1946–47 Tri-Cities Blackhawks season

1946–47 Tri-Cities Blackhawks season
Head coach	Nat Hickey
Arena	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Wharton Field House
Results
Record	19–25 (.432)
Place	Division: 5th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference

The 1946–47 season was the only season under the Buffalo Bisons name, as well as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks' inaugural season in the National Basketball League (NBL). The inaugural season of the franchise was also the NBL's first official season where they actually implemented a drafting system similar to what the future rivaling Basketball Association of America (and later merging partner to become the National Basketball Association) had for the eventual NBA draft system a year later following the conclusion of their inaugural league season for the purpose of controlled player salaries and limiting the idea of outbidding other players outside of their own 12-player teams at hand (with the NBL having a budget of $6,000 this season), as well as implementing key players to signing binding contracts as soon as they could and the NBL looking to have full-time referees on display. The team originally began play as the Buffalo Bisons, based in Buffalo, New York, but moved during the middle of the season (after only 13 games played in 1946) to Moline, Illinois on Christmas Day, becoming the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. Due to the sudden nature of their move from Buffalo to Moline, the Blackhawks (now known as the Atlanta Hawks) inherited the original 5–8 record of the Bisons, as well as their brief history of existence there.

In addition to debuting in the 1946–47 NBL season, the Tri-Cities Blackhawks also participated in the World Professional Basketball Tournament, which was an annual event that saw both independent teams and professional teams (primarily from the National Basketball League, but also includes a team from both the rivaling American Basketball League and the short-lived Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League. Despite them not being a playoff team when they entered this event, the Blackhawks would get their first win of the event by beating the ABL's champion team (and future Basketball Association of America/National Basketball Association team that they would meet from 1949 until 1954, with later years being met under the Milwaukee Hawks name instead of the Tri-Cities Blackhawks name) known as the Baltimore Bullets before losing in the semifinal round to the team that eventually would win the entire 1947 tournament in question, the Indianapolis Kautskys (a team who had earned a bye this year alongside the three-time defending champion Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons despite never actually winning a game in the WPBT before this year's event with the Blackhawks being their first ever victory there and despite not having the best record in their division that year, nor not even holding the actual MVP of the entire tournament in the process of it all). Despite the early exit from the event, Billy Hassett was named a member of the All-Tournament Second Team there.

Roster

Source:

1946–47 Buffalo Bisons/Tri-Cities Blackhawks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From F/C – Paul Anthony 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1924-01-23 Washington & Jefferson G/F – Pop Gates 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1917-08-30 Franklin HS (NY) G – Bob Gauchat 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1921-03-05 Canisius G/F – Al Grenert 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1919-07-08 NYU F/C – Nick Grunzweig 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1918-07-21 Niagara G – Billy Hassett 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1921-10-21 Notre Dame G/F – Nat Hickey 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1902-01-30 Hoboken HS (NJ) F/C – Ed Lewinski 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1918-09-10 Bowen HS (IL) G – Ed Moeller 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1919-01-08 Ohio State C – Don Otten 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1921-04-18 Bowling Green G/F – Howie Rader 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1921-03-29 Long Island G/F – Len Rader 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1921-03-29 Long Island G/F – Pat Rooney 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Erasmus Hall HS (NY) G/F – Wilbur Schu 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1922-12-18 Kentucky G – Vic Siegel 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1920-08-24 Iowa F/C – Bob Sims 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1915-07-03 Western Michigan G – Dick Starzyk 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1921-03-21 Marquette G – Mel Thurston 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1919-01-16 Canisius G – Stan Waxman 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1922-05-20 Long Island

Head coach Nat Hickey Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

The Buffalo Bisons won its first game 50–39 over the Syracuse Nationals on November 8, 1946. The team's last Buffalo appearance was a 50–38 loss to the Sheboygan Red Skins on December 16. The Bisons left town for a December road trip with their future in doubt; the team struggled to draw crowds in Buffalo, and two of their scheduled home games were canceled. On December 25, it was announced that the franchise was moving to Moline, where they finished the season as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. The Blackhawks missed the postseason with a 19–25 record (5–8 in Buffalo and 14–17 in Moline). The inaugural season they had with the combined losing records of the Bisons and Blackhawks together would still leave the franchise two games shy of a playoff spot over both the Syracuse Nationals and Toledo Jeeps.

Eastern Division standings

Pos.	Eastern Division	Wins	Losses	Win %
1	Rochester Royals	31	13	.705
2	Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons	25	19	.568
T–3	Syracuse Nationals	21	23	.477
	Toledo Jeeps	21	23	.477
5	Buffalo Bisons / Tri-Cities Blackhawks‡	19	25	.432
6	Youngstown Bears	12	32	.273
‡ After 13 games the franchise moved from New York to Illinois.

Playoffs

Did not qualify

Awards and records

None

World Professional Basketball Tournament

For the first time in franchise history, the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (only months after moving from Buffalo to Moline and rebranding themselves from the Buffalo Bisons) would participate in the World Professional Basketball Tournament in Chicago, which saw the 1947 event being held on April 7–11, 1947 and consisted of 14 teams, most of which was an even mixture of independently ran teams and teams from the National Basketball League alongside the rivaling American Basketball League's defending champion Baltimore Bullets and the Portland Indians from the ultimately short-lived Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League. In the first round, the Blackhawks saw themselves go up against the American Basketball League's defending champions (and future Basketball Association of America/National Basketball Association team) in the Baltimore Bullets. Despite them feeling like they'd be outmatched and overwhelmed by Baltimore's status as a team (especially considering they had finished their season with a 31–3 record), the Blackhawks would end up upsetting the ABL's defending champions with a 57–46 victory in their first ever WPBT game played thanks to the play of Billy Hassett in particular. While this was their first match the two teams would play against each other under, they would meet with each other many times afterward years later in the NBA from 1949 until 1954, though in later years, the Blackhawks would change their names to the Milwaukee Hawks instead.

For the quarterfinal round, the Blackhawks saw themselves go up against the Indianapolis Kautskys, who had oddly earned themselves a bye despite not being considered the best team in the Western Division this year nor having prestige in the WPBT like the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (to the point where the Kautskys had never won a single game in the WPBT up until this point in time). Despite Billy Hassett and the Blackhawks appearing to have the upper hand following their upset victory over the ABL's Bullets in the first round, the Kautskys would end up finally getting their first victory in WPBT history with the Blackhawks losing 65–56 thanks to the leadership and effort of All-Tournament First Team members Leo Klier, Arnie Risen, and Herm Schaefer eliminating the Tri-Cities franchise from the tournament. This victory by the Kautskys later led to them winning the entire event by beating the Oshkosh All-Stars in the semifinal round and the Toledo Jeeps in the championship round (though Julie Rivlin of the Jeeps won the tournament's MVP award this time around), though Billy Hassett was later named a member of the All-Tournament Second Team.

Games Played

• Won first round (57–46) over the Baltimore Bullets
• Lost quarterfinal round (56–65) to the Indianapolis Kautskys

Awards and honors

• Billy Hassett, All-Tournament Second Team