Abstract
Prior to the late 1930s, two basketball leagues emerged and their teams had operations at sites in small, midsized, and large cities of the United States (US). These were the National Basket Ball League (NBBL), which existed from 1898 to 1904, and the American Basketball League (ABL) during 1925–1955.
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Notes
- 1.
The NBBL was the first professional basketball league in the world. Centered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the league’s teams stretched from New York City to Central New Jersey and throughout the Philadelphia area to Wilmington, Delaware. It began operations with the 1898–1999 season and disbanded in January 1904, which was prior to completing its 1903–1904 season. Originally intended to consist of two separate geographic districts, one based in Philadelphia and the other in New York City, the latter district never operated. During the off-season in 1903, the NBBL had problems. Only five teams elected to play and more importantly, teams in New York, Burlington, and Wilmington failed to return. The league began the season with only five teams—Camden Electrics, Trenton Potters, Conshohocken, Millville Glass Blowers, and St. Bridget’s Biddies. Later, the Electrics and Potters dropped out in December 1903. Subsequently, the league disbanded in 1904 and at least one lawsuit followed its demise. See John Grasso, Historical Dictionary of Basketball (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2011).
- 2.
According to Murray R. Nelson, who wrote The National Basketball League: A History, 1935–1949, the league originally formed in Akron and Indianapolis, operated mainly in the Midwest but extended as far east as Rochester and Syracuse and west to Denver, and established major franchises with hometown loyalties. Most of its star players were college graduates, a major change from previous professional leagues. In addition, it was the first modern major professional league to integrate.
- 3.
One year after moving from the NBL to BAA in 1948, the Indianapolis Jets withdrew and the Indianapolis Olympians replaced them to compete in the NBA’s 1949–1950 regular season. The team played four seasons in the league and competed in four divisional playoffs. In 1951, the team’s owners became involved in a game-throwing scandal that occurred years earlier while playing at the University of Kentucky. Three years later, the Olympians went bankrupt and cancelled the franchise before the NBA’s 1954–1955 season.
- 4.
Among NBA teams in 2013, the Celtics ranked fourth in estimated market value at $875 million, sixth in revenue at $169 million, fifth in operating income at $46.8 million, and eighth in player expenses at $79 million. For more details, see “NBA Team Values: The Business of Basketball” at http://www.forbes.com cited 12 February 2014.
- 5.
For additional sources about the formation and early history of the NBA, see Frank P. Jozsa Jr., The National Basketball Association: Business, Organization and Strategy (Singapore: World Scientific, 2011); Connie Kirchberg, Hoop Love: A History of the National Basketball Association (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2007); Robert W. Peterson, Cages to Jump Shots: Pro Basketball’s Early Years (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1990); Charles Rosen, The First Tip-Off: The Incredible Story of the Birth of the NBA (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2008).
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Jozsa, F.P. (2015). National Basketball League–Basketball Association of America. In: National Basketball Association Strategies. SpringerBriefs in Economics, vol 84. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10058-6_6
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