1946–47 Chicago American Gears season

1946–47 Chicago American Gears season
NBL champions
Head coachBobby McDermott (player-coach)
ArenaInternational Amphitheatre
Results
Record26–18 (.591)
PlaceDivision: T–3 (Western)
Playoff finishDefeated Rochester Royals in NBL Championship, 3–1

The 1946–47 Chicago American Gears season was the Gears' third year in the United States' National Basketball League (NBL), which was also the tenth year the league existed.[1] This also was the NBL's first official season where they actually implemented a drafting system similar to what the future rivaling Basketball Association of America (and later merging partner to become the National Basketball Association) had for the eventual NBA draft system a year later following the conclusion of their inaugural league season for the purpose of controlled player salaries and limiting the idea of outbidding other players outside of their own 12-player teams at hand (with the NBL having a budget of $6,000 this season), as well as implementing key players to signing binding contracts as soon as they could and the NBL looking to have full-time referees on display.[2] Twelve teams competed in the NBL in 1946–47, comprising six teams in both the Eastern and Western Divisions.[3]

Chicago played their home games at International Amphitheatre.[4] Despite finishing tied for third place in the Western Division, the American Gears made a surprise playoffs run by winning the first series three games to two (3–2) over the Indianapolis Kautskys, followed by a 2–0 sweep of Oshkosh All-Stars in the semifinals.[3] They then went on to win their first and only NBL championship 3–1 over Eastern Division champion Rochester Royals.[3]

Player-coach Bobby McDermott (First Team), George Mikan (First), and Bob Calihan (Second) earned All-NBL honors.[3]

Roster

1946–47 Chicago American Gears roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
G/F Price Brookfield 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1920–05–11 Iowa State
G/F Bob Calihan 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1918–08–02 Detroit Mercy
F/C Bob Cotton 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1920–12–29 Texas Wesleyan
F/C Bruce Hale 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1918–08–30 Santa Clara
G Bobby McDermott 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1914–01–07 Flushing High School
G/F Bill McDonald 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1916–11–05 Marquette
C George Mikan 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1924–06–18 DePaul
F/C Max Morris 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1925–03–13 Northwestern
F/C Irv Noren 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1924–11–29 Pasadena CC
G/F Stan Patrick 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1922–05–05 Illinois
F/C George Ratkovicz 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1922–11–13 Robert E. Lindblom Technical High School
G/F Les Rothman 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1926–08–12 LIU Brooklyn
F/C Art Stoefen 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1914–08–29 Stanford
F/C Bob Synnott 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1912–09–27 Theodore Roosevelt High School
G Stan Szukala 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1918–06–12 DePaul
G/F Dick Triptow 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1922–11–03 DePaul
Head coach
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster

Note: Bob Cotton, Bill McDonald, Irv Noren, Les Rothman, and Bob Synnott were not on the playoffs roster.

Regular season

Season standings

Pos. Western Division Wins Losses Win %
1 Oshkosh All-Stars 28 16 .636
2 Indianapolis Kautskys 27 17 .614
T–3 26 18 .591
Sheboygan Red Skins 26 18 .591
5 Anderson Duffey Packers 24 20 .545
6 Detroit Gems 4 40 .091

Playoffs

Opening Round

(2W) Indianapolis Kautskys vs. (3W) Chicago American Gears: Chicago wins series 3–2

  • Game 1 @ Indianapolis: Chicago 74, Indianapolis 72
  • Game 2 @ Indianapolis: Chicago 69, Indianapolis 61
  • Game 3 @ Chicago: Indianapolis 68, Chicago 67
  • Game 4 @ Chicago: Indianapolis 55, Chicago 54
  • Game 5 @ Chicago: Chicago 76, Indianapolis 62

Semifinals

(1W) Oshkosh All-Stars vs. (3W) Chicago American Gears: Chicago wins series 2–0

  • Game 1 @ Chicago: Chicago 60, Oshkosh 54[5]
  • Game 2 @ Oshkosh: Chicago 61, Oshkosh 60[6]

NBL Championship

(1E) Rochester Royals vs. (3W) Chicago American Gears: Chicago wins series 3–1

  • Game 1 @ Rochester: Rochester 71, Chicago 65[7]
  • Game 2 @ Rochester: Chicago 67, Rochester 63[8]
  • Game 3 @ Chicago: Chicago 78, Rochester 70[9]
  • Game 4 @ Chicago: Chicago 79, Rochester 68[10]

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ "NBL Season Index". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  2. ^ Nelson, Murry R. (2009). The National Basketball League: A History, 1935–1949. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7864-4006-1., pp. 158–159
  3. ^ a b c d "1946–47 NBL Season Summary". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  4. ^ "Chicago American Gears → 1946–1947". Pro Basketball Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  5. ^ "Gears Winners Over Oshkosh 'Stars, 60–54". The Post-Crescent. March 28, 1947. p. 13. Retrieved October 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Gears Beat Oshkosh". Wisconsin State Journal. March 30, 1947. p. 30. Retrieved October 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Royals Defeat Gears; Take Playoff Lead". The Journal Standard. April 4, 1947. p. 8. Retrieved October 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "George Mikan's 27 Points Help Gears Win, 67–63". Chicago Tribune. April 6, 1947. p. 24. Retrieved October 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Gears Battle Royals In Playoff Battle". The Journal Standard. April 8, 1947. p. 6. Retrieved October 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Chicago Gears Take National Basketball Title". Carbondale Free Press. April 10, 1947. p. 7. Retrieved October 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
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