1946–47 Chicago American Gears season

NBA professional basketball team season

1946–47 Chicago American Gears season

NBL champions

Head coach| Bobby McDermott (player-coach)
Arena| International Amphitheatre
Results
Record| 26-18 (.591)
Place| Division: T–3 (Western)
Playoff finish| Defeated Rochester Royals in NBL Championship, 3–1
| < 1945–46 | 1947–48 >

|

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]

## Roster

[edit]

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

* Bobby McDermott

* * *

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.

## Regular season

[edit]

### Season standings

[edit]

Pos. | Western Division | Wins | Losses | Win %

|
|
|
|

1 | Oshkosh All-Stars | 28 | 16 | .636
2 | Indianapolis Kautskys | 27 | 17 | .614
T–3 | Chicago American Gears | 26 | 18 | .591
Sheboygan Red Skins | 26 | 18 | .591
5 | Anderson Duffey Packers | 24 | 20 | .545
6 | Detroit Gems | 4 | 40 | .091

## Playoffs

[edit]

### Opening Round

[edit]

(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

### Semifinals

[edit]

(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]

### NBL Championship

[edit]

(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]

## Awards and honors

[edit]

* First Team All-NBL – Bobby McDermott and George Mikan
* Second Team All-NBL – Bob Calihan

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "NBL Season Index". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
2. ^ a b c d "1946–47 NBL Season Summary". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
3. ^ "Chicago American Gears → 1946–1947". Pro Basketball Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
4. ^ "Gears Winners Over Oshkosh 'Stars, 60–54". The Post-Crescent. March 28, 1947. p. 13. Retrieved October 27, 2019 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Gears Beat Oshkosh". Wisconsin State Journal. March 30, 1947. p. 30. Retrieved October 27, 2019 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Royals Defeat Gears; Take Playoff Lead". The Journal Standard. April 4, 1947. p. 8. Retrieved October 27, 2019 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "George Mikan's 27 Points Help Gears Win, 67–63". Chicago Tribune. April 6, 1947. p. 24. Retrieved October 27, 2019 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Gears Battle Royals In Playoff Battle". The Journal Standard. April 8, 1947. p. 6. Retrieved October 27, 2019 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "Chicago Gears Take National Basketball Title". Carbondale Free Press. April 10, 1947. p. 7. Retrieved October 27, 2019 - via Newspapers.com.

* v
* t
* e

National Basketball League (United States) champions

* 1938: Akron Goodyear Wingfoots
* 1939: Akron Firestone Non-Skids
* 1940: Akron Firestone Non-Skids
* 1941: Oshkosh All-Stars
* 1942: Oshkosh All-Stars
* 1943: Sheboygan Red Skins
* 1944: Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons
* 1945: Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons
* 1946: Rochester Royals
* 1947: Chicago American Gears
* 1948: Minneapolis Lakers
* 1949: Anderson Duffey Packers

* v
* t
* e

Chicago American Gears 1946–47 NBL champions

* Brookfield
* Calihan
* Hale
* McDermott
* Mikan
* Morris
* Patrick
* Ratkovicz
* Stoefen
* Szukala
* Triptow

* Head coach McDermott

*[Pos.]: Position
*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template