1945–46 Rochester Royals season
| 1945–46 Rochester Royals season | |
|---|---|
NBL champions | |
| Head coach | Eddie Malanowicz |
| Owners | Jack Harrison Les Harrison |
| Arena | Edgerton Park Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 24–10 (.706) |
| Place | Division: 2 (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | NBL Champions (Defeated Red Skins 3–0) |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Radio | WHAM |
The 1945–46 Rochester Royals season was the franchise's first season in the National Basketball League.[1] This would also be considered the franchise's first official season as the Rochester Royals after previously being a mostly independent franchise that went by the name of the Rochester Seagrams all the way back in 1923 and then used the names of the Rochester Eber Seagrams and Rochester Pros in their last few seasons before utilizing the Rochester Royals name as a professional franchise.[2] This season was notable for the fact that the Royals would have the biggest victory in NBL history with a 70–27 blowout win on January 5, 1946 over the Youngstown Bears, who were a new NBL team (who only scored eleven total field-goals and five free-throws that night) that would play in that league for one more season before folding operations altogether.[3][4] They would also win their only NBL championship during that season. The Royals would later win a NBA Finals championship five years later in 1951 after they later moved out into the National Basketball Association, with the franchise now currently going by the Sacramento Kings.
Season standings
Eastern Division
| Pos. | Eastern Division | Wins | Losses | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons | 26 | 8 | .765 |
| 2 | 24 | 10 | .706 | |
| 3 | Youngstown Bears | 13 | 20 | .394 |
| 4 | Cleveland Allmen Transfers | 4 | 29 | .121 |
Western Division
| Pos. | Western Division | Wins | Losses | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheboygan Red Skins | 21 | 13 | .618 |
| 2 | Oshkosh All-Stars | 19 | 15 | .559 |
| 3 | Chicago American Gears | 17 | 17 | .500 |
| 4 | Indianapolis Kautskys | 10 | 22 | .313 |
Statistics
Regular season
| Rk | Player | Position | Games played | Field Goals Per Game |
Free Throws Per Game |
Free Throws Attempted Per Game |
Points Per Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Glamack | C-F | 34 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 5.4 | 12.3 |
| 2 | Red Holzman | G | 34 | 4.2 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 10.7 |
| 3 | Al Cervi | G-F | 28 | 4.0 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 10.7 |
| 4 | Bob Davies | G-F | 27 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 9.0 |
| 5 | Otto Graham | F-G | 32 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 5.2 |
| 6 | John Mahnken | C | 16 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 7.7 |
| 7 | Andrew Levane | F-G | 22 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 5.1 |
| 8 | Al Negratti | F-C | 16 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 3.0 | |
| 9 | Tommy Rich | F | 17 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 2.6 | |
| 10 | Jack Garfinkel | G | 18 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 1.9 | |
| 11 | Bob Fitzgerald | F-C | 10 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 3.3 | |
| 12 | Chuck Connors | F-C | 14 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 2.0 | |
| 13 | Delbert Rice | F | 11 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 2.0 | |
| 14 | Buddy O'Grady | G | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
| 15 | Bernard Voorheis | G | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Playoffs
| Rk | Player | Position | Games played | Field Goals Per Game |
Free Throws Per Game |
Free Throws Attempted Per Game |
Points Per Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Glamack | C-F | 7 | 4.9 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 12.6 |
| 2 | Bob Davies | G-F | 7 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 5.9 | 12.3 |
| 3 | Red Holzman | G | 7 | 4.3 | 3.0 | 4.4 | 11.6 |
| 4 | Al Cervi | G-F | 7 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 10.0 |
| 5 | John Mahnken | C | 7 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 6.6 |
| 6 | Al Negratti | F-C | 7 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.6 |
| 7 | Bob Fitzgerald | F-C | 6 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| 8 | Otto Graham | F-G | 5 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.2 | |
| 9 | Jack Garfinkel | G | 6 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| 10 | Andrew Levane | F-G | 3 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| 11 | Bernard Voorheis | G | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0[5] |
Awards and records
- NBL Rookie of the Year: Red Holzman
- All-NBL First Team: George Glamack, Red Holzman
- All-NBL Second Team: Al Cervi[6]