1944 World Professional Basketball Tournament

August 2023 World Professional Basketball Tournament 1944 Chicago, Illinois 20 March 24 March Chicago Stadium 14 Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons Brooklyn Eagles Harlem Globetrotters Bobby McDermott 1943 1945 The 1944 World Professional Basketball Tournament was the sixth edition of the World Professional Basketball Tournament. It was held in Chicago, Illinois,Philip Grabowski Corbetts in World Tourney https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99184548/ 6 April 2022 Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph 21 March 1944 14 Newspapers.com during the days of 20–24 March 1944 and featured 14 teams, with the teams mostly independently run teams alongside the teams that were from the National Basketball League at the time and also the former American Basketball League's Brooklyn Eagles, which was composed of star players from the ABL. Entering the tournament, the NBL's Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (who had likely already won that league's championship earlier on) were slated to win the entire event, despite them competing against the New York Renaissance, who were competing as themselves after their players participated in last year's event as the Washington Bears, in the semifinal event. The Globetrotters advanced past the Oshkosh All-Stars in the quarterfinals in a contest officially recorded as a 41–31 Harlem victory, though the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel reported the game was in fact declared a 2–0 forfeit in Harlem’s favor after a series of fights within the final six minutes escalated to the point that police became involved, prompting Oshkosh head coach Lon Darling to withdraw his team.Nelson Murry R. The National Basketball League: A History, 1935–1949 2009 McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers 978-0-7864-4006-1, p. 129 The Zollner Pistons would end up stunning the Renaissance with a close 42–38 victory in Fort Wayne's favor, while the ABL's Brooklyn squad ended up upsetting the Harlem Globetrotters in their semifinal match with a 63–41 blowout victory due to their fast-paced action. Ultimately, the championship match was won by the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons for the first time in the franchise's history alongside the NBL championship, who defeated the ABL's based Brooklyn Eagles 50–33 in the championship game in what ultimately became the best performance for an ABL team in a WPBT event.Fort Wayne Five wins pro meet https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99183901/ 6 April 2022 Chicago Tribune 26 March 1944 25 Newspapers.com The Harlem Globetrotters came in third after beating the New York Renaissance 37–29 in the third-place game. Bobby McDermott of Fort Wayne was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.Fort Wayne drubs Eagles for Pro Cage Title, 50-35 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99184050/ 6 April 2022 Democrat and Chronicle 26 March 1944 31 Newspapers.com Results Bracket y y no 1/1/1/1 Round 1 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Third place Dayton Aviators 52 Akron Collegians 38 New York Renaissance 39 Detroit Suffrins 33 Indianapolis Pure Oils 52 Cleveland Chase Brassmen 55 Brooklyn Eagles 55 Camp Campbell Tankmen 41 Harlem Globetrotters 41 Pittsburgh Corbetts 40 Rochester Wings 40 Oshkosh All-Stars 51 Fort Wayne Zollner PistonsFort Wayne, Rens to Meet in Semi-Finals https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99184266/ 6 April 2022 Chicago Tribune 23 March 1944 24 Newspapers.com 59 Dayton Aviators 34 New York Renaissance 62 Cleveland Chase Brassmen 38 Brooklyn Eagles 49 Sheboygan Red Skins 43 Harlem Globetrotters 41 Oshkosh All-Stars 31 Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 42 New York Renaissance 38 Brooklyn Eagles 63 Harlem Globetrotters 41 Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 50 Brooklyn Eagles 33 Harlem Globetrotters 37 New York Renaissance 29 Semi-finals #e3e3e3 23 March 1944 Box score and recap Brooklyn Eagles 63 Harlem Globetrotters 41 B. Tough – 32 B. Pressley – 12 Chicago Stadium 10,428 Nat Messinger, Steve Barak #ffdead 23 March 1944 Box score and recap Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 42 New York Renaissance 38 B. McDermott, J. Bush – 9 P. Bell – 14 Chicago Stadium 10,428 Nat Messinger, Dutch Kriznecky Third place game #e3e3e3 24 March 1944 8:15 p.m. Box score and recap Harlem Globetrotters 37 New York Renaissance 29 D. Cumberland – 10 Sonny Wood – 8 Chicago Stadium 14,226 Championship game #e3e3e3 24 March 1945 9:15 p.m.Ft. Wayne Five, Brooklyn gain stadium finals https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99183597/ 6 April 2022 Chicago Tribune 25 March 1944 20 Newspapers.com Box score and recap Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 50 Brooklyn Eagles 33 12–9 16–2 14–10 8–12 J. Pelkington – 19 B. Tough, B. Opper – 11 Chicago Stadium 14,226 Nat Messenger, Dutch Kriznecky Individual awards Bob Tough of the independently ran Brooklyn Eagles led this tournament in scoring with 71 points scored in four games played.Triptow Richard F. The Dynasty that Never Was: Chicago's First Professional Basketball Champions, The American Gears 1997 self-published Lake Bluff, Illinois 0-9659280-0-4, p. 217 All-Tournament First Team F - Sonny Wood, New York Renaissance F - Mel Riebe, Cleveland Chase Brassmen C - Blackie Towery, Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons G - Mickey Rottner, Brooklyn Eagles G - Bobby McDermott, Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (MVP) All-Tournament Second Team F - Jerry Bush, Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons F - Bob Tough, Brooklyn Eagles C - Bernie Price, Harlem Globetrotters G - Jack Garfinkel, Brooklyn Eagles G - Manny Hyatt, Pittsburgh Corbetts Notable occurrences On 21 March, with three minutes remaining in the quarter-finals match between the Harlem Globetrotters and the Oshkosh All-Stars, a fight broke out between the players which needed officials and police to restore order. Thirty seconds after play resumed, trouble broke out again and Oshkosh coach Lon Darling decided to call his team from the game.Pro game ends in fistic melee https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99183256/ 6 April 2022 The Spokesman-Review 24 March 1944 6 Newspapers.com On 23 March, Bob Tough of the Brooklyn Eagles tied a tournament record previously set by Sonny Boswell of the New York Renaissance in 1942 and would later last until 1948 with his 32 points scored against the Harlem Globetrotters in the semifinal round.Eagles go to Finals; Meet Trotters here https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99183528/ 6 April 2022 The Cincinnati Enquirer 25 March 1944 10 Bob Tough, former Seton Hall star, equalled the tourney record by scoring 32 points against the Trotters, former champions. Newspapers.com Triptow Richard F. The Dynasty that Never Was: Chicago's First Professional Basketball Champions, The American Gears 1997 self-published Lake Bluff, Illinois 0-9659280-0-4, p. 218 See also 1943–44 National Basketball League (United States) season, a professional basketball season featuring all four of the competing teams there, including the NBL (and eventual WPBT) champions in the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons References External links WPBT 1939-48 on apbr.org 1943-44 WPBT Tournament Overview on retroseasons.com WORLD BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: 1943-1944 on Pro Basketball Encyclopedia Category:World Professional Basketball Tournament