1946–47 Philadelphia Warriors season
| 1946–47 Philadelphia Warriors season | |
|---|---|
BAA champions | |
| Head coach | Edward Gottlieb |
| Arena | Philadelphia Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 35–25 (.583) |
| Place | Division: 2nd (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | BAA Champions Defeated Stags 4–1 |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Radio | WCAU |
The 1946–47 Philadelphia Warriors season was the first season of the Philadelphia Warriors in the BAA (which later became the NBA). For the Warriors' first game ever played on November 7, 1946, a notable event would occur late in that game where after five of the Pittsburgh Ironmen's players (which involved their leading scorer Moe Becker alongside John Abramovic, Press Maravich, Ed Melvin, and John Mills, with Mike Bytzura being dangerously close to joining them himself also[1]) fouled out of the game (back when fouling out involved five fouls instead of the six fouls the league implements to this day going forward) and opposing head coach Paul Birch refused the Warriors' offer to reinstate one of their disqualified players back into the game, the two teams decided to finish the game off with their teams playing the rest of the game in a four-on-four manner as opposed to the usual five-on-five display, which led to the Warriors winning 81–75.[2] Despite later finishing the season in second place within the Eastern Division behind only the Washington Capitols (who had the best record in league history throughout the BAA/NBA's first 20 years of history and the least amount of losses recorded in a season there until 1996), the Warriors ended up finishing the season winning their first league championship by winning the inaugural 1947 BAA Finals (now known as the NBA Finals) 4–1 over the Chicago Stags (who continued existing as a franchise until 1950).[3]
Roster
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Head coach
Legend
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Regular season
Season standings
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | x-Washington Capitols | 49 | 11 | .817 | – |
| 2 | x-Philadelphia Warriors | 35 | 25 | .583 | 14 |
| 3 | x-New York Knicks | 33 | 27 | .550 | 16 |
| 4 | Providence Steamrollers | 28 | 32 | .467 | 21 |
| 5 | Boston Celtics | 22 | 38 | .367 | 27 |
| 6 | Toronto Huskies | 22 | 38 | .367 | 27 |
Game log
| # | Date | Opponent | Score | High points | Record |
| 1 | November 7 | Pittsburgh | W 81–75 | Joe Fulks (25) | 1–0 |
| 2 | November 14 | Washington | W 68–65 | Joe Fulks (19) | 2–0 |
| 3 | November 19 | St. Louis | L 63–66 | Joe Fulks (24) | 2–1 |
| 4 | November 21 | Chicago | L 63–65 | Fred Sheffield (14) | 2–2 |
| 5 | November 26 | Boston | W 66–54 | Angelo Musi (16) | 3–2 |
| 6 | November 28 | Detroit | L 55–68 | Fulks, Rosenberg (14) | 3–3 |
| 7 | November 30 | @ New York | L 60–64 (OT) | Joe Fulks (26) | 3–4 |
| 8 | December 3 | Providence | W 76–68 | Joe Fulks (37) | 4–4 |
| 9 | December 5 | New York | W 62–51 | Angelo Musi (20) | 5–4 |
| 10 | December 7 | @ St. Louis | W 57–47 | Joe Fulks (18) | 6–4 |
| 11 | December 8 | @ Cleveland | L 66–72 | Joe Fulks (25) | 6–5 |
| 12 | December 10 | @ Toronto | W 85–73 | Joe Fulks (29) | 7–5 |
| 13 | December 12 | Washington | L 49–64 | Joe Fulks (17) | 7–6 |
| 14 | December 14 | @ Boston | L 65–77 | Joe Fulks (28) | 7–7 |
| 15 | December 17 | Detroit | W 57–49 | Angelo Musi (14) | 8–7 |
| 16 | December 19 | Cleveland | W 58–44 | Joe Fulks (26) | 9–7 |
| 17 | December 21 | @ Washington | L 56–68 | Joe Fulks (29) | 9–8 |
| 18 | December 26 | Pittsburgh | W 53–46 | Joe Fulks (22) | 10–8 |
| 19 | December 27 | @ Boston | W 63–60 | Joe Fulks (25) | 11–8 |
| 20 | December 29 | @ St. Louis | L 68–75 | Joe Fulks (29) | 11–9 |
| 21 | December 30 | @ Pittsburgh | W 62–60 | Joe Fulks (19) | 12–9 |
| 22 | January 2 | Providence | W 84–72 | Joe Fulks (35) | 13–9 |
| 23 | January 4 | @ Providence | L 74–78 | Joe Fulks (31) | 13–10 |
| 24 | January 8 | @ Pittsburgh | L 63–67 | Joe Fulks (19) | 13–11 |
| 25 | January 9 | Toronto | W 74–55 | Joe Fulks (35) | 14–11 |
| 26 | January 11 | @ Detroit | L 56–58 | Joe Fulks (20) | 14–12 |
| 27 | January 12 | @ Chicago | L 72–75 | Joe Fulks (32) | 14–13 |
| 28 | January 14 | @ Toronto | W 104–74 | Joe Fulks (41) | 15–13 |
| 29 | January 16 | Chicago | L 78–84 | Joe Fulks (36) | 15–14 |
| 30 | January 21 | Boston | W 59–43 | Joe Fulks (22) | 16–14 |
| 31 | January 22 | @ Washington | L 55–57 | Joe Fulks (20) | 16–15 |
| 32 | January 23 | Cleveland | W 83–78 | Joe Fulks (28) | 17–15 |
| 33 | January 25 | @ Detroit | W 61–55 | Joe Fulks (23) | 18–15 |
| 34 | January 26 | @ Chicago | L 57–63 | Joe Fulks (19) | 18–16 |
| 35 | January 30 | New York | W 65–58 | Joe Fulks (18) | 19–16 |
| 36 | February 1 | @ New York | W 71–63 | Joe Fulks (31) | 20–16 |
| 37 | February 3 | @ Boston | W 61–55 | Howie Dallmar (22) | 21–16 |
| 38 | February 4 | Providence | W 75–68 | Joe Fulks (19) | 22–16 |
| 39 | February 6 | Toronto | W 79–61 | Joe Fulks (37) | 23–16 |
| 40 | February 8 | @ Providence | L 58–67 | Howie Dallmar (19) | 23–17 |
| 41 | February 11 | St. Louis | W 75–59 | Joe Fulks (25) | 24–17 |
| 42 | February 13 | Cleveland | W 61–48 | Joe Fulks (19) | 25–17 |
| 43 | February 15 | @ Washington | L 60–70 | Joe Fulks (18) | 25–18 |
| 44 | February 16 | @ Cleveland | L 71–75 | Joe Fulks (23) | 25–19 |
| 45 | February 20 | Pittsburgh | W 78–66 | Joe Fulks (34) | 26–19 |
| 46 | February 23 | @ St. Louis | L 66–71 | Angelo Musi (22) | 26–20 |
| 47 | February 24 | @ Pittsburgh | W 69–67 | Joe Fulks (22) | 27–20 |
| 48 | February 26 | St. Louis | W 75–65 | Joe Fulks (25) | 28–20 |
| 49 | February 28 | @ Toronto | L 69–77 | Joe Fulks (23) | 28–21 |
| 50 | March 2 | @ Cleveland | L 69–72 | Joe Fulks (21) | 28–22 |
| 51 | March 3 | Toronto | W 76–66 | Joe Fulks (25) | 29–22 |
| 52 | March 6 | New York | L 59–61 | Joe Fulks (20) | 29–23 |
| 53 | March 11 | Washington | L 77–80 | Art Hillhouse (20) | 29–24 |
| 54 | March 13 | Boston | W 81–57 | Joe Fulks (25) | 30–24 |
| 55 | March 14 | @ Chicago | L 67–70 | Dallmar, Fulks (18) | 30–25 |
| 56 | March 16 | @ Detroit | W 67–61 | Joe Fulks (16) | 31–25 |
| 57 | March 20 | Detroit | W 77–75 | Joe Fulks (15) | 32–25 |
| 58 | March 22 | @ Providence | W 103–82 | Joe Fulks (24) | 33–25 |
| 59 | March 27 | Chicago | W 80–73 | Joe Fulks (34) | 34–25 |
| 60 | March 30 | @ New York | W 76–72 | Art Hillhouse (18) | 35–25 |
Playoffs
| 1947 playoff game log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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First round: 2–1 (home: 1–0; road: 1–1)
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BAA Semi-finals: 2–0 (home: 1–0; road: 1–0)
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BAA Finals: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1)
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| 1947 schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Player statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
Regular season
Bold – Leaders (qualified)
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howie Dallmar | 60 | – | – | .280 | – | .640 | – | 1.7 | – | – | 8.8 |
| Jerry Fleishman | 59 | – | – | .261 | – | .543 | – | .7 | – | – | 4.5 |
| Joe Fulks | 60 | – | – | .305 | – | .730 | – | .4 | – | – | 23.2 |
| Matt Guokas | 47 | – | – | .269 | – | .553 | – | .2 | – | – | 1.7 |
| Art Hillhouse | 60 | – | – | .291 | – | .723 | – | .7 | – | – | 6.0 |
| Ralph Kaplowitz | 30 | – | – | .291 | – | .738 | – | .4 | – | – | 7.0 |
| John Murphy | 11 | – | – | .200 | – | .667 | – | .0 | – | – | .7 |
| Angelo Musi | 60 | – | – | .281 | – | .829 | – | .4 | – | – | 9.4 |
| Petey Rosenberg | 51 | – | – | .209 | – | .612 | – | .5 | – | – | 2.9 |
| Jerry Rullo | 50 | – | – | .299 | – | .489 | – | .4 | – | – | 2.5 |
| George Senesky | 58 | – | – | .267 | – | .661 | – | .6 | – | – | 6.3 |
| Fred Sheffield | 22 | – | – | .199 | – | .615 | – | .2 | – | – | 3.4 |
Playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howie Dallmar | 10 | – | – | .250 | – | .750 | – | 1.6 | – | – | 8.2 |
| Jerry Fleishman | 9 | – | – | .314 | – | .722 | – | .3 | – | – | 6.3 |
| Joe Fulks | 10 | – | – | .288 | – | .787 | – | .3 | – | – | 22.2 |
| Matt Guokas | 8 | – | – | .111 | – | .400 | – | .0 | – | – | 0.5 |
| Art Hillhouse | 10 | – | – | .264 | – | .848 | – | .8 | – | – | 8.7 |
| Ralph Kaplowitz | 10 | – | – | .224 | – | .815 | – | .6 | – | – | 6.6 |
| Angelo Musi | 10 | – | – | .300 | – | .724 | – | .5 | – | – | 11.7 |
| Petey Rosenberg | 9 | – | – | .083 | – | .000 | – | .3 | – | – | 0.2 |
| Jerry Rullo | 7 | – | – | .231 | – | 1.000 | – | .0 | – | – | 1.0 |
| George Senesky | 10 | – | – | .317 | – | .808 | – | .8 | – | – | 10.9 |
Transactions
Purchases
| Player | Date bought | Previous team |
|---|---|---|
| Ralph Kaplowitz[4] | January 16, 1947 | New York Knicks |
Awards and records
References
- ^ https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/boxscore/1946-11-07/Pittsburgh-at-Philadelphia/181751
- ^ Berger, Phil (2003). Total Basketball: The Ultimate Basketball Encyclopedia. SPORT Media Publishing, Inc. ISBN 1-894963-01-6., p. 70
- ^ "1946-47 Philadelphia Warriors Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
- ^ "1946-47 Philadelphia Warriors Transactions". Basketball Reference. Accessed on June 29, 2017.