Professional Basketball League of America
The Professional Basketball League of America (PBLA)
was formed in 1947 as a rival professional basketball league featuring
16 teams across the United States.
The league included several prominent players from the era, most
notably George Mikan and
Bobby McDermott of the Chicago Gears.
The PBLA lasted less than one month and ceased operations on
November 13, 1947. Because the league folded so
quickly, players appeared in only a small number of games and the
season statistics are much lower than those found in a normal
professional basketball season.
George Mikan dominated the short PBLA season,
leading the league with 193 total points and a
24.1 points-per-game average in eight games for
the Chicago Gears.
Total Points Leaders
| Rank |
Player |
Team |
GP |
Points |
PPG |
High |
| 1 |
George Mikan |
Chicago |
8 |
193 |
24.1 |
31 |
| 2 |
Coulby Gunther |
Atlanta |
8 |
159 |
19.9 |
30 |
| 3 |
Bruce Hale |
St. Paul |
9 |
145 |
16.1 |
25 |
| 4 |
Bob McDermott |
Chicago |
8 |
140 |
17.5 |
25 |
| 5 |
Jack Dwan |
St. Paul |
9 |
128 |
14.2 |
23 |
| 6 |
Jim Gibbs |
Tulsa |
10 |
125 |
12.5 |
19 |
| 7 |
Paul Seymour |
New Orleans |
8 |
113 |
14.1 |
29 |
| 8 |
Elmore Morgenthaler |
Birmingham |
7 |
102 |
14.6 |
25 |
| 9 |
Norm Rosen |
New Orleans |
8 |
101 |
12.6 |
19 |
| 10 |
Al Ingerman |
New Orleans |
8 |
93 |
11.6 |
16 |
| 10 |
Darrel Lorrance |
Springfield |
8 |
93 |
11.6 |
17 |
Scoring Average Leaders
| Rank |
Player |
Team |
GP |
Points |
PPG |
High |
| 1 |
George Mikan |
Chicago |
8 |
193 |
24.1 |
31 |
| 2 |
Coulby Gunther |
Atlanta |
8 |
159 |
19.9 |
30 |
| 3 |
Bob McDermott |
Chicago |
8 |
140 |
17.5 |
25 |
| 4 |
Bruce Hale |
St. Paul |
9 |
145 |
16.1 |
25 |
| 5 |
George Ratkovicz |
Grand Rapids |
6 |
88 |
14.7 |
25 |
| 6 |
Elmore Morgenthaler |
Birmingham |
7 |
102 |
14.6 |
25 |
| 7 |
Jack Dwan |
St. Paul |
9 |
128 |
14.2 |
23 |
| 8 |
Paul Seymour |
New Orleans |
8 |
113 |
14.1 |
29 |
| 9 |
Frank Carswell |
Houston |
2 |
28 |
14.0 |
16 |
| 10 |
Bill Henry |
Houston |
2 |
27 |
13.5 |
20 |
Free-Throw Percentage Leaders
Players needed at least 20 free-throw attempts to
qualify for this leaderboard.
| Rank |
Player |
Team |
FTA |
FTM |
FT% |
| 1 |
Bruce Hale |
St. Paul |
36 |
31 |
.861 |
| 2 |
Jules Kasner |
Chattanooga |
33 |
27 |
.818 |
| 2 |
Paul Seymour |
New Orleans |
33 |
27 |
.818 |
| 4 |
Ed Kupper |
Louisville |
20 |
16 |
.800 |
| 5 |
Al Grenert |
Birmingham |
21 |
16 |
.762 |
| 6 |
Al Ingerman |
New Orleans |
33 |
25 |
.756 |
| 7 |
Jack Mahnen |
New Orleans |
23 |
17 |
.739 |
| 8 |
Coulby Gunther |
Atlanta |
83 |
61 |
.735 |
| 9 |
Len Radar |
Birmingham |
22 |
16 |
.727 |
| 10 |
George Ratkovicz |
Grand Rapids |
25 |
18 |
.720 |
| 11 |
Jim Gibbs |
Tulsa |
35 |
25 |
.714 |
| 11 |
Wibs Kautz |
Grand Rapids |
21 |
15 |
.714 |
Most Personal Fouls Committed
| Rank |
Player |
Team |
GP |
Personal Fouls |
| 1 |
Jack Landon |
Tulsa |
10 |
32 |
| 2 |
Joe Pogue |
Springfield |
8 |
30 |
| 3 |
Ed Bogdanski |
St. Paul |
9 |
28 |
| 4 |
Elmore Morgenthaler |
Birmingham |
7 |
27 |
| 5 |
Milt Jackson |
New Orleans |
8 |
26 |
| 6 |
George Mikan |
Chicago |
8 |
25 |
| 6 |
Ed Oram |
St. Paul |
9 |
25 |
| 8 |
Billy Joe Hanks |
Springfield |
8 |
23 |
| 8 |
Jack Mahnen |
New Orleans |
8 |
23 |
| 10 |
Fred Grann |
Omaha |
6 |
22 |
| 10 |
Coulby Gunther |
Atlanta |
8 |
22 |
| 10 |
Norm Rosen |
New Orleans |
8 |
22 |
PBLA Statistical Notes
Because the PBLA folded after only a few weeks, these statistics cover
a very small number of games. Houston, for example, played only two
games, while Tulsa played 10.
George Mikan led the league in both total scoring and scoring average,
finishing with 193 points and a 24.1 points-per-game average for the
Chicago Gears.
Bruce Hale of the St. Paul Saints led qualifying players in
free-throw percentage at .861, making 31 of 36 attempts.
Jack Landon of Tulsa committed the most personal fouls with 32 in
10 games.
