PBLA Teams
History of the Professional Basketball League of America
The Professional Basketball League of America, better
known as the PBLA, was a short-lived professional
basketball league that operated in 1947. The league planned a
60-game schedule, with each team scheduled to play 30 games at home
and 30 on the road, but the PBLA lasted only a few weeks before
collapsing.
The league was created by Maurice White, owner of the
Chicago American Gears. White had enjoyed success with the Gears in the
National Basketball League and hoped to use that success as the
foundation for a larger professional basketball league with teams spread
across the Midwest and South.
White also had one enormous advantage: George Mikan,
who was already becoming the most famous basketball player in the
country. Mikan had helped make the Chicago American Gears one of the
strongest professional teams in basketball, and White hoped the
dominant center would become the attraction around which the new
league could be built.
When the PBLA was founded, several major professional leagues were
competing for players, fans and markets. The
American Basketball League was the oldest but was
primarily concentrated in the Northeast. The
National Basketball League, which the Gears had
previously belonged to, had existed for more than a decade and
featured many of the country's best professional players.
The newest competitor was the Basketball Association of
America. White reportedly believed the new BAA could be
overtaken by his league, but that prediction proved badly mistaken.
The PBLA quickly collapsed, while the BAA survived and later merged
with the NBL to create the National Basketball Association.
Despite its extremely short existence, the PBLA remains an important
part of professional basketball history. Its collapse helped reshape
the professional basketball landscape, contributed to the movement of
star players between leagues, and played an indirect role in the rise
of the Minneapolis Lakers and the eventual consolidation of major
professional basketball in the NBA.
Read more about the collapse of the PBLA »
George Mikan, the PBLA and the Minneapolis Lakers
George Mikan was the PBLA's biggest star and the most
recognizable player associated with the league. Mikan dominated the
short season for Chicago, scoring 193 points in eight games for an
average of 24.1 points per game. The Gears were undefeated at 8-0 when
the league collapsed.
The end of the PBLA also became an important part of the story of how
Mikan eventually reached Minneapolis. Following the collapse of the
league, the rights to former PBLA players became part of the
professional basketball reshuffling that followed.
The Detroit Gems had finished at the bottom of the
NBL and were sold and moved to Minneapolis during the offseason,
becoming the Minneapolis Lakers. Mikan eventually
joined the Lakers, where he became the centerpiece of professional
basketball's first great dynasty.
Notable People Connected to the PBLA
The PBLA's brief history included several notable figures beyond
George Mikan.
Dutch Dehnert, one of the great players of the
Original Celtics, served as coach of the Chattanooga Majors.
In Grand Rapids, future United States President
Gerald R. Ford Jr. was involved with the franchise
as a general manager. Ford later became the 38th President of the
United States.
The league also featured numerous players with experience in the NBL,
BAA, ABL and independent professional basketball, making the PBLA an
interesting bridge between several competing basketball organizations
of the late 1940s.
League Officers
| Position |
Name |
| Founder |
Maurice A. White |
| Executive Directors |
Maurice A. White |
| Walter S. Aftemeier |
| R.C. Becker |
| Harry A. Foote |
| Commissioner |
Holland C. Pile |
Executive Staff
| Position |
Name |
| Director of Public Relations |
John Harrington |
| Director of Radio Relations |
John Harrington |
| Director of Press Relations |
Charles Wiley |
| Publicist |
Robert Curley |
| Field Supervisor |
O.R. Frost |
| League Trainer |
Jack Goldie |
| Ticket Manager |
William O'Neill |
| Field Representatives |
C. Guy Grimm |
| Sid Goldberg |
| Dee Sparr |
| Statistician |
William Karger |
| Traffic Manager |
E.E. McCullough |
PBLA Historical Image
Newspaper report on Billy Hassett leaving the Tri-Cities Blackhawks
for the Chicago Gears in the newly formed Professional Basketball
League of America.
PBLA Articles
History of the Westward Expansion of Basketball
Basketball's early roots on the East Coast are well documented. From
that cold December day in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891, when
James Naismith created the game, through the growth of professional
basketball, the stories of the players, teams and leagues of the East
have been told extensively.
What is less well known is how basketball developed farther west.
During basketball's earliest years, the eastern United States already
contained many established industrial centers and large population
bases. The West, by comparison, was still developing the transportation,
population and economic infrastructure needed to support professional
sports.
When Naismith invented basketball in 1891, the United States had only
44 states. Wyoming and Idaho had only recently joined the Union, while
Utah, Oklahoma and Arizona had not yet become states. Those three states
would eventually become important parts of the American basketball
landscape.
The expansion of basketball westward eventually created new teams,
leagues and markets. Organizations such as the PBLA became part of
that transition as professional basketball attempted to expand beyond
its traditional geographic centers.
Complete Article »
Explore the PBLA
