1947 World Professional Basketball Tournament

August 2023 World Professional Basketball Tournament 1947 Chicago, Illinois 7 April 11 April Chicago Stadium 14 Indianapolis Kautskys Toledo Jeeps Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons Julie Rivlin 1946 1948 The 1947 World Professional Basketball Tournament was the ninth edition of the World Professional Basketball Tournament. It was held in Chicago, Illinois, during the days of 7–11 April 1947 and featured 14 teams, with the teams competing there primarily being a mixture of teams from the ever-strong National Basketball League and independently ran teams, with there also being the inclusion of the Baltimore Bullets from the American Basketball League (at the time) and the Portland Indians of the short-lived Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League. Due to a combination of the Chicago American Gears & Rochester Royals declining their invitation to the 1947 event in order to play out the 1947 NBL Championship series they had (before the American Gears later left the NBL to try their hands with a new league of their own in the Professional Basketball League of America (which turned out to be a short-lived league of its own accord)) and the Chicago Stags playing in the 1947 BAA Finals for the inaugural season of the newly created (yet at the time struggling) Basketball Association of America (now National Basketball Association) to rival the long-standing NBL, local interest in the tournament turned out to wane when compared to prior years (albeit not by a significant amount for the tournament's organizers).Nelson Murry R. The National Basketball League: A History, 1935–1949 2009 McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers 978-0-7864-4006-1, pp. 173–176 However, the event would be notable for seeing the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons failing to win their fourth straight WPBT championship due to them being upset 61–56 by the Toledo Jeeps. Despite the upset that Toledo caused in the semifinal match-up, the championship match would ultimately be won by the Indianapolis Kautskys (who had previously not won a single WPBT match before this year, even in the years where they participated as the Pure Oils and Oilers names during World War II), who defeated the Toledo Jeeps 62–47 in the title game.Angelo Angelopolous Kautskys win; Joy unconfined https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99116955/ 5 April 2022 The Indianapolis News 11 April 1947 32 Newspapers.com The Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons came in third after beating the Oshkosh All-Stars 86–67 in the third-place game behind Ralph Hamilton's 26 points.Kautskys rout Jeeps to take pro net title https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99117177/ 5 April 2022 The Star Press 11 April 1947 21 Newspapers.com Despite his team not winning this year's event, Julie Rivlin of the Toledo Jeeps was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.Wilfrid Smith Kautskys beat Toledo, 62-47, in Pro Final https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99117227/ 5 April 2022 Chicago Tribune 11 April 1947 27 Jule Rivlin, Toledo's player coach, was voted the most valuable player to his team in the tournament Results Bracket y y no 1/1/1/1 Round 1 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Third place Tri-Cities Blackhawks 57 Baltimore Bullets 46 Oshkosh All-Stars 60 Herkimer Mohawk Redskins 54 Sheboygan Red Skins 62 Portland Indians 48 Anderson Duffey Packers 59 Pittsburgh Pirates 38 Midland Dow Chemicals 71 Syracuse Nationals 39 Toledo Jeeps 62 New York Renaissance 59 Indianapolis Kautskys 65 Tri-Cities Blackhawks 56 Oshkosh All-Stars 53 Sheboygan Red Skins 44 Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 52 Anderson Duffey Packers 40 Midland Dow Chemicals 59 Toledo Jeeps 55 Indianapolis Kautskys 59 Oshkosh All-Stars 38 Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 56 Toledo Jeeps 61 Indianapolis Kautskys 62 Toledo Jeeps 47 Oshkosh All-Stars 67 Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 86 Third place game #e3e3e3 April 11, 1947 Box score Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 86 Oshkosh All-Stars 67 24–15 22–18 19–13 21–21 R. Hamilton – 26 T. Scalissi – 16 Chicago Stadium Bud Lowell, John Sines Championship game #e3e3e3 April 11, 1947 Box score Indianapolis Kautskys 62 Toledo Jeeps 47 14–13 16–16 17–9 15–9 L. Klier – 12 G. Sobek – 20 Chicago Stadium 14,413 Sam Pecararo, Dutch Kriznecky Individual awards Hal Tidrick of the Toledo Jeeps led this tournament in scoring with 57 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 C - Arnie Risen, Indianapolis Kautskys F - Leo Klier, Indianapolis Kautskys F - Ralph Hamilton, Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons G - Julie Rivlin, Toledo Jeeps (MVP) G - Herm Schaefer, Indianapolis Kautskys All-Tournament Second Team C - Jake Pelkington, Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons F - Paul Cloyd, Midland Dow Chemicals F - Hal Tidrick , Toledo Jeeps G - Billy Hassett, Tri-Cities Blackhawks G - George Sobek, Toledo Jeeps See also 1946–47 National Basketball League (United States) season, a professional basketball season featuring eight out of twelve teams there (including the eventual WPBT champion Indianapolis Kautskys), which also showcased a championship event going on in Chicago at around the exact same time as this tournament 1947 BAA playoffs, a rivaling competitive tournament going on from a new professional basketball league called the Basketball Association of America (later known as the National Basketball Association) that was also occurring within Chicago at around the exact same time as this tournament References External links WPBT 1939-48 on apbr.org 1946-47 WPBT Tournament Overview on retroseasons.com WORLD BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: 1946-1947 on Pro Basketball Encyclopedia Category:World Professional Basketball Tournament