St. Louis Bombers

The St. Louis Bombers were a National Basketball Association team based in St. Louis, Missouri from 1946 to 1950.

For the rugby football club, see St. Louis Bombers Rugby Football Club.
St. Louis Bombers
DivisionWestern Division
Founded1946
HistorySt. Louis Bombers
1946–1950
ArenaSt. Louis Arena
LocationSt. Louis, Missouri
Team colorsRed and White
        
Division titlesNone or one

Franchise history

The St. Louis Bombers were originally part of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946.

The BAA merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1949 to become the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The Bombers were one of seven teams that quickly left the NBA: The NBA contracted after the 1949-1950 season, losing six teams: The Anderson Packers, Sheboygan Red Skins and Waterloo Hawks jumped to the NPBL, while the Chicago Stags, Denver Nuggets and St. Louis Bombers folded. The league went from 17 teams to 11 before the 1950-1951 season started. Midway through the 1950-1951 season, the Washington Capitols folded as well, bringing the number of teams in the league down to ten.[1]

The NBA would return to St. Louis in 1955 when the Milwaukee Hawks became the St. Louis Hawks. Ed Macauley would end up back in St. Louis in a deal that sent Bill Russell to the Boston Celtics, and played a key role in the Hawks 1958 NBA championship.[2]

Arena

The Bombers played at the St. Louis Arena. The arena was torn down in 1999.[2]

Notable alumni

Players

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
St. Louis Bombers Hall of Famers
Players
No.NamePositionTenureInducted
50Ed MacauleyC/F1949–19501960
Coaches
NamePositionTenureInducted
Ken LoefflerHead Coach1946-19481964

Season-by-season records
League Champions Conference Champions Division Champions Playoff Berth
Season League Conference Finish Division Finish Wins Losses Win% GB Playoffs Awards
1946–47BAA––Western2nd3823.6231Lost First Round (Warriors) 1–2
1947–48BAA––Western1st 2919.604–Lost BAA Semifinals (Warriors) 3–4
1948–49BAA––Western4th 2931.48316Lost Division Semifinals (Royals) 0–2
1949–50NBA––Western5th2642.38225
Regular season record122115.5151946–1950
Playoff record48.333Postseason Series Record: 0–3

The 1948 BAA Playoffs did not establish Eastern and Western champions and generated one finalist from the East, one from the West, only by coincidence. Philadelphia and St. Louis won the Eastern and Western Divisions and met in a best-of-seven series to determine one league championship finalist. (St. Louis won led 3–2 after five games, but the defending champion Warriors won game six by 21 points at home and game seven by 39 points in St. Louis.) Meanwhile, four runners-up played best-of-three matches to determine the other finalist. Baltimore, tied for second in the West, one game behind St. Louis, won that runners-up bracket and defeated Philadelphia in a best-of-seven series to win the BAA championship. St. Louis had achieved the league's best record at 29–19.[3]

The 1949 BAA Playoffs matched Eastern teams exclusively, and Western teams exclusively, so that the league semifinals generated Eastern and Western champions as well as championship finalists (as do 21st-century NBA playoffs).

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References
  1. "1949-50 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.com.
  2. "St. Louis Bombers (1946-1950)". sportsecyclopedia.com.
  3. "1947–48 BAA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-03-01.
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