record

Over their two NBL seasons, the Pirates compiled a combined regular-season record of 12 wins and 25 losses.

Their .324 winning percentage reflected the enormous difference between their two campaigns.

The first season accounted for two-thirds of the franchise's NBL victories.

Pittsburgh Pirates by Season

Franchise Accomplishments

• Original member of the National Basketball League
• Second-place Eastern Division finish in 1937-38
• Qualified for the inaugural NBL postseason
• Moe Becker earned First Team All-NBL honors
• Helped establish Pittsburgh as an early professional basketball market

Pittsburgh Pirates Franchise Record

Life After the NBL

The disappearance of the Pirates did not mean the end of professional basketball in Pittsburgh.

Independent basketball remained popular throughout western Pennsylvania.

Pittsburgh players continued competing for industrial teams, touring clubs and independent organizations.

World War II would soon dramatically reshape professional basketball throughout the United States.

World War II and Professional Basketball

The war removed many young athletes from professional sports.

Travel restrictions, gasoline rationing and manpower shortages made operating professional basketball teams increasingly difficult.

The NBL survived, but the league contracted significantly.

At the same time, independent and military basketball became increasingly important.

Pittsburgh remained part of that basketball culture.

The Pittsburgh Corbetts

By the 1943-44 season, the Pittsburgh Corbetts had emerged as a leading independent team.

The Corbetts represented Pittsburgh in the prestigious World Professional Basketball Tournament in Chicago.

In 1944, they faced the Harlem Globetrotters.

Pittsburgh nearly pulled off an upset before losing 41-40.

The Corbetts' success helped demonstrate that Pittsburgh still possessed enough talent to support another major professional basketball team.

Buck Gefsky

Meyer "Buck" Gefsky was one of the central figures linking Pittsburgh's different professional basketball eras.

Gefsky had connections to the earlier Pittsburgh basketball operation and later became involved in the creation of another NBL team in the city.

After the Corbetts' emergence, Gefsky helped organize the Pittsburgh Raiders.

The Pittsburgh Raiders

The Raiders entered the NBL for the 1944-45 season, bringing Pittsburgh back into the league after a five-year absence.

The Raiders should generally be treated as a separate statistical team from the Pittsburgh Pirates, although there were organizational and personnel connections between Pittsburgh's different professional clubs.

The Raiders finished 7-23 in their only NBL season.

Huck Hartman and the Raiders

The star of the Raiders was Huck Hartman, who averaged 10.9 points per game.

Hartman earned Second Team All-NBL honors despite Pittsburgh's poor record.

After the Raiders left the NBL, Hartman and several other Pittsburgh players became associated with the Youngstown Bears.

From Pittsburgh to Youngstown

The Youngstown Bears entered the NBL for the 1945-46 season.

Several players with Pittsburgh connections appeared for Youngstown.

This illustrates how professional basketball organizations of the era frequently shared players and personnel even when they were considered separate franchises statistically.

The Pittsburgh Ironmen

Pittsburgh received yet another professional basketball team in 1946.

The Pittsburgh Ironmen became a charter member of the newly organized Basketball Association of America.

The BAA differed from the NBL because it concentrated largely on major cities and large arenas.

The Ironmen played at Duquesne Gardens.

One Season for the Ironmen

Like many Pittsburgh professional basketball experiments, the Ironmen did not last long.

They finished the 1946-47 BAA season with a 15-45 record.

The franchise folded after only one season.

The Ironmen were not a continuation of the Pirates or Raiders, but they represented the next chapter in Pittsburgh's attempt to establish major professional basketball.

The NBL and BAA

The NBL and BAA competed directly during the late 1940s.

The NBL had stronger roots in Midwestern industrial communities, while the BAA generally occupied larger metropolitan markets.

Competition between the leagues intensified as they fought for star players and successful franchises.

Eventually, several of the NBL's strongest teams moved to the BAA.

The Creation of the NBA

In 1949, the remaining NBL teams joined with the BAA organizations.

The combined league operated under the name National Basketball Association.

For that reason, the NBL is an essential part of the history leading to the modern NBA.

The Pittsburgh Pirates had disappeared a decade earlier, but they had participated at the very beginning of that developmental process.

Pittsburgh's Place in Early Professional Basketball

Pittsburgh's early professional basketball history is unusually complicated because the city hosted numerous organizations under different names.

The general progression included:

Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A. → Pittsburgh Pirates → later independent Pittsburgh teams → Pittsburgh Corbetts → Pittsburgh Raiders

The Pittsburgh Ironmen subsequently represented the city in the BAA but were a separate franchise.

These organizations illustrate how fluid professional basketball was before the NBA established a more stable franchise system.

The Importance of the Y.M.H.A.

The Pirates' Y.M.H.A. origins are particularly important.

Jewish basketball organizations played a major role in the development of professional basketball during the first half of the twentieth century.

Teams such as the Philadelphia Sphas became major attractions.

Pittsburgh's Y.M.H.A. was part of that broader basketball culture.

The transition from a community athletic organization into an NBL franchise demonstrates how professional basketball evolved from local and regional roots.

Corporate Basketball Versus Independent Teams

The Pirates also represented one side of an important struggle within early professional basketball.

Some teams were supported by enormous corporations.

Firestone and Goodyear could provide players with jobs and financial security in addition to basketball opportunities.

Independent organizations had fewer resources and were more dependent upon attendance and local financial backing.

This disparity contributed to frequent franchise turnover.

Pittsburgh's inability to remain competitive after 1938 reflected some of those structural problems.

Early NBL Basketball

The basketball played by the Pirates looked very different from today's NBA.

There was no shot clock.

Scoring was much lower.

Players frequently held other jobs.

Teams sometimes played league games alongside exhibitions against independent clubs.

Travel was usually conducted by automobile, bus or train.

Schedules were short and uneven.

Even the length and format of games could vary during the NBL's earliest period.

A League Still Finding Its Identity

During the inaugural 1937-38 season, the NBL was still experimenting with its rules and structure.

Some games used four 10-minute quarters, while others experimented with three 15-minute periods.

Teams did not play equal numbers of games.

Franchises could relocate or disappear during the season.

The Pirates therefore competed during one of the most experimental periods in major professional basketball history.

The Importance of Moe Becker

No discussion of the Pittsburgh Pirates is complete without emphasizing Moe Becker.

The Pirates existed only two seasons, but Becker gave the franchise a player of genuine historical significance.

His scoring during the inaugural NBL season placed him among the league's first offensive stars.

His First Team All-NBL selection made him Pittsburgh's most decorated player.

His later career carried him into other NBL organizations and eventually into the BAA.

Pittsburgh Pirates Timeline

No Championship, but an Important Place in History

The Pirates never won an NBL championship.

Their best opportunity came during the league's inaugural season, when they reached the postseason before being eliminated by Akron Goodyear.

Their second season ended with only four victories.

If judged solely by championships or longevity, Pittsburgh's first NBL franchise appears insignificant.

Its historical importance becomes much clearer when placed within the development of professional basketball.

An Original NBL Organization

The Pittsburgh Pirates were there when the National Basketball League began.

They competed against teams representing the industrial heartland of early professional basketball.

Some of those organizations disappeared almost immediately.

Others evolved into franchises that survived into the NBA era.

Pittsburgh belonged to the first generation that attempted to turn regional professional basketball into a lasting national league.

Legacy of the Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates were a short-lived but important part of early professional basketball history.

Beginning as the Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A., the organization competed in the Midwest Basketball Conference before becoming part of the newly named National Basketball League in 1937.

The Pirates immediately became competitive.

Led by Moe Becker, Pittsburgh finished 8-5 during the inaugural NBL season and qualified for the playoffs. Becker emerged as one of the league's first major scoring stars and earned First Team All-NBL recognition.

The team's fortunes changed dramatically the following year.

Pittsburgh finished only 4-20 in 1938-39 and withdrew from the NBL after the season.

Across two NBL campaigns, the Pirates finished 12-25 with one playoff appearance and no championships.

Their disappearance did not end Pittsburgh's professional basketball story. The Corbetts, Raiders and eventually the BAA's Pittsburgh Ironmen followed.

The Pirates' greatest historical significance comes from their timing. They were part of the National Basketball League when it was still attempting to establish professional basketball as a sustainable national sport.

The NBL survived the Great Depression, World War II and competition from other leagues before becoming one of the two major circuits that came together in 1949 to form the NBA.

The Pittsburgh Pirates did not survive long enough to participate in that transformation, but their presence in the NBL's earliest seasons gave Pittsburgh a place in the foundation of the professional game that eventually became the modern NBA.