Who was NBA’s 1st champion?

On April twenty second, nineteen forty seven, the Philadelphia Warriors clinched the very first Basketball Association of America title, which would be the predecessor what is now known as the NBA, as they beat the Chicago Stags five games over a seven day stretch, led by scoring pioneer Joe Jumpin' Folks, igniting the riotse of professional basketball as a major sport in America. Join us as we journey back to a moment that defined the sport of basketball that has now grown into one of the largest sports league in the world today. On Daily Sports History. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide as you daily learn more about sports history, increasing your sports knowledge as we dive into the nineteen forty seven the Bump Championship, also known as the first NBA Championship. So after World War Two, America was really looking to get out. Sports was growing, Baseball was in an all time high, football was continuously growing, and in hockey had grown in America and had built state of the art arenas that would largely sit empty when they weren't playing hockey. So the owner of the Boston Gardens, where the Boston Bruins played, Walter Brown saw an opportunity. Why not fill these empty seats with professional basketball And on June sixth, nineteen forty six, Brown met with a group of fellow arena owners and sports promoters in New York City and they formed what was known as the Basketball Association of America the BAA, and they had a very ambitious goal to create a league that could rifle the professionalism and the popularity that the National Hockey League had, which was the largest indoors sports league at the time. Now, this this included major arenas such as the Boston Garden, which we mentioned, Madison Square Garden, Philadelphia Arena, the Chicago Stadium, the Detroit Olympia, the Cleveland Arena, the Maple League Gardens as just to name a few. And they went on to name Maurice Hadoloff as the president of their league, who was already the president of the American Hockey League, meaning he was the first person to be president of two professional leagues at the same time. Luckily, back then the leagues were little different and not as mainstream as today. Now. This wasn't the very first professional basketball league. The American Basketball League was founded in nineteen twenty five, and then National Basketball League was founded in nineteen thirty seven, which operated in smaller cities in venues and sometimes even played in ballrooms and high school gyms, so it was a much smaller scale, but they wanted to bring this to the large scale now. The time, most of these arenas had capacity for almost fifteen thousand seating, with Maxison Square Garden having over eighteen thousand. So and the thought was back then, which is very different than today, the more tickets you could sell, the more profitable your team could be. TV games really wasn't thought of. In November first, nineteen forty six, over seven thousand fans packed the Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens to watch the very first BAA game in history, where the Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers better known now as the New York Knicks and a nail bier competition where the Knicks won sixty eight to sixty six. And they had interesting promotion at the time where anyone taller than Husky center George Nostrand, who stood six' eight would get a free, ticket and tickets range from seventy five cents to two dollars and fifty, cents which today would still be a great, deal about twelve dollars for the cheapest and about forty dollars for the most. Expensive and back then there's about getting people in the seats and getting more fans for the. League and in the first iteration of the first league actually had eleven, teams which featured teams in the east of The Boston, celtics The New York, knicks The Philadelphia, warriors The Providence, steamrollers The Toronto, huskies and The Washington. Capitals and in The west they had The Chicago, stags The Cleveland, rebels The Detroit, falcons The Pittsburgh, ironmen and The Saint Louis. Bombers, now though The arenas were impressive at the, time in this first, year they still weren't on par with the level of The American Basketball association and The American Basketball league and The National Basketball. League and they really weren't even as good as The Harlem, globetrotters who were a barnstorming league at the. Time it took a long time for them to get the quality players that the other leagues had had time to. Develop but some of these teams did have a lot of good success and a lot of Future hall of. Famers The Washington capitals were actually coached By Red, auerbach who went on to become a legend with The Boston, celtics and they led the league with forty nine wins and outscored their opponents by nearly ten points a. Game second to them was The Philadelphia, warriors led By Jumpin' Joe, folks a twenty five year old rookie who was the league's first scoring champion with twenty three points a. Game now to understand this twenty three points The warriors averaged under sixty nine points a. Game he averaged almost a third of their, points and he set the league record for the most points scoring the game On january, fourteenth nineteen forty, seven at forty one. Points, again different. Era this was before the shot, clock so scoring was a lot less down because you didn't have to shoot right. Away and those were the two best teams in The east and in The. West The Chicago stags were coached By Harold, olsen and they played a more up tempo game and finished the top The Western division with thirty nine wins and that the league in scoring was seventy seven points a, game led by their center six' Nine Chuck. Chick halbert and yet six' nine back then, was very Tall and your sinners, dominated The League as george michen would do in the coming YEARS. In the nba coming up just a game behind Them Was The, saint louis bombers who allied actually on defense, to have success Led By, coach ken laffer and they only allowed sixty four. Points a game but there were, teams that Struggled As the detroit Falcons And the pittsburgh, ironmen both Struggled with the ironmen having the worst record in the league with. Just fifteen wins another change was passing and assists was something that was taken, but Not Emphasized as earnie Calver of The provident steam rollers top the league with averaging only three point four assist a game to far stretch From Today where trey young led the league with over eleven. Cysts of game so we come into the playoffs and this was a new format LAUNCHED by the baa and It started on april second of, nineteen forty seven where, six teams qualified three, from each division and the format was unique because there were no. Buys and vote Division Champions the washington Capitols And the tiago staggs immediately faced each other in the best, of seven semis while the second and third placed teams faced each other in the best. Of three series so in, the First Round the philadelphia warriors Took On The saint louis bombers in a three game series where the home team. Won each game philadelphia won the first game seventy three. To Sixty eight the bombers then won the second game three days later seventy three. To fifty one then Went back To Philadelphia Where jumping joe full exploded for, twenty four Points leading the warriors to. The next Round In the washington Capitals And the chicago stags would face each other in, the semi finals Which was which chicago jumped out to a three a three win series lead in the best, of Seven games but, washington came back winning two Straight games in Game four, in Game five but game six was proved to be Too much as washington closed out the series winning sixty six. To sixty one and then the other semi final Series Was the philadelphia Warriors Versus The, new york Knicks where the warriors Would sweep the sea easily heading into the finals to face Off Against. The Chicago stags, so Game one the warriors at, the tone early taking a lead in the first half thirty, four to twenty which back then without, the shot clock when you had a, lead at half you could slow the game down tremendously and make it very hard. For A Comeback but jumping joe fulk erupted in the second half for, twenty nine points finishing with thirty seven points total in twenty one of his points coming in, the fourth quarter propelling them to win eighty four, to seventy one which was. An Offensive shootout, then Game two the warriors displayed the depth with all with five players scoring in double figures and cruise to another victory eighty seven, to seventy four giving them a two. To oh lead then the Series, moved to Chicago where the warriors again Edged out the stags seventy five, to Seventy Two with jumping joe leading the way with, twenty six points putting them up. Three, to Ozho now the stags did not want, to fall down and they actually came with their backs against The wall in game four to eke out a. One point victory seventy four to seventy three in another intense contest where they used their defense to help them save off elimination And force. At. Game five now game Five saw the warriors jump out to, another Early lead but chicago rallied back to tie it Up at eighty in, the final minutes with the champion on the win the championship, On The line howie delmar hit a jump shot to, break the Tie giving the, warriors a lead which they held on to to win eighty, three to eighty securing THE Very, first buba championship which would become THE very. First, nba Champion Now jumper joe Fuchs of the warriors averaged twenty six points a Game, during the finals revolutionizing the game with his jump shot and his off positive versatility and setting a record for the most points Scored in a finals game. At Thirty Seven, and howie dunbar who hit, the clutch shot was, a steady playmaker averaging ten points and over four. Assists per Game now max Zevlotsky of The stags led chicago with fifteen, points a game but it wasn't enough to defeat the offensive higher Power of the warriors that they. Had, that season now this Did more than this championship did more than just show LEGITIMACY for the baa in crowning its championship and, crowning its champion it demonstrated that college that professional basketball could captivate. A National audience the warriors gave them A Superstar, in jumping joe and gave a new era. For professional basketball but despite this win and the success they had, this first season there was a lot of financial instability and for the Original Teams, the Cleveland Rebels, the Detroit Falcons, the toronto Huskies And the pittsburgh ironman folded after the season due, to low attendance and the league shrink from eleven to eight teams. The, following year now even though this WAS, before THE nba the nba actually recognizes the first seasons as part of. Its own history so this is THE very first nba championship. In league history and in nineteen forty nine they would MERGE, with the nbl be eating what we now KNOW. Is the a these rival leagues came together And showed that america was hungry, for the Sport And the philadelphia warriors established a. Tradition of excellence, at this time now they would go on To Become The, golden state warriors but they had a lot of success, even After This when wilt chamberlain was a part of their team in. The nineteen sixties and there are STILL Three ORIGINAL b double a franchises in. The league today probably noticed their Names In, the Philadelphia Warriors The, new york Knickerbockers And the boston celtics would all. Survived the merger now why, does this matter because this really helped in the same the BATTLE of the NBL IN the b doublea gave legitimacy to the league and created rivalries just, between the leagues and it showed that these big stadiums would lead to success. In the league and without these big stadiums in, their ticket prices they would not have had this success because back, in the forties and tell about and tell about, the nineteen eighties and un tell about, the nineteen eighties television wasn't a part of. Basketball a lot, it was there but the ticket sales is what sold and what gave, basketball to legitimacy and having more access to tickets to sell is what made it grow bigger. Every SINGLE year and i want to thank you for listening to today's. Daily sports history if, you like this please leave us in a review. Wherever you're listening tell US your, favorite nba champion tell US the oldest nba champion you can remember, in your review and come back tomorrow for more. 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