World Professional Basketball Tournament

The World Professional Basketball Tournament was an annual invitational tournament held in Chicago from 1939 to 1948 and sponsored by the Chicago Herald American.[1] Many teams came from the National Basketball League, but it also included the best teams from other leagues and the best independent barnstorming teams such as the New York Rens and Harlem Globetrotters. Games were played at various sites including Chicago Coliseum, International Amphitheater and Chicago Stadium.

World Professional Basketball Tournament
SportBasketball
Founded1939
Ceased1948
CountryUnited States
Most titlesFort Wayne Zollner Pistons
(3 titles)

The NBL champion usually won this tournament, with three exceptions: the New York Rens won the first WPBT in 1939,[2] while the Harlem Globetrotters—a strongly competitive squad in those days—won the following year.[3] In 1943, the Washington Bears (with many New York Rens players on their roster) won the tournament. The NBL's Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons won the most titles (three, from 1944 to 1946), while the NBL's Oshkosh All-Stars made the most finals appearances with five, winning only once (in 1942).

The last tournament was held in 1948, with the Minneapolis Lakers defeating the New York Rens 75–71 in the tournament final.[1][4] The following year, The Indianapolis News attempted to hold a similar tournament,[5] inviting the Wilkes-Barre Barons from the American Basketball League, three teams each from the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League, and one team that would remain unidentified until shortly before the seeded draw.[6][7] Although the National Basketball League agreed to attend, the tournament did not come to fruition after the BAA declined the invitation.[8]

All-time championship game scoring records

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* Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Player Team Games Pts PPG
Leroy Edwards Oshkosh 5 53 10.6
Bobby McDermott Ft. Wayne 3 49 16.3
Jake Pelkington Det/Ft. W 4 45 11.2
Buddy Jeannette Det/Ft. W 4 42 10.5
George Mikan Minneapolis 1 40 40
Pop Gates NY/Wash 3 37 12.3
Ed Sadowski Det/Ft. W 3 34 11.3
Jerry Bush Det/Ft. W 5 30 6.0
Nat Clifton NY 1 24 24.0
Gene Englund Oshkosh 3 22 7.3
Chick Reiser Ft. Wayne 3 22 7.3
Bob Tough Bkn/Ft. W 2 21 10.5
Duke Cumberland Harlem/NY 2 20 10.0
Jake Ahearn Detroit 2 20 10.0
George Sobek Toledo 1 20 20.0

All-time World Tournament team records

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Team App. Gms W L 1st 2nd
Oshkosh All-Stars 9 30 20 10 1 4
New York Rens-Washington Bears 10 28 18 10 2 1
Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 8 21 15 6 3 0
Harlem Globetrotters 7 20 13 7 1 0
Detroit Eagles 3 10 8 2 1 1
Chicago American Gears 2 9 7 2 0 0
Chicago Bruins-Ramblers 4 9 5 4 0 1
Toledo White Huts-Whites-Jeeps 4 10 5 5 0 1
Sheboygan Redskins 8 14 5 9 0 0
Anderson Chiefs-Duffey Packers 3 7 4 3 0 0
Minneapolis Lakers 1 3 3 0 1 0
Brooklyn Eagles 1 4 3 1 0 1
L.I. Grumman Flyers/Hellcats 2 5 3 2 0 0
Dayton Acmes-Mickeys 2 5 3 2 0 1
Midland Dow Chemicals 3 6 3 3 0 0
Indianapolis Kautskys 5 7 3 4 1 0
Washington Heurlick Brewers 1 3 2 1 0 0
Tri-Cities Blackhawks 2 5 2 3 0 0
Baltimore Bullets 2 6 2 4 0 0
  • Twenty-seven teams entered the tournament in various years but did not win a game; eight teams had one win.
  • The New York Celtics played in the initial tournament in 1939, but lost their only game. Another well-known team, the Philadelphia Sphas, had a win and a loss in their only appearance, in 1941 .

Recap by year

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1939

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1940

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1941

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1942

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1943

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1944

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1945

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1946

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1947

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1948

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Bill Carlson (12 April 1948). "Lakers 'World Champions' now". The Minneapolis Star. p. 23. Retrieved 15 March 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ "New York Rens win net title". The South Bend Tribune. Associated Press. 29 March 1939. p. 21. Retrieved 5 April 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ a b "Globe Trotters win world's pro tourney title". The Oshkosh Northwestern. 21 March 1940. p. 23. Retrieved 4 April 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ John Schleppi (1989). "Chicago's World Tournament of Professional Basketball 1939—1948". LA84 Foundation. North American Society for Sport History. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  5. ^ "News invites eight teams for World Pro Cage Tourney here". The Indianapolis News. 22 March 1949. p. 24. Retrieved 6 April 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  6. ^ "B.A.A. ponders bid to Pro Tourney". The Indianapolis News. 24 March 1949. p. 21. Retrieved 6 April 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  7. ^ Bill Kinney (26 March 1949). "Backward step". The Rock Island Argus. p. 14. Retrieved 6 April 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  8. ^ Jack Estell (31 March 1949). "News' Pro Peace Bid Seems Doomed to Fail". The Tipton Daily Tribune. International News Service. p. 4. Retrieved 6 April 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  9. ^ a b c "George Mikan placed on Pro All-Star team". The Birmingham News. 10 April 1946. p. 20. Retrieved 4 April 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
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