NBA professional basketball team season
The 1946–47 Chicago American Gears season was the Gears ' third year in the United States' National Basketball League (NBL), which was also the tenth year the league existed .[ 1] Twelve teams competed in the NBL in 1946–47, comprising six teams in both the Eastern and Western Divisions.[ 2]
Chicago played their home games at International Amphitheatre .[ 3] Despite finishing tied for third place in the Western Division, the American Gears made a surprise playoffs run by winning the first series three games to two (3–2) over the Indianapolis Kautskys , followed by a 2–0 sweep of Oshkosh All-Stars in the semifinals.[ 2] They then went on to win their first league championship 3–1 over Eastern Division champion Rochester Royals .[ 2]
Player-coach Bobby McDermott (First Team), George Mikan (First), and Bob Calihan (Second) earned All-NBL honors .[ 2]
1946–47 Chicago American Gears roster
Players
Coaches
Pos.
No.
Name
Height
Weight
DOB
From
G/F
Brookfield, Price
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
1920–05–11
Iowa State
G/F
Calihan, Bob
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
1918–08–02
Detroit Mercy
F/C
Cotton, Bob
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
250 lb (113 kg)
1920–12–29
Texas Wesleyan
F/C
Hale, Bruce
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
1918–08–30
Santa Clara
G
McDermott, Bobby
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
1914–01–07
No college
G/F
McDonald, Bill
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
1916–11–05
Marquette
C
Mikan, George
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
245 lb (111 kg)
1924–06–18
DePaul
F/C
Morris, Max
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
1925–03–13
Northwestern
F/C
Noren, Irv
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
1924–11–29
Pasadena CC
G/F
Patrick, Stan
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
1922–05–05
Illinois
F/C
Ratkovicz, George
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
1922–11–13
No college
G/F
Rothman, Les
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
1926–08–12
LIU Brooklyn
F/C
Stoefen, Art
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
1914–08–29
Stanford
F/C
Synnott, Bob
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
1912–09–27
No college
G
Szukala, Stan
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
1918–06–12
DePaul
G/F
Triptow, Dick
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
1922–11–03
DePaul
Head coach
Legend
(DP) Unsigned draft pick(FA) Free agent(S) Suspended Injured
Roster
Note: Bob Cotton , Bill McDonald , Irv Noren , Les Rothman , and Bob Synnott were not on the playoffs roster.
(2W) Indianapolis Kautskys vs. (3W) Chicago American Gears: Chicago wins series 3–2
Game 1 @ Indianapolis: Chicago 74 , Indianapolis 72
Game 2 @ Indianapolis: Chicago 69 , Indianapolis 61
Game 3 @ Chicago: Indianapolis 68 , Chicago 67
Game 4 @ Chicago: Indianapolis 55 , Chicago 54
Game 5 @ Chicago: Chicago 76 , Indianapolis 62
(1W) Oshkosh All-Stars vs. (3W) Chicago American Gears: Chicago wins series 2–0
Game 1 @ Chicago: Chicago 60 , Oshkosh 54[ 4]
Game 2 @ Oshkosh: Chicago 61 , Oshkosh 60[ 5]
(1E) Rochester Royals vs. (3W) Chicago American Gears: Chicago wins series 3–1
Game 1 @ Rochester: Rochester 71 , Chicago 65[ 6]
Game 2 @ Rochester: Chicago 67 , Rochester 63[ 7]
Game 3 @ Chicago: Chicago 78 , Rochester 70[ 8]
Game 4 @ Chicago: Chicago 79 , Rochester 68[ 9]
^ "NBL Season Index" . basketball-reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 27, 2019 .
^ a b c d "1946–47 NBL Season Summary" . basketball-reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 27, 2019 .
^ "Chicago American Gears → 1946–1947" . Pro Basketball Encyclopedia . Retrieved October 27, 2019 .
^ "Gears Winners Over Oshkosh 'Stars, 60–54" . The Post-Crescent . March 28, 1947. p. 13. Retrieved October 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Gears Beat Oshkosh" . Wisconsin State Journal . March 30, 1947. p. 30. Retrieved October 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Royals Defeat Gears; Take Playoff Lead" . The Journal Standard . April 4, 1947. p. 8. Retrieved October 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "George Mikan's 27 Points Help Gears Win, 67–63" . Chicago Tribune . April 6, 1947. p. 24. Retrieved October 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Gears Battle Royals In Playoff Battle" . The Journal Standard . April 8, 1947. p. 6. Retrieved October 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Chicago Gears Take National Basketball Title" . Carbondale Free Press . April 10, 1947. p. 7. Retrieved October 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.