The Roaming Photographer: 2024-06-09

Photo Credit:
https://logos-world.net/atlanta-hawks-
logo/#google_vignette

1946-1953: Buffalo, Tri-Cities and Milwaukee

The origins of the Atlanta Hawks can be traced back to the Buffalo Bison franchise, which was founded in 1946. The Bisons were a member of the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their games at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. The club was organized by Leo Ferris and the Erie County American Legion and was coached by Nat Hickey(1). Their first game – a 50-39 victory of the Syracuse Nationals – was played on November 8th, 1946. On the team was William “Pop” Gates, who, along with William “Dolly” King, was one of the first two African-American players in the NBL(2). The team, which needed to draw 3,600 fans per game to break even, struggled to draw 1,000 fans per game to the Auditorium. The franchise lasted only 38 games (13 games) in Buffalo when, on December 25th, 1946, Leo Ferris, the team’s general manager and co-owner, announced that the team would be moving to Moline, Illinois, which at that time was part of an area then known as the “Tri-Cities”: Moline, IL, Rock Island, IL, and Davenport, IA(3).

Upon relocation to Moline, the team was renamed the Tri-Cities Blackhawks and played their home games at Wharton Field House, a 6,000-seat arena in Moline(4). The team featured guard/forward and coach Deangelo King and was owned by Leo Ferris and Ben Kerner(5). Pop Gates remained on the Blackhawks roster and finished second on the team in scoring behind future 1949 NBL MVP Don Otten. A Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame member, Gates helped integrate the league and later became the first African-American coach in a major sports league, coaching Dayton in 1948(6).

In 1949, the Blackhawks became one of the National Basketball Association’s 17 original teams after a merger of the 12-year-old NBL and the three-year-old Basketball Association of America (BAA). They reached the playoffs in the NBA’s inaugural year under the leadership of coach Red Auerbach. The following season, they drafted three-time-All-American Bob Cousy, but they were unable to reach a deal and traded him to the Chicago Stags (who would later surrender him in a dispersal draft to the Boston Celtics when the Stags folded). The Blackhawks finished last in the Western Division and missed the playoffs. By then, it was obvious that the Tri-Cities area was too small to support an NBA team. After the season, the franchise relocated to Milwaukee and became the Milwaukee Hawks.

1954-1965: St. Louis and The Bob Pettit era

In 1954, the Hawks drafted Bob Pettit, a future NBA MVP. Despite this, the Hawks were one of the league’s worst teams, and in 1955, the Hawks moved, this time to St. Louis, Missouri, Milwaukee’s rival in the beer industry, and became the St. Louis Hawks.

In 1956, Bob Pettit captured the league’s first official Most Valuable Player Award, and the St. Louis Hawks drafted legendary Bill Russell in the first round (second overall pick). They immediately traded Russell to the Boston Celtics for Cliff Hagan and Ed Macauley, both Hall of Fame members(7)(8)(9)

In 1957, the Hawks finished four games under .500. However, the Western Division was extremely weak that year; no team in the division had a winning record. They won the division title and a bye to the division finals after defeating the Minneapolis Lakers and Fort Wayne Pistons in one-game tiebreakers. They then defeated the Lakers in the division finals to advance to the Finals, losing to the Boston Celtics in a double-overtime thriller in game seven. In 1958, after tallying their first winning record, they again advanced to the Finals, where they avenged their defeat against the Celtics from the previous year, winning the series 4-2 and giving their first and only NBA Championship. Bob Pettit scored 50 points in the final game of the series. The following season Bob Pettit led the Hawks to a Western Division-best 49-23 record, helping him capture his second MVP award(10).

The Hawks remained on the NBA’s premier teams for the next decade. In 1960, under coach Ed Macauley, the team advanced to the Finals but lost to the Celtics in a game seven thriller. The following year, with the acquisition of rookie Lenny Wilkens, the Hawks repeated their success, but met the Celtics in the 1961 NBA Finals again and lost in five games. They would remain contenders for most of the 1960’s, advancing deep into the playoffs and also capturing several division titles.

Photo Credit:
https://www.foxsports.com/watch/
131525699621

Pop Gates

Photo Credit:
https://www.pressreader.com/usa/new-
york-daily-news/20120807/2822652525
73555

1. https://web.archive.org/web/20210226214916/
http://s3.amazonaws.com/bncore/wp-content/
uploads/2016/12/Ferris32z.jpg

2. https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/
pop-gates/

3. https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewwagner/
2021/06/21/long-before-the-bucks-were-born-
milwaukee-was-home-of-the-hawks/?sh=
1b90c2f14082

4. https://web.archive.org/web/20131023232607/
https://www.nba.com/hawks/history/season-by-
season-recaps.html

5. https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/14007640

6. https://web.archive.org/web/20120912061724/
http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tag/
william-p-gates

7. https://web.archive.org/web/20160506224620/
http://www.nba.com/history/players/russell_
bio.html

8. https://www.basketball-reference.com/
executives/kernebe99x.html

9. https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/
russebi01c.html

10. https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/
NBA_1959.html

Photo Credit:
https://1000logos.net/philadelphia-76ers-logo/

Photo Credit:
https://sportsteamhistory.com/syracuse-nationals/

In 1946, Italian immigrant Danny Biasone established the Syracuse Nationals of the National Basketball League (NBL), in Syracuse, New York, for $5,000(1). While in the NBL with teams largely consisting of small Midwestern towns, the Nationals put together a 21-23 record, finishing in fourth place. In the playoffs, the Nationals were beaten by the Rochester Royals in four games. In their second season, 1947-1948, the Nationals struggled, finishing in fifth place with a 24-36 record. Despite their record, they made the playoffs and were swept by the Anderson Duffey Packers in three straight games.

Several teams began to leave the NBL for the Basketball Association of America (BAA) as the foundation for a merger was laid. The National's “recipe for success” began by recruiting Leo Ferris(2). Staying the NBL, Ferris signed Al Cervi to be player-coach and outbid the New York Knicks for the services of Dolph Schayes who made his professional debut(3), leading the Nationals to a winning record for the first time with a record of 40-23. In the playoffs the Nationals defeated the Hammond Calumet Buccaneers, winning the series in two straight games. In the semifinals, the Nationals lost to the Anderson Duffey Packers for the second straight season in four games. In 1949, when the NBL and the BAA merged into the NBA, the Nationals were one of seven NBL teams that were brought into the NBA.

The Nationals were an instant success in the NBA, winning the Eastern Division in the 1949-1950 season, with a league-best record of 51-13. In the playoffs the Nationals continued to play solid basketball, beating the Philadelphia Warriors in two games. Moving on to the Eastern Finals, the Nationals battled the New York Knickerbockers, beating their big-city rivals in a three-game series. In the NBA Finals, the Nationals faced fellow NBL alums the Minneapolis Lakers. In Game 1 of the Finals, the Nationals just lost their second home game of the season 68-66. The Nationals did not recover, as they fell behind 3-1 before falling in six games.

Despite several teams leaving the NBA for the National Professional Basketball League (NPBL) before the 1950-1951 season, the Nationals decided to stay put. In their second NBA season, 1950-1951, the Nationals played mediocre basketball all season, finishing in fourth place with a record of 32-34. In the playoffs the Nationals played their best basketball of the season as they stunned the first-place Warriors in two straight, taking Game 1 on the road in overtime 91-89. In the Eastern Finals, the Nationals were beaten by the New York Knickerbockers in a hard-fought five-game series, losing the finale by just two points.

Cervi, playing less and coaching more, emphasized a patient offense and a scrappy defense, which led the league in the 1951-1952 season by yielding a stingy 79.5 points per game as the Nationals won the Eastern Division with a solid 40-26 record. In the playoffs, the Nationals knocked off the Warriors again in a three-game series. In the Eastern Finals, the Nationals fell to the Knickerbockers again, dropping the series in four games.

The Nationals finished in second place in a hard-fought 3-way battle for first place in the Eastern Division for the 1952-1953 season, with a record of 47-24. In the playoffs, the Nationals faced the Boston Celtics dropping Game 1 at home 87-81. Needing a win in Boston to keep their hopes alive, the Nationals took the Celtics deep into overtime before losing in quadruple OT 111-105, in what remains the longest playoff game in NBA history(4).

The Nationals acquired Alex Groza, and Ralph Beard as the Indianapolis Olympians folded leaving the NBA with just 9 teams for the 1953-1954 season. Once again the Nationals battled for the Division title falling two games short with a 42-30 record. In the playoffs, the Nationals won all four games of a round-robin tournament involving the three playoff teams from the East. In the Eastern Finals, the Nationals beat the Celtics in two straight games. In the NBA Finals, the Nationals lost to the Lakers in a hard-fought seven-game series where the two teams alternated wins throughout.

With the NBA struggling financially and down to just 8 teams during the 1954-1955 season, Nationals owner Biasone suggested the league limit the amount of time taken for a shot thus speeding up the game that often ended with long periods of teams just holding the ball and playing keep away. Biasone and Nationals’ general manager Ferris calculated a 24-second shot clock that would allow at least 30 shots per quarter speeding up the game and increasing scoring. The Shot Clock was an instant success as scoring was up 14 points per game league-wide. In the first season of the shot clock, the Nationals would take first place in the East with a 43-29 record. After a first-round bye, the Nationals would beat the Celtics in four games to reach the NBA Finals for the second straight season. In the finals, the Nationals would get off to a fast start, led by forward Schayes, taking the first games at home against the Fort Wayne Pistons(6). As the series moved to Fort Wayne the Pistons would spark back to life taking all three games to take a 3-2 series lead. Back in Syracuse for Game 6 the Nationals kept their championship hopes alive by beating the Pistons 109-104 to force a seventh game at home. Game 7 would be as tight as the series as George King sank a free throw to give the Nationals a 92-91 lead in the final seconds. King then stole the inbound pass to clinch the NBA Championship for the Nationals.

Coming off their NBA Championship the Nationals struggled during the 1955-1956 season, needing a tiebreaker over the Knickerbockers to avoid finishing in last place and make the playoffs with a 35-37 record. In the playoffs, the Nationals stunned the Celtics winning the first-round series in three games by taking the final two games. In the Eastern Finals, the Nationals played solid basketball again as they pushed the Warriors to a decisive fifth game. The Nationals’ reign as defending champions ended with a 109-104 loss in Philadelphia.

The Nationals got off to a slow start as coach Cervi was fired and replaced by Paul Seymour. Under Seymour, the Nationals rebounded and finished the 1956-1957 season in second place with a record of 38-34. In the playoffs, the Nationals had trouble knocking off the defending champion Warriors advancing to the Eastern Finals with two straight wins. The Nationals were swept in three games by the eventual champions, the Celtics.

Fort Wayne and Rochester had moved to Detroit and Cincinnati for the 1957-1958 season, leaving the Syracuse Nationals as the last small-town team in the big-city NBA. That did not matter on the court as the Nationals held their own finishing in second place with a 41-31 record. In the playoffs, the Nationals fell in the first round as they lost a three-game series to the Philadelphia Warriors.

Despite a mediocre 35-37 record for the 1958-1959 season, the Nationals made the playoffs again by finishing in third place. In the playoffs, the Nationals swept the Knickerbockers in two straight to reach the Eastern Finals, where they lost to the eventual champion Celtics, alternating wins before losing by 5 points in Game 7.

Playing in a league now dominated by superstars like Bill Russell of the Celtics, Wilt Chamberlain of the Warriors, Bob Pettit of the St. Louis Hawks, and Elgin Baylor of the Lakers, the Nationals held their own posting a solid 45-30 record, while finishing in third place after the 1959-1960 regular season. In the playoffs, the Nationals lost a three-game series to Chamberlain and the Warriors.

With the Lakers relocating from Minneapolis to Los Angeles before the 1960–61 season, the Syracuse Nationals became the last old NBL team to still be playing in their original city in the NBA. The Nationals went on to make the playoffs again by finishing in third place with a 38–41 record. The Nationals were dangerous in the playoffs as they stunned the Warriors in three straight games. In the Eastern Finals, the Nationals lost once again to the eventual champion Celtics in five games.

Schayes missed 24 games during the 1961–62 season and failed to lead the team in scoring for the first time in 14 years, as Hal Greer led the way with 22.8 points per game. The Nationals finished in third place again with a 41–39 record. In the playoffs, the Nationals lost their first two games to the Warriors on the road. Facing elimination the Nationals won the next two games to force a fifth game in Philadelphia. In Game 5 the Warriors ended the Nationals' season with a 121–104 victory.

With an aging team, the Nationals were expected to fade; however, with the scrappy play of Johnny Kerr, the Nationals remained a strong contender, finishing in second place for the 1962–63 season, with a record of 48–32. In the playoffs the Nationals faced the Cincinnati Royals, getting off to a 2–1 series lead. Needing one win to advance to the Eastern Finals again the Nationals lost two straight, dropping the decisive fifth game at home in overtime 131–127.