World Professional Basketball Tournament

The World Professional Basketball Tournament was an invitational tournament held in Chicago, Illinois and sponsored by the Chicago Herald American. The annual event was held from 1939-48, and the winner was generally acknowledged as the World Champions of basketball. Many teams came from the National Basketball League, but it also included the best teams from other leagues and the best independent barnstorming teams such as the New York Rens and Harlem Globetrotters. Games were played at various sites including Chicago Coliseum, International Amphitheater and Chicago Stadium.

The NBL champion usually won this tournament, with three exceptions: the New York Rens won the first WPBT in 1939, while the Harlem Globetrotters -- a strongly competitive squad in those days -- won the following year. In 1943, the Washington Bears (with many New York Rens players on their roster) won the tournament in 1943. The NBL's Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons won the most titles (three, from 1944-46), while the NBL's Oshkosh All-Stars made the most finals appearances with five, winning only once (in 1942). The tournament disbanded in 1949, after the BAA and NBL merged to form the NBA.

Tournament finals results

Tournament MVPs

All-Time Championship Game Scoring Records

* Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Player Team Games Pts PPG
Edwards, LeroyLeroy Edwards Oshkosh 5 53 10.6
McDermott, BobbyBobby McDermott Ft. Wayne 3 49 16.3
Pelkington, JakeJake Pelkington Det/Ft. W 4 45 11.2
Jeannette, BuddyBuddy Jeannette Det/Ft. W 4 42 10.5
Mikan, GeorgeGeorge Mikan Minneapolis 1 40 40
Gates, PopPop Gates NY/Wash 3 37 12.3
Sadowski, EdEd Sadowski Det/Ft. W 3 34 11.3
Bush, JerryJerry Bush Det/Ft. W 5 30 6.0
Clifton, NatNat Clifton NY 1 24 24.0
Englund, GeneGene Englund Oshkosh 3 22 7.3
Reiser, ChickChick Reiser Ft. Wayne 3 22 7.3
Tough, BobBob Tough Bkn/Ft. W 2 21 10.5
Cumberland, DukeDuke Cumberland Harlem/NY 2 20 10.0
Ahearn, JakeJake Ahearn Detroit 2 20 10.0
Sobek, GeorgeGeorge Sobek Toledo 1 20 20.0

All-Time World Tournament Team Records

Team App. Gms W L 1st 2nd
Oshkosh All-Stars 930201014
New York Rens-Wash. Bears 10 28 1810 21
Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 8 21 156 30
Harlem Globetrotters 7 20 137 10
Detroit Eagles 3 10 82 11
Chicago American Gears 2 9 72 00
Chicago Bruins-Ramblers 4 9 54 01
Toledo White Huts-Whites-Jeeps 4 10 55 01
Sheboygan Redskins 8 14 59 00
Anderson Chiefs-Duffey Packers 3 7 43 00
Minneapolis Lakers 1 3 30 10
Brooklyn Eagles 1 4 31 01
L.I. Grumman Flyers/Hellcats 2 5 32 00
Dayton Acmes-Mickeys 2 5 32 01
Midland Dow Chemicals 3 6 33 00
Indianapolis Kautskys 5 7 34 10
Washington Heurlick Brewers 1 3 21 00
Tri-Cities Blackhawks 2 5 23 00
Baltimore Bullets 2 6 24 00

Recap by year

1939

1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

1945

1946

1947

1948

External sources

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