1947 BAA playoffs

1947 BAA playoffs
Tournament details
DatesApril 2 – April 22, 1947
Season1946–47
Teams6
Final positions
ChampionsPhiladelphia Warriors (1st title)
Runners-upChicago Stags
Semifinalists

The 1947 BAA playoffs was the postseason tournament that followed the inaugural Basketball Association of America 1946–47 season. After its 1948–49 season, the BAA merged with the older National Basketball League to create the National Basketball Association or NBA. The tournament concluded with the Philadelphia Warriors defeating the Chicago Stags, 4 games to 1, in the BAA Finals.

The six qualified teams all began tournament play on Wednesday, April 2, and the Finals concluded on Tuesday, April 22. Philadelphia and Chicago played 10 and 11 games in the span of 21 days but their final series was compact, five games in seven days.[1] Greater details on the first ever playoffs held in BAA/NBA history would be explored in Charley Rosen's book called "The First Tip-Off: The Incredible Story of the Birth of the NBA", with an entire chapter dedicated to the intricate details (including why the playoff formatting was the way it was during this season) and behind the scenes business (alongside later interviews with players and personnel that were involved with the playoff teams that season) that occurred both before and during the 1947 BAA playoffs.[2]

For the inaugural BAA/NBA playoffs, the BAA would see not one, but two major competitive professional basketball tournaments taking place at around the exact same time as the 1947 BAA playoffs. The first event was the 1947 NBL playoffs, which took place from March 18–April 9, 1947, and involved a rivaling team from Chicago in the Chicago American Gears that eventually were crowned champions of the NBL for the 1946–47 season's playoffs over the Rochester Royals. The second event was the 1947 World Professional Basketball Tournament, which was held in Chicago (home of the Stags) from April 7–11, 1947, and involved 14 teams from the rivaling National Basketball League alongside independently ran teams, the future Baltimore Bullets BAA/NBA team from the rivaling American Basketball League, and the Portland Indians from the short-lived Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League; that tournament would end with the NBL's Indianapolis Kautskys defeating the NBL's Toledo Jeeps in the championship round. Despite the Stags seeing worthwhile success throughout this season, they would end up debating on whether to fold operations following this season's conclusion due in part to the staggering competition they had to deal with late in the season for financial purposes.[3]

Playoffs

There were no byes. Western and Eastern champions Chicago and Washington immediately played a long semifinal series with Washington having home-court advantage. Chicago won the sixth game in Washington one day before Philadelphia concluded its two short series with other runners-up. In the 1947 BAA Finals, the Philadelphia Warriors defeated the Chicago Stags 4–1.

Bracket

First RoundBAA SemifinalsBAA Finals
W1Chicago*4
E1Washington*2
W1Chicago*1
E3New York2
E2Philadelphia4
W3Cleveland1
E3New York0
E2Philadelphia2
W2St. Louis1
E2Philadelphia2
  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner

First round

(E2) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (W2) St. Louis Bombers

April 2
St. Louis Bombers 68, Philadelphia Warriors 73
Scoring by quarter: 20–19, 15–24, 13–19, 20–11
Pts: Munroe, Logan 16 each Pts: Angelo Musi 19
Philadelphia leads series, 1–0
April 5
Philadelphia Warriors 51, St. Louis Bombers 73
Scoring by quarter: 12–19, 15–19, 13–17, 11–18
Pts: Angelo Musi 12 Pts: Belus Smawley 17
Series tied, 1–1
April 6
Philadelphia Warriors 75, St. Louis Bombers 59
Scoring by quarter: 20–14, 16–19, 23–10, 16–16
Pts: Joe Fulks 24 Pts: Belus Smawley 21
Philadelphia wins series, 2–1

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.

(E3) New York Knicks vs. (W3) Cleveland Rebels

April 2
New York Knicks 51, Cleveland Rebels 77
Scoring by quarter: 7–22, 17–17, 9–15, 18–23
Pts: Lee Knorek 10 Pts: Ed Sadowski 24
Cleveland leads series, 1–0
Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
April 5
Cleveland Rebels 74, New York Knicks 86
Scoring by quarter: 15–23, 28–18, 13–24, 18–21
Pts: Ed Sadowski 26 Pts: Stan Stutz 30
Series tied, 1–1
April 9
Cleveland Rebels 71, New York Knicks 93
Scoring by half: 35–45, 36–48
Pts: Ed Sadowski 21 Pts: Bud Palmer 26
New York wins series, 2–1

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.

BAA Semifinals

(E1) Washington Capitols vs. (W1) Chicago Stags

April 2
Chicago Stags 81, Washington Capitols 65
Scoring by quarter: 15–17, 20–16, 26–13, 20–19
Pts: Tony Jaros 29 Pts: Scolari, Feerick 13 each
Chicago leads series, 1–0
Uline Arena, Washington, D.C.
Referees: Pat Kennedy, Nate Messenger
April 3
Chicago Stags 69, Washington Capitols 53
Scoring by quarter: 19–10, 17–18, 14–15, 19–10
Pts: Max Zaslofsky 15 Pts: Bob Feerick 19
Chicago leads series, 2–0
Uline Arena, Washington, D.C.
Referees: Pat Kennedy, Nate Messenger
April 8
Washington Capitols 55, Chicago Stags 67
Scoring by quarter: 12–19, 19–13, 14–24, 10–11
Pts: Bob Feerick 16 Pts: Don Carlson 22
Chicago leads series, 3–0
Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Referees: Pat Kennedy, Nate Messenger
April 10
Chicago Stags 69, Washington Capitols 76
Scoring by quarter: 8–13, 16–16, 19–23, 26–24
Pts: Zaslofsky, Carlson 21 each Pts: John Mahnken 18
Chicago leads series, 3–1
Uline Arena, Washington, D.C.
Referees: Pat Kennedy, Nate Messenger
April 12
Washington Capitols 67, Chicago Stags 55
Scoring by quarter: 11–12, 16–16, 17–14, 23–13
Pts: Bob Feerick 18 Pts: Max Zaslofsky 20
Chicago leads series, 3–2
April 13
Washington Capitols 61, Chicago Stags 66
Scoring by quarter: 10–20, 19–10, 19–22, 13–14
Pts: Fred Scolari 25 Pts: Chick Halbert 25
Chicago wins series, 4–2
Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Referees: Pat Kennedy, Nate Messenger

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.

(E2) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (E3) New York Knicks

April 12
New York Knicks 70, Philadelphia Warriors 82
Scoring by quarter: 22–25, 20–23, 15–14, 13–20
Pts: Lee Knorek 20 Pts: Joe Fulks 24
Philadelphia leads series, 1–0
Philadelphia Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Referees: John Nucatola, Ed Boyle

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[4]

April 14
Philadelphia Warriors 72, New York Knicks 53
Scoring by quarter: 20–6, 19–13, 12–14, 22–20
Pts: Joe Fulks 16 Pts: Tommy Byrnes 11
Philadelphia wins series, 2–0
Madison Square Garden III, Manhattan, New York
Referees: John Nucatola, Ed Boyle

BAA Finals: (E2) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (W1) Chicago Stags

Main article: 1947 BAA Finals
April 16
Chicago Stags 71, Philadelphia Warriors 84
Scoring by quarter: 12–20, 12–10, 22–22, 25–32
Pts: Chick Halbert 19
Asts: Mickey Rottner 2		 Pts: Joe Fulks 37
Asts: Howie Dallmar 4
Philadelphia leads series, 1–0
April 17
Chicago Stags 74, Philadelphia Warriors 85
Scoring by quarter: 17–14, 21–27, 21–22, 15–22
Pts: Chet Carlisle 19
Asts: four players 1 each		 Pts: Howie Dallmar 18
Asts: Ralph Kaplowitz 2
Philadelphia leads series, 2–0
April 19
Philadelphia Warriors 75, Chicago Stags 72
Scoring by quarter: 18–17, 13–14, 16–15, 28–26
Pts: Joe Fulks 26 Pts: Zaslofsky, Carlson 15 each
Philadelphia leads series, 3–0
Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 2,209
Referees: Pat Kennedy, Jim Beiersdorfer
April 20
Philadelphia Warriors 73, Chicago Stags 74
Scoring by quarter: 17–19, 17–23, 18–23, 21–9
Pts: George Senesky 24
Asts: Jerry Fleishman 4		 Pts: Max Zaslofsky 20
Asts: three players 1 each
Philadelphia leads series, 3–1
Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 1,934
Referees: Pat Kennedy, Jim Beiersdorfer
April 22
Chicago Stags 80, Philadelphia Warriors 83
Scoring by quarter: 13–27, 25–13, 30–23, 12–20
Pts: Tony Jaros 21
Asts: Tony Jaros 3		 Pts: Joe Fulks 34
Asts: Howie Dallmar 4
Philadelphia wins series, 4–1

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.

See also

References

  1. ^ "1946–47 BAA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
      Select "Next Season" from the heading for 1947–48, and so on. Select "Finals" from League Playoffs for the daily schedule of the final series, and so on.
  2. ^ Rosen, Charley (2008). The First Tip-Off: The Incredible Story of the Birth of the NBA. McGraw Hill. ISBN 9780071487856., pp. 211–223
  3. ^ "Basketball Association of America League Minutes 1946-49". www.apbr.org.
  4. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
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