1946–47 Pittsburgh Ironmen season

1946–47 Pittsburgh Ironmen season
Head coach	Paul Birch
Arena	Duquesne Gardens
Results
Record	15–45 (.250)
Place	Division: 5th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Radio	KDKA

The 1946–47 Pittsburgh Ironmen season was the only season of the Pittsburgh Ironmen of the Basketball Association of America. They finished with a record of 15–45.

Roster

Pittsburgh Ironmen roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From F 3 John Abramovic 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1919-02-09 Salem International F 4 Michael Bytzura 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1922-06-18 LIU Brooklyn G/F 15 Joe Fabel 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1913-09-04 Pittsburgh G/F 15 Nat Frankel 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1913-11-03 Brooklyn C 9 Gorham Getchell 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1920-08-14 Temple F 6 Coulby Gunther 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1923-02-05 Boston College C 17 Noble Jorgensen 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 228 lb (103 kg) 1925-05-18 Iowa F/C 7 Roger Jorgensen 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1920-09-02 Ohio State G 5 Tony Kappen 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1919-04-13 Forest Hills HS (NY) G 12 Press Maravich 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1920-08-20 Davis & Elkins G Ed Melvin 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1916-02-13 Duquesne G 6 Red Mihalik 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1916-09-22 Ford City HS (PA) F 7 Walt Miller 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1915-07-30 Duquesne F/C 11 John Mills 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 1919-09-07 Western Kentucky G 8 Stan Noszka 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1920-09-09 Duquesne F/C 14−18 Harry Zeller 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1919-07-10 Washington & Jefferson

Head coach Paul Birch Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Regular season

Season standings

#	Western Division
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	x-Chicago Stags	39	22	.639	–
2	x-St. Louis Bombers	38	23	.623	1
3	x-Cleveland Rebels	30	30	.500	8.5
4	Detroit Falcons	20	40	.333	18.5
5	Pittsburgh Ironmen	15	45	.250	23.5

Transactions

Trades

December 12, 1946

To Pittsburgh Ironmen Tony Kappen

To Boston Celtics Moe Becker

Dispersal Draft

During the first ever end of season meeting for the Basketball Association of America's board of governors held on May 21, 1947, the Ironmen confirmed that they would continue playing in the league for another season, but only if "a representative team can be secured". As such, the Ironmen were able to participate in the inaugural 1947 BAA draft thinking they could get exactly that. During their only draft they ever did, the Ironmen would select Clifton McNeely from Texas Wesleyan College (now Texas Wesleyan University) as the league's first ever #1 pick (though he would never play for the BAA/NBA whatsoever), as well as draft Fritz Nagy from the Municipal University of Akron (now University of Akron), Bob Alamo from the University of Santa Clara (now Santa Clara University), George Brown from a currently unknown team/location, Dick Ives from the University of Iowa, Herman Knoche from Washington & Jefferson College, and Jack Walton from DePauw University. However, when Pittsburgh failed to get what they needed from the Basketball Association of America (BAA), they would fold from the BAA entirely on July 27, 1947. After the Ironmen joined the Toronto Huskies in disbanding their franchises altogether on that July 27 date, the remaining eight teams left in the BAA (the surviving seven teams from the league's first successful season alongside the original Baltimore Bullets franchise that came from the original American Basketball League by a dispute with that league) entered into what became its first ever dispersal draft on August 2 that year, with each team taking players that were originally from the previously disbanded Cleveland Rebels and Detroit Falcons franchises alongside the Ironmen and Huskies franchises. The following teams acquired these players from the Ironmen during the dispersal draft period.

• Baltimore Bullets: Press Maravich
• Boston Celtics: John Abramovic & Stan Noszka
• Philadelphia Warriors: Harry Zeller
• Providence Steamrollers: Mike Bytzura, Coulby Gunther, & Tony Kappen
• St. Louis Bombers: Noble Jorgensen