1946–47 Chicago American Gears 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]

1946–47 Chicago American Gears season
NBL champions
Head coachBobby McDermott (player-coach)
ArenaInternational Amphitheatre
Results
Record26–18 (.591)
PlaceDivision: T–3 (Western)
Playoff finishDefeated Rochester Royals in NBL Championship, 3–1

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
Roster listing
1946–47 Chicago American Gears roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)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
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 None
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 None
G/F Rothman, Les 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1926–08–12 Long Island
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 None
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
  • (C) Team captain
  • (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

Season standings
Pos.Western DivisionWinsLossesWin %
1Oshkosh All-Stars2816.636
2Indianapolis Kautskys2717.614
3Chicago American Gears2618.591
4Sheboygan Red Skins2618.591
5Anderson Duffey Packers2420.545
6Detroit Gems440.091

Playoffs

Opening Round

(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

(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

(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
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References
  1. "NBL Season Index". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  2. "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.
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