1948–49 Tri-Cities Blackhawks season

1948–49 Tri-Cities Blackhawks season
Head coachBobby McDermott (player-coach; 24–21[1])
Roger Potter (12–7[1])
ArenaWharton Field House
Results
Record36–28 (.563)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finishLost Western Division Semifinals to the All-Stars, 1–3
Stats at Basketball Reference

The 1948–49 Tri-Cities Blackhawks season was the team's third season of play (their second full season of play while going under the Tri-Cities Blackhawks name after previously going under the Buffalo Bisons in 1946) and their last season of play in the National Basketball League (NBL) before its merger with the Basketball Association of America (BAA). Led by the league's final MVP Don Otten, the Blackhawks experienced their first winning season in team history, as well as their only winning season while in the NBL.[2] The Tri-Cities would sweep the Sheboygan Red Skins 2–0 in the Western Division opening round, but lost to the Oshkosh All-Stars 3–1 in the Western Division semifinal round of the final NBL Playoffs ever held. Months after the end of what became the final NBL season as a whole, the NBL officially agreed to merge operations with the more upstart Basketball Association of America to become the modern-day National Basketball Association, with the NBA ultimately keeping the history of the BAA around over that of the NBL despite it being the longer-lasting league, though the NBA would also keep every surviving NBL team from the previous season outside of the Dayton Rens, Hammond Calumet Buccaneers, and Oshkosh All-Stars (with Oshkosh being a last-minute subtraction on their end) alongside keeping the NBL's planned expansion team in the Indianapolis Olympians, while the BAA side also kept every team of theirs outside of the Indianapolis Jets (formerly the NBL's Indianapolis Kautskys) and the Providence Steamrollers for the merger. However, the Blackhawks and the Syracuse Nationals would become the only NBL teams in the NBL side of things by 1949 to survive to the present day, albeit as the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers respectively.

Roster

1948–49 Tri-Cities Blackhawks roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
F/C – Joe Camic 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1922-11-18 Duquesne
G/F – Dee Gibson 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1923-08-25 Bradley
F/C – Hoot Gibson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1921-12-05 Creighton (Minnesota)
G/F – Luther Harris 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1923-08-27 East Alton–Wood River HS (IL)
G – Billy Hassett 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1921-10-21 Notre Dame
F – Earl Hawkins 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1920-09-23 Auburn
F/C – Ed Lewinski 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1918-09-10 Bowen HS (IL)
F/C – Bobby Lowther 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1923-12-14 LSU
G – Bobby McDermott 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1914-01-07 Flushing High School
C – Don Otten 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1921-04-18 Bowling Green
F/C – George Ratkovicz 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1922-11-13 Lindblom HS (IL)
F/C – Don Ray 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1921-07-08 Western Kentucky
G/F – Whitey Von Nieda 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1922-06-19 Penn State
G – Murray Wier 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 155 lb (70 kg) 1926-12-12 Iowa
Head coach
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Season standings

NBL Schedule

Not to be confused with exhibition or other non-NBL scheduled games that did not count towards the Tri-Cities' official NBL record for this season. An official database created by John Grasso detailing every NBL match possible (outside of two matches that the Kankakee Gallagher Trojans won over the Dayton Metropolitans in 1938) would be released in 2026 showcasing every team's official schedules throughout their time spent in the NBL. As such, these are the official results recorded for the Tri-Cities Blackhawks in their third and final season in the NBL (second and final full season under the Tri-Cities Blackhawks name specifically following the new Buffalo Bisons team moving from Buffalo, New York to Moline, Illinois near the end of 1946, with the Blackhawks officially playing their NBL games from their inaugural (NBL) season at the start of 1947).

# Date Opponent Score Record
1 November 6 Sheboygan 63–64 0–1
2 November 11 @ Sheboygan 56–48 1–1
3 November 13 Denver 70–58 2–1
4 November 15 @ Anderson 57–64 2–2
5 November 16 Waterloo 67–63 3–2
6 November 17 @ Syracuse 56–58 3–3
7 November 20 Hammond 93–73 4–3
8 November 22 @ Denver 54–49 5–3
9 November 24 @ Denver 51–60 5–4
10 November 27 Detroit 92–73 6–4
11 November 28 @ Waterloo 59–61 6–5
12 December 2 Denver 80–76 7–5
13 December 4 Oshkosh 47–57 7–6
14 December 5 @ Hammond 58–52 8–6
15 December 7 Anderson 76–78 8–7
16 December 11 Denver 82–62 9–7
17 December 12 @ Hammond 70–58 10–7
18 December 16 Oshkosh 73–64 11–7
19 December 19 Syracuse 67–66 12–7
20 December 20 @ Anderson 61–58 13–7
21 December 23 Hammond 63–64 13–8
22 December 26 Dayton 70–49 14–8
23 December 28 N Syracuse 74–87 14–9
24 December 30 @ Syracuse 74–83 14–10
25 January 1 @ Sheboygan 51–64 14–11
26 January 2 Sheboygan 68–54 15–11
27 January 5 @ Denver 44–50 15–12
28 January 7 @ Denver 69–58 16–12
29 January 9 Anderson 77–71 17–12
30 January 13 Waterloo 72–68 18–12
31 January 16 Syracuse 83–72 19–12
32 January 19 @ Waterloo 46–42 20–12
33 January 20 Anderson 74–76 20–13
34 January 22 @ Oshkosh 53–64 20–14
35 January 23 @ Sheboygan 60–66 20–15
36 January 25 Hammond 75–51 21–15
37 January 27 @ Syracuse 55–58 21–16
38 January 30 Oshkosh 92–69 22–16
39 February 2 Waterloo 59–70 22–17
40 February 3 Waterloo 56–63 22–18
41 February 5 @ Oshkosh 65–63 23–18
42 February 6 Hammond 53–49 24–18
43 February 7 N Dayton 49–51 24–19
44 February 10 Dayton 54–61 24–20
45 February 13 Oshkosh 53–54 24–21
46 February 16 Waterloo 63–58 25–21
47 February 17 @ Anderson 71–97 25–22
48 February 20 Syracuse 75–66 26–22
49 February 21 N Dayton 74–54 27–22
50 February 24 Anderson 75–73 (OT) 28–22
51 February 26 @ Oshkosh 54–58 28–23
52 February 27 Syracuse 51–40 29–23
53 March 3 Dayton 58–60 29–24
54 March 6 Sheboygan 80–63 30–24
55 March 9 Dayton 65–56 31–24
56 March 10 N Dayton 68–45 32–24
57 March 12 Sheboygan 68–66 33–24
58 March 13 @ Waterloo 50–49 34–24
59 March 16 @ Hammond 57–60 34–25
60 March 17 @ Sheboygan 61–69 34–26
61 March 20 Oshkosh 78–61 35–26
62 March 24 Denver 59–57 36–26
63 March 26 @ Anderson 75–102 36–27
64 March 27 Hammond 62–63 36–28

Western Division standings

Pos. Western Division Wins Losses Win %
1 Oshkosh All-Stars 37 27 .578
2 Tri-Cities Blackhawks 36 28 .563
3 Sheboygan Red Skins 35 29 .547
4 Waterloo Hawks 30 32 .484
5 Denver Nuggets 18 44 .290

Playoffs

Western Division Opening Round

(2W) Tri-Cities Blackhawks vs. (3W) Sheboygan Red Skins: Tri-Cities wins series 2–0

  • Game 1: April 2, 1949 @ Moline, Illinois (Tri-Cities): Tri-Cities 75, Sheboygan 60[3]
  • Game 2: April 3, 1949 @ Sheboygan: Tri-Cities 59, Sheboygan 51

Western Division Semifinals

(2W) Tri-Cities Blackhawks vs. (1W) Oshkosh All-Stars: Oshkosh wins series 3–1

  • Game 1: April 6, 1949 @ Oshkosh: Oshkosh 68, Tri-Cities 66[3]
  • Game 2: April 9, 1949 @ Oshkosh: Oshkosh 73, Tri-Cities 59
  • Game 3: April 10, 1949 @ Moline, Illinois (Tri-Cities): Tri-Cities 70, Oshkosh 64
  • Game 4: April 12, 1949 @ Moline, Illinois (Tri-Cities): Oshkosh 70, Tri-Cities 69

Awards and records

[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "TRI-CITIES BLACKHAWKS". Pro Basketball Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2026-01-06.
  2. ^ 1948–49 Tri-Cities Blackhawks records and stats
  3. ^ a b Bradley, Robert; Grasso, John (2003). Total Basketball: The Ultimate Basketball Encyclopedia. SPORT Media Publishing, Inc. ISBN 1-894963-01-6., p. 423
  4. ^ 1948–49 NBL Awards and Honors
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