History of the Richmond King Clothiers

The Richmond King Clothiers were a short-lived professional basketball team from Richmond, Indiana, that competed during the inaugural season of the National Basketball League in 1937-38. The franchise lasted only a few games in Richmond before financial problems forced the ownership group to give up the team. It was subsequently sold and relocated to Cincinnati, Ohio, where it finished the season as the Cincinnati Comellos.

Although the Richmond King Clothiers existed in the NBL for only a matter of weeks, they hold an important place in professional basketball history. Richmond was one of the original markets represented when the National Basketball League officially began play in 1937, making the King Clothiers part of the league that eventually helped create the modern NBA.

The combined Richmond/Cincinnati franchise finished the 1937-38 NBL season with a 3-7 record, placing fifth in the Western Division. Richmond began the season approximately 1-2 before the original operation collapsed. The team was purchased by Cincinnati businessman Augustino "Gus" Comello in January 1938 and completed the season under a new name and in a new city.

Professional Basketball in Richmond, Indiana

Richmond, Indiana, had a strong basketball culture long before the creation of the NBA.

Located near the Indiana-Ohio border, Richmond sat in the heart of one of the most basketball-intensive regions in the United States. Indiana high school and independent basketball were already deeply established by the 1930s, and professional clubs frequently operated in smaller Midwestern communities.

The National Basketball League's original business model made a place like Richmond a plausible professional market.

Unlike the later Basketball Association of America, which emphasized major cities and large arenas, the NBL grew from company teams, industrial clubs and independent organizations throughout Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

The King Clothiers Name

The Richmond team took the name King Clothiers from its local business sponsorship.

Business-sponsored basketball teams were common during this period.

The league included clubs associated with companies such as Firestone, Goodyear, General Electric and local retail businesses.

Rather than relying primarily on ticket revenue, many teams depended on their sponsors or owners to absorb operating expenses.

The King Clothiers followed that same model.

Bob McConachie

Robert "Bob" McConachie was one of the central figures behind the Richmond franchise.

McConachie was a co-owner of the club and also served as its head coach.

Like many team operators in early professional basketball, he handled responsibilities that today would be spread across ownership, management and coaching staffs.

McConachie's involvement helped Richmond enter the new National Basketball League, but the financial demands of professional basketball quickly became difficult to maintain.

The Creation of the National Basketball League

The National Basketball League officially began play during the 1937-38 season.

The league grew primarily out of the earlier Midwest Basketball Conference, which had operated for two seasons beginning in 1935.

League officials changed the name to the National Basketball League in 1937 in an effort to create a broader identity for professional basketball.

The Richmond King Clothiers were one of several new clubs added as part of the transition.

One of the Original NBL Teams

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

Richmond competed in the Western Division.

The division included:

• Oshkosh All-Stars
• Whiting Ciesar All-Americans
• Fort Wayne General Electrics
• Indianapolis Kautskys
• Richmond King Clothiers / Cincinnati Comellos
• Kankakee Gallagher Trojans
• Dayton Metropolitans

The league's geography reflected its Midwestern industrial roots.

The Unusual Structure of the First NBL Season

The inaugural NBL season was considerably less standardized than modern professional basketball.

Teams played different numbers of league games, and schedules were not completely balanced.

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

The home team could also influence whether a center jump was used after made baskets.

The league was professional, but many of the rules and operational standards associated with modern basketball were still evolving.

The 1937-38 Richmond King Clothiers

Richmond began the first NBL season with a roster assembled largely from regional professional and college talent.

The club lacked the financial backing and basketball depth possessed by organizations such as Oshkosh, Fort Wayne and Whiting.

Those disadvantages quickly became apparent.

A Brief Richmond Schedule

The King Clothiers played only a small number of official NBL games before the Richmond operation came to an end.

The team reportedly began the season with a 1-2 record.

The King Clothiers were already experiencing serious financial problems by December 1937.

Operating expenses, player salaries and travel costs proved difficult for the ownership group to sustain.

Financial Problems

The central problem facing Richmond was not simply its win-loss record.

The ownership group lacked the financial resources of many competing NBL franchises.

Some of the league's strongest teams were supported by major corporations.

The Akron Firestone Non-Skids had the backing of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.

The Akron Goodyear Wingfoots were connected to Goodyear.

The Fort Wayne General Electrics had an industrial sponsor.

A smaller retail-backed organization in Richmond faced a much more difficult economic situation.

The King Clothiers Stop Playing

By December 9, 1937, the Richmond King Clothiers effectively stopped operating.

The team did not immediately disappear from the league standings because efforts were made to sell or relocate the franchise.

This kind of instability was not unusual in early professional basketball.

Teams could fold, relocate or change sponsors during the middle of a season.

A Franchise Available for Purchase

The NBL wanted to maintain the Western Division schedule, so finding another owner for the Richmond franchise became preferable to simply eliminating the team.

A potential solution emerged in Cincinnati.

Businessman Augustino "Gus" Comello agreed to acquire the franchise.

Augustino "Gus" Comello

Comello was a Cincinnati businessman who became willing to assume control of the struggling team.

On January 5, 1938, the franchise was officially transferred from Richmond to Cincinnati.

The King Clothiers name disappeared.

The relocated club became the Cincinnati Comellos.

The Move to Cincinnati

The move from Richmond to Cincinnati was one of the first in-season franchise relocations in National Basketball League history.

Only a few months after the NBL itself had been created, one of its original teams had already changed cities and ownership groups.

The relocation illustrated how unstable early professional basketball could be.

Richmond's NBL Era Ends

The January 1938 transfer ended Richmond's brief representation in the National Basketball League.

The city never again hosted an NBL franchise.

The King Clothiers therefore became one of the shortest-lived team identities in league history.

The Cincinnati Comellos

After moving to Cincinnati, the team resumed league play under Comello's ownership.

The club played its first Cincinnati home game on January 16, 1938.

The relocated roster continued competing in the Western Division.

Socko Wiethe

Socko Wiethe became one of the more notable figures associated with the Cincinnati portion of the team.

Wiethe served as a player and later handled coaching responsibilities.

He represented the player-coach model that remained common in professional basketball during the 1930s.

A Shared Richmond-Cincinnati Record

Because the move occurred during the season, league statistics generally treat the Richmond King Clothiers and Cincinnati Comellos as one continuous franchise for 1937-38.

The combined club finished with a 3-7 record.

That resulted in a .300 winning percentage and fifth place in the Western Division.

1937-38 Western Division Standings

A Weak Offense

The combined Richmond/Cincinnati franchise scored 262 points in its 10 official league games.

That amounted to approximately 26.2 points per game.

It was one of the lowest offensive averages in the league.

Opponents scored 338 points, averaging 33.8 per game.

Leo Sack

Leo Sack finished as the combined team's leading scorer.

Sack totaled 43 points during the season.

Scoring totals were extremely low by modern standards because NBL games frequently ended with scores in the 20s and 30s.

Ken Jordan

Ken Jordan was another important scorer for the King Clothiers/Comellos.

He averaged more than four points per game, making him one of the better offensive contributors on the roster.

Stanley Arnzen

Stanley Arnzen also appeared for the franchise during the 1937-38 season.

Arnzen was part of the collection of regional players used as the roster shifted between Richmond and Cincinnati.

Carl Austing

Carl Austing was another member of the combined roster.

The frequency with which players moved among professional and independent teams during this period makes reconstructing complete early NBL rosters more difficult than with later professional leagues.

Notable Richmond King Clothiers / Cincinnati Comellos Players

• Leo Sack
• Ken Jordan
• Socko Wiethe
• Stanley Arnzen
• Carl Austing
• Norm Cottom
• Russ Grieger
• Gene Englund

Gene Englund

Among the players associated with the franchise was Gene Englund, who later became a notable professional basketball player.

Englund went on to play for several NBL teams, including the Oshkosh All-Stars.

He later won the 1949 NBL Most Valuable Player Award with Oshkosh.

His later career provides the Richmond/Cincinnati franchise with an important connection to one of the league's standout players.

Bob McConachie's Coaching Record

McConachie's coaching record is generally listed as 1-4 for the combined season because some games and operational responsibilities extended beyond the team's final physical appearances in Richmond.

His tenure ended when ownership of the franchise transferred to Gus Comello.

Socko Wiethe Takes Over

Wiethe coached the remainder of the season.

His record was approximately 2-3.

Between McConachie and Wiethe, the franchise finished the year 3-7.

Richmond/Cincinnati Head Coaches

The Ohio River Flood

The Cincinnati portion of the season encountered another serious problem.

Flooding along the Ohio River disrupted the region and complicated the Comellos' ability to complete their planned schedule.

The team's season ended earlier than originally expected.

The franchise did not return to the National Basketball League for the 1938-39 season.

Only One NBL Season

The Richmond King Clothiers/Cincinnati Comellos organization therefore existed in the NBL for only a single season.

Its official league record was:

Franchise Record

Richmond's Short NBL Stay

The Richmond portion of the franchise lasted only several weeks.

That brevity makes the King Clothiers one of the most obscure teams in National Basketball League history.

Unlike Fort Wayne, Rochester or Syracuse, Richmond never had the opportunity to build a lasting professional basketball identity.

Why Richmond Failed

The King Clothiers were undone primarily by economics.

Professional basketball remained a difficult business during the 1930s.

Travel costs were substantial, attendance could be inconsistent and player salaries still had to be paid even when crowds were small.

Richmond lacked the major corporate support enjoyed by many other league members.

The financial burden became too great for McConachie and his ownership partners.

Why Cincinnati Was Chosen

Cincinnati offered a much larger population and potentially stronger ticket revenue.

It was also relatively close geographically, making it possible to continue fulfilling the Western Division schedule without dramatically changing league travel arrangements.

Gus Comello's willingness to take over the club gave the NBL a practical way to avoid losing the franchise during its inaugural season.

The Comellos Name

The new Cincinnati name came directly from owner Gus Comello.

Naming a professional team after an owner or sponsor was not unusual during the early years of the sport.

The Ciesar All-Americans, Kautskys and several company-backed teams followed similar naming conventions.

The First NBL Season's Instability

The Richmond relocation was only one example of the instability that characterized the inaugural NBL season.

Several teams struggled financially.

Some games were forfeited when teams did not appear for scheduled contests.

Schedules were uneven and league rules were still being standardized.

The NBL survived because its strongest organizations provided enough stability to continue developing the league.

Other Short-Lived 1937-38 Teams

Richmond was hardly alone in disappearing quickly.

The first NBL season also included organizations such as:

• Kankakee Gallagher Trojans
• Dayton Metropolitans
• Columbus Athletic Supply
• Buffalo Bisons

None developed into long-term NBL powers.

The Teams That Survived

Other inaugural NBL clubs proved far more durable.

The Oshkosh All-Stars remained in the league throughout its entire existence.

The Indianapolis Kautskys became the Indianapolis Jets.

The Fort Wayne organization evolved from the General Electrics into the Zollner Pistons and eventually became today's Detroit Pistons.

Those surviving organizations formed part of the foundation of modern professional basketball.

The NBL's Role in Creating the NBA

The National Basketball League continued operating through the 1940s.

The competing Basketball Association of America began play in 1946.

The two leagues fought for players and franchises before eventually combining their remaining organizations in 1949.

The resulting league retained the National Basketball Association name.

Although Richmond disappeared more than a decade earlier, the King Clothiers had competed in one of the NBA's direct predecessor leagues.

Richmond and Indiana Basketball

Richmond's brief NBL membership is also an interesting chapter in Indiana's enormous basketball history.

Indiana produced several early professional clubs, most notably the Indianapolis Kautskys and Fort Wayne Pistons.

Whiting and Hammond also hosted NBL teams.

Richmond's place in the league demonstrates how widespread professional basketball was throughout Indiana even before the NBA existed.

A Team Representing a Different Era

The idea of a small clothing retailer helping operate a team in a national professional basketball league seems unusual by modern standards.

During the 1930s, however, it was entirely normal.

The professional game had grown from independent clubs, company teams and industrial leagues.

The King Clothiers represent that transitional stage between semi-professional basketball and the major-league franchise system that eventually developed.

Richmond King Clothiers / Cincinnati Comellos Franchise Timeline

From Richmond to Cincinnati

The King Clothiers' move to Cincinnati demonstrates how loosely franchise geography operated during the early years of professional basketball.

Modern franchises normally require months or years to relocate.

In 1937, an NBL team could stop operating in December, be purchased by another businessman in January and resume play in a different state only days later.

There were few precedents because the professional game itself was still developing.

The Richmond-Cincinnati Franchise and the NBL Record Books

Most modern basketball statistical sources combine the two identities into a single 1937-38 team.

For that reason, the official 3-7 record includes games played under both the Richmond King Clothiers and Cincinnati Comellos names.

Separating exact statistics by city is difficult because contemporary league records generally recorded the franchise as one continuing club.

The Legacy of Bob McConachie

McConachie's ownership experiment did not last long, but he helped place Richmond into a newly created major professional basketball league.

Without individuals such as McConachie willing to finance and organize teams, the early NBL could not have existed.

The financial failure of the King Clothiers also illustrates the risks those early owners accepted.

The Legacy of Gus Comello

Comello kept the franchise alive when it appeared likely to disappear completely.

His purchase allowed the NBL to preserve the Western Division schedule and gave Cincinnati a brief place in the league's first season.

Although his Comellos lasted only a few months, the relocation became one of the first notable franchise moves in NBL history.

The Gene Englund Connection

Gene Englund's later success provides one of the franchise's strongest links to important NBL history.

Englund developed into one of the league's elite players and eventually won the 1948-49 NBL Most Valuable Player Award with the Oshkosh All-Stars.

His presence on the Richmond/Cincinnati roster demonstrates how even short-lived teams could feature players who later became important professional stars.

Why the Richmond King Clothiers Matter

The King Clothiers did not win championships, reach the playoffs or develop a long-term fan base.

The franchise's importance comes from its place at the beginning of the National Basketball League.

Richmond participated in the NBL's first season and therefore became part of the earliest organized structure leading toward the modern NBA.

The team's rapid collapse also illustrates why professional basketball required decades to achieve financial stability.

Legacy of the Richmond King Clothiers

The Richmond King Clothiers existed in the National Basketball League for only a few weeks, but their history captures the uncertain nature of professional basketball during the 1930s.

The club was organized in Richmond, Indiana, for the inaugural 1937-38 NBL season and competed in the Western Division against teams from Oshkosh, Whiting, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Kankakee and Dayton.

Bob McConachie helped own and coach the team, but Richmond lacked the financial resources enjoyed by the league's strongest corporate-backed organizations.

After beginning the season approximately 1-2, the financial burden became too great.

The Richmond operation effectively stopped on December 9, 1937.

The league found a solution when Cincinnati businessman Gus Comello purchased the franchise on January 5, 1938.

The team moved across the Indiana-Ohio border and became the Cincinnati Comellos.

The combined Richmond/Cincinnati franchise completed the season with a 3-7 record and finished fifth in the Western Division.

The club scored only 262 points in 10 league games and never reached the postseason.

The Comellos did not return for the following season, ending the franchise after only one NBL campaign.

Despite its lack of success, the organization included players such as Leo Sack, Ken Jordan, Socko Wiethe and future NBL MVP Gene Englund.

The Richmond King Clothiers remain significant primarily because they were there at the beginning.

They were one of the original teams of the National Basketball League, a circuit that survived for more than a decade and eventually helped create the NBA.

Their brief existence also demonstrates how fragile professional basketball remained. A team could enter a new national league, struggle financially, fold in one city, relocate to another and disappear completely within the span of a single season.

For Richmond, Indiana, the King Clothiers provided a short but permanent connection to the earliest history of major professional basketball in the United States.