1940–41 National Basketball League (United States) season

1940–41 NBL season
LeagueNational Basketball League
SportBasketball
Duration
  • November 27, 1940 – March 1941
  • March 4–8, 1941 (Playoffs)
  • March 10–12, 1941 (Finals)
Games24
Teams7
Regular season
Season championsOshkosh All-Stars
Top seedOshkosh All-Stars
Season MVPBen Stephens (Akron Goodyear Wingfoots)
Top scorerBen Stephens (Akron Goodyear Wingfoots)
Playoffs
championsOshkosh All-Stars
   runners-upAkron Firestone Non-Skids
championsSheboygan Red Skins
   runners-upDetroit Eagles
Finals
Venue
ChampionsOshkosh All-Stars
  Runners-upSheboygan Red Skins

The 1940–41 NBL season was the sixth National Basketball League (NBL) season. The regular season began on November 27, 1940, and ran until early March 1941. It was the first NBL regular season to be played without divisions. The playoffs began on March 4, 1941, and ran until March 12, 1941, with the Oshkosh All-Stars defeating the Sheboygan Red Skins by three games to none to claim their first NBL title.

Teams

The Indianapolis Katuskys did not compete in the NBL this season, instead playing as a barnstorming team.[1] With a total of seven teams, the NBL did not use Eastern and Western divisions this season.[2] The Detroit Eagles had also originally intended to not play through this season in the NBL due to team owner and head coach Gerry Archibald having trouble securing a home venue for his team this season (which helped influence the NBL's decision to remove division from this season entirely), but new ownership taking over the team for him would help solve those problems in time for them to re-enter this season without much issue on the NBL's end.

National Basketball League
Akron Firestone Non-Skids

Akron, Ohio

Akron Goodyear Wingfoots

Akron, Ohio

Chicago Bruins

Chicago, Illinois

Detroit Eagles

Detroit, Michigan

Hammond Ciesar All-Americans

Hammond, Indiana

Oshkosh All-Stars

Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Sheboygan Red Skins

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Coaching changes
Offseason
Team 1939–40 coach 1940–41 coach
Chicago Bruins Sam Lifschultz[3] Frank Linksey (player-coach)[4]
Detroit Eagles Gerry Archibald[5] Dutch Dehnert[6]
Hammond Ciesar All-Americans Leo Bereolos[7] Carl Anderson (player-coach)[8]
Oshkosh All-Stars Lon Darling[9] George Hotchkiss[10]

Preseason

The Detroit Eagles struggled to secure a home venue, which almost resulted in them being unable to play the season. The NBL planned for a six-team schedule prior to the Eagles securing a last-minute deal to play at the Detroit Naval Armory, before re-adjusting the schedule to accommodate the Eagles.[1] Part of their success by the start of the regular season was due to the Eagles going through a change in ownership, with owner, head coach, and general manager Gerry Archibald selling the team to a Detroit-based ownership group including a Chrysler Motors executive.[11] Archibald also stepped down as coach, being replaced by Dutch Dehnert.[5][6]

Regular season

The regular season used a 24-game schedule, where each team played every other team four times (twice at home, twice away).

Pos. League Standings Wins Losses Win %
1 Oshkosh All-Stars 18 6 .750
T–2 Sheboygan Red Skins 13 11 .542
Akron Firestone Non-Skids 13 11 .542
4 Detroit Eagles 12 12 .500
T–5 Chicago Bruins 11 13 .458
Akron Goodyear Wingfoots 11 13 .458
7 Hammond Ciesar All-Americans 6 18 .250

Postseason

Playoffs

The top four teams qualified for the playoffs, with the semifinals pitting the 1-seed against the 3-seed, and the 2-seed against the 4-seed in best-of-three series. The winners of the semifinal matchups would play each other for the NBL Championship in a best-of-five series.[2]

The Oshkosh All-Stars, Sheboygan Red Skins, Akron Firestone Non-Skids, and Detroit Eagles had the best four records during the regular season. Sheboygan and Akron, having finished tied for second place at 13 wins and 11 losses each, had their seed determined by coin toss. Sheboygan drew the 2-seed and was matched up with Detroit, while Akron drew the 3-seed and was matched up with Oshkosh.[12]

The All-Stars and Red Skins advanced to the NBL Championship, after the All-Stars swept the Non-Skids 2–0 and the Red Skins defeated the Eagles 2–1. In the championship series, Oshkosh swept Sheboygan 3–0 to claim its first title.

Semifinals NBL Championship
      
1 Oshkosh All-Stars 2
3 Akron Firestone Non-Skids 0
1 Oshkosh All-Stars 3
2 Sheboygan Red Skins 0
2 Sheboygan Red Skins 2
4 Detroit Eagles 1
  • Bold Series winner

World Professional Basketball Tournament

Main article: 1941 World Professional Basketball Tournament

Following the completion of the NBL season, four NBL teams (the Chicago Bruins, Detroit Eagles, Oshkosh All-Stars, and Sheboygan Red Skins) competed in the 1941 edition of the World Professional Basketball Tournament in Chicago. The Sheboygan Red Skins and Chicago Bruins were both defeated by the Toledo White Huts in the first round and quarterfinals, respectively. The Detroit Eagles were victorious in the final match against the Oshkosh All-Stars, winning 39–37. The Eagles had beaten the New York Rens and Harlem Globetrotters on their way to the final, while the All-Stars had beaten the White Huts.[13]

Statistics

Leaders

Category Player Team Stat
Points Ben Stephens Akron Goodyear Wingfoots 265[14]
Free-Throws Leroy Edwards Oshkosh All-Stars 76[15]
Field goals Ben Stephens Akron Goodyear Wingfoots 98[16]

Note: Prior to the 1969–70 NBA season, league leaders in points were determined by totals rather than averages. Also, rebounding and assist numbers were not recorded properly in the NBL like they would be in the BAA/NBA, as would field goal and free-throw shooting percentages.

Awards

Ben Stephens became the first player not named Leroy Edwards to be named NBL MVP. Ralph Vaughn became the first All-NBL selection to represent multiple teams in the year of his selection.

[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Nelson, Murry R. (2009). The National Basketball League: A History, 1935–1949. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7864-4006-1., p. 81
  2. ^ a b Nelson, Murry R. (2009). The National Basketball League: A History, 1935–1949. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7864-4006-1., pp. 81–82
  3. ^ "CHICAGO BRUINS".
  4. ^ "CHICAGO BRUINS".
  5. ^ a b "DETROIT EAGLES".
  6. ^ a b "DETROIT EAGLES".
  7. ^ "HAMMOND CIESAR ALL-AMERICANS".
  8. ^ "HAMMOND CIESAR ALL-AMERICANS".
  9. ^ "OSHKOSH All-STARS".
  10. ^ "OSHKOSH All-STARS".
  11. ^ Nelson, Murry R. (2009). The National Basketball League: A History, 1935–1949. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7864-4006-1., p. 82
  12. ^ Nelson, Murry R. (2009). The National Basketball League: A History, 1935–1949. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7864-4006-1., p. 90
  13. ^ George Beahon (21 March 1941). "Detroit's 'Cinderella Kids' Won on Nerve, Grit for Dehnert, Hughey". Democrat and Chronicle. p. 28. Retrieved 7 April 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "NBL Year-by-Year Leaders and Records for Points". Basketball-Reference.com.
  15. ^ "NBL Year-by-Year Leaders and Records for Free Throws". Basketball-Reference.com.
  16. ^ "NBL Year-by-Year Leaders and Records for Field Goals". Basketball-Reference.com.
  17. ^ "Steve Dimitry's NBL Web Site". Archived from the original on 2005-08-18.
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