The Philadelphia Sphas , also stylized SPHAs or SPHAS , were an American basketball franchise that existed in professional, semi-professional, and exhibition forms. They played their home games in the ballroom of Philadelphia's Broadwood Hotel. The team's name is an acronym , derived from South Philadelphia Hebrew Association (the group that initially funded the team), and the team's players, at least in its earlier years, were primarily Jewish. Future Philadelphia Warriors owner Eddie Gottlieb founded the team as an amateur group shortly after he and some close friends graduated from high school, and it later became a professional team. The Sphas played in many leagues around the Philadelphia area and the East Coast, most notably the Eastern Basketball League and the American Basketball League (ABL), between which the Sphas won 10 championships. The Sphas won a total of 12 championships, their first two coming from the early Philadelphia League and Philadelphia Basket Ball League.
62-587: The Sphas' existence began in 1917 as an amateur team by neighborhood friends Eddie Gottlieb , Harry Passon, and Hughie Black, who wanted to keep their high school championship team together. The team's first season took place in the American League of Philadelphia, a minor league that comprised six area teams. They were sponsored by the Young Men's Hebrew Association of South Philadelphia and were called Philadelphia YMHA for that season. The team turned in
124-571: A 1926–27 ABL entry. The Warriors, who featured former SPHAs stars Chick Passon and Stretch Meehan , competed in the ABL for two seasons, posting winning records both years. The ABL, its decline hastened by the Great Depression , shut down two seasons later, in 1931. Meanwhile, Gottlieb had rebuilt the SPHAs in 1929 with younger talent, and in 1933 the team joined the ABL, which had reorganized as
186-480: A 263–318 regular-season career record and going 15–17 in the playoffs. The Warriors finished at .500 or better in four of their first six campaigns, but in Gottlieb's last three seasons they compiled losing records and failed to make the playoffs. During his coaching years, from 1946/47 to 1954/55, his teams included such early NBA standouts as Paul Arizin and Neil Johnston . Gottlieb won his lone championship with
248-553: A 4–11 record, tied for last in the league that year. After this season, each YMHA withdrew its support for the team, citing dissatisfaction with the game's violent nature. After losing their sponsorship from the YMHA, Gottlieb, Passon, and Black approached the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association about sponsoring the team. The association agreed to sponsor the men and provided funding for uniforms to
310-500: A player, coach or team participated in the newly formed NBA after 1949 for one or more seasons. The NBA generally claims the BAA's history as its own. For example, at NBA History online its table of one-line "NBA Season Recaps" begins 1946–47 without comment. It celebrated "NBA at 50" in 1996, with the announcement of its 50 Greatest Players among other things. When the BAA was founded, there were two established professional leagues in
372-652: A semi-professional team until 1949. 1949 would be the last year the Sphas were affiliated with a league, but thanks to Gottlieb's friendship with Abe Saperstein , president and owner of the Harlem Globetrotters , the Sphas lived on as one of the exhibition teams that the Globetrotters would play, although they would retain only the franchise name, not the Jewish makeup of the team. Despite popular wisdom,
434-412: A smaller, regional circuit after a two-year hiatus. The clubs in this reincarnation of the ABL played in small arenas, armories, and dance halls, much as teams had in the early 1920s. The SPHAs were the premier team, winning championships in three of the league's first four seasons and taking titles in 7 of 15 years. The club stayed together for 31 years, until 1949, when Gottlieb became too involved with
496-677: A team from New York's Metropolitan League, the Paterson Legionaires. The Sphas won five out of six games in this series, and Gottlieb subsequently scheduled games against two top barnstorming teams of the day, the Original Celtics and New York Renaissance . The Sphas defeated the Original Celtics 2–1 and swept the Rens, 2–0. The team's victories over these top barnstorming teams gave them increased notability in
558-472: A yellow legal pad, and graph paper. "Gottlieb's skin would be the color of the yellow paper, and his eyes would look like black holes", Lupica wrote. "But he was making a season, as always." Gottlieb was the force behind the NBA schedule until shortly before his death. As other leagues began to use computers to build neutral schedules, the NBA continued to rely on Gottlieb and trust his human intuition. For 1978/79,
620-606: The American Basketball League (ABL) and the NBL, the BAA was the first league that attempted to play primarily in large arenas in major cities, such as Madison Square Garden and Boston Garden . At its inception, the quality of play in the BAA was not significantly better than in competing leagues, or among leading independent clubs such as the Harlem Globetrotters . For instance, both the 1948 and 1949 titles were won by teams that had played in other leagues during
682-546: The Maple Leaf Gardens managing Director Frank Selke , Duquesne Gardens entertainment executive John Harris , and Rhode Island Auditorium owner Louis Pieri . The already-serving president of the American Hockey League (AHL) Maurice Podoloff was appointed president of the BAA , becoming the first person to simultaneously lead two professional leagues — Joseph Carr had been president of
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#1732782446437744-657: The National Basketball Association (NBA). The Philadelphia Warriors won the inaugural BAA championship in 1947, followed by the Baltimore Bullets and the Minneapolis Lakers in 1948 and 1949, respectively. Six teams from the BAA remain in operation in the NBA as of the 2023–24 season , three that co-founded the league in 1946 ( Boston Celtics , New York Knicks , and Philadelphia Warriors) and three that joined it from
806-620: The Philadelphia (now Golden State) Warriors . Gottlieb was the coach and general manager of the Philadelphia Warriors. Besides coaching, he made sure the team stayed afloat during the rocky days of the BAA and the NBA. "He promoted the team on street corners and he sold tickets and then he counted the cold house", Mike Lupica wrote after Gottlieb's death. Gottlieb coached the Warriors for a total of nine seasons, compiling
868-770: The South Philadelphia Hebrew Association teams in the 1920s. He was in charge of semipro baseball in Philadelphia, financed and partly owned the Negro league Philadelphia Stars , and made the schedule for the Negro National League . He also helped coordinate the overseas tours of the Harlem Globetrotters . Along with a few other sports promoters, he organized the Basketball Association of America (BAA),
930-518: The University of Kansas and the Harlem Globetrotters . Chamberlain furthered the franchise's success. An immediate drawing card, he led the NBA in scoring and rebounding as a rookie and helped the Warriors to a 49–26 record and a trip to the division semifinals. With the Warriors for five full seasons (he was traded during his sixth season), Chamberlain took the team to the playoffs four times. In 1961/62 Philadelphia fell to Boston in seven games in
992-607: The finals . The divisional semifinals and finals were played in a best-of-3 format while the final series were played in the best-of-7 format. The Lakers defeated the Royals to become the inaugural Western Division winner. In the other divisional final, the Capitols defeated the New York Knicks to become the inaugural Eastern Division winner. The Lakers then won the finals by defeating the Capitols 4–2. On August 3, 1949,
1054-614: The ABL from 1925 to 1928 while also overseeing the National Football League (NFL), but the NFL and ABL seasons did not overlap. The owners of the BAA, while experienced businessmen, had little experience owning basketball teams. The league started with 11 teams, which played a 60-game regular season. This was followed by the playoffs and the final series to determine the league winner. Although there had been earlier attempts at professional basketball leagues, including
1116-533: The ABL split into two divisions (Eastern and Western). The Warriors played in the Eastern Division and finished third with a 30–21 record. This allowed them entry into the playoffs, where they lost to the New York Celtics 2–0. With the 1946 advent of the Basketball Association of America , the immediate predecessor of the NBA, the ABL became a minor-league, and the Sphas would remain there as
1178-592: The Associated Press late in his life. "They call me in now because I’m the only one left who can connect things to the past, who knows why this rule was put in or why that one was thrown out." Gottlieb was behind the NBA's "territorial draft" rule, which gave teams the right to claim a local college or high school player in exchange for giving up their first-round draft pick. The rule was particularly advantageous for Philadelphia, which landed Overbrook High School's Wilt Chamberlain in 1959 after his stints with
1240-716: The BAA agreed to merge with the NBL, creating the National Basketball Association (NBA). Six remaining NBL teams joined with the ten BAA teams; the Indianapolis Jets and the Providence Steamrollers folded prior to the merger. The Indianapolis Olympians , a planned expansion team for the NBL, also joined the newly formed league. In total, the new league had 17 teams located in a mix of large and small cities, as well as large arenas, smaller gymnasiums, and armories. Prior to
1302-742: The BAA was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946. The remaining founding members were represented by the Madison Square Garden sports promoter Ned Irish , Philadelphia Arena sports promoter Peter Tyrell , the Uline Arena owner Mike Uline, both Chicago Stadium and St.Louis Arena owner Arthur Wirtz , the Detroit Olympia owner James D. Norris , the Cleveland Arena sports promoter Albert Sutphin ,
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#17327824464371364-833: The BAA, Ossie Schectman scored the opening basket for the Knickerbockers. The Eastern Division winner, the Washington Capitols , who had the best record with 49 wins, were defeated in the best-of-7 semifinal by the Western Division winner, the Chicago Stags . The Stags advanced to the finals along with the Philadelphia Warriors who defeated the New York Knickerbockers in the other semifinal. The Warriors won
1426-610: The BAA. With twelve teams, the league was realigned into two six-team divisions. Each team played 60 regular season games. The Eastern Division was won by the Washington Capitols who had 38 wins, while the Western Division was dominated by the two new teams, the Royals and the Lakers who had 45 and 44 wins respectively. The 1949 Playoffs were expanded to include eight teams. The four best teams from each division contested in divisional semifinals and divisional finals to find each division winners. The two division winners then advanced to
1488-608: The Eastern Division Finals. Before the 1962/63 season the Warriors moved west. Gottlieb, who had purchased the franchise 10 years earlier, sold it for a $ 600,000 profit to a credit card company, which kept 33.3 percent of the ownership while Franklin Mieuli put together a group of almost 40 Bay Area investors to purchase the remainder of the team. The move to San Francisco followed the Minneapolis Lakers ' migration to Los Angeles two seasons earlier, and helped open
1550-610: The Knicks by a single game in the regular season and then lost in six in the BAA Finals to the league's newest entrant, the Baltimore Bullets . For the 1949/50 season, the BAA merged with the NBL to form the NBA, a marriage in which Gottlieb was influential. "When anyone inside the league or outside had a question, they went to Gotty", said Leonard Koppett, who covered the NBA for the New York Post and The New York Times . For
1612-408: The NBL in 1948 ( Fort Wayne Pistons , Minneapolis Lakers, and Rochester Royals ). The inaugural BAA season began with 11 teams, of which four dropped out before the second season. One ABL team joined to provide 8 teams for 1947–48 and four NBL teams joined to provide 12 for 1948–49. The records and statistics of the BAA and NBL prior to the merger in 1949 are considered in official NBA history only if
1674-559: The NBL: the BAA played a 48-minute game instead of a 40-minute game, and allowed players to play until they committed six fouls as opposed to five. The league formation did not alarm team owners in the NBL until some NBL players switched to the BAA. Before the season started, the Cleveland Rebels , Detroit Falcons , Pittsburgh Ironmen and Toronto Huskies folded, leaving the BAA with only seven teams. The Baltimore Bullets joined
1736-488: The Philadelphia League was a disappointing one, turning in an 8–11 record and finishing 2nd in the first half of the season, but last in the second half at 1–8. The Sphas' next season in the Philadelphia League would prove more fruitful (due in part to the increased number of games), as the Sphas turned in a 25–15 record, overcoming a first-half slump of 14–13 (5th out of 8) to finish first in the second half of
1798-493: The Philadelphia League, which consisted of teams from the greater Philadelphia area, a number of them religious. In their single season in the Manufacturer's League, the team (known as Philadelphia Passon, Gottlieb, Black since they competed through Passon and Black's sporting goods store) turned in an overall 8–6 record, finishing 3rd in the first half of that season and 6th (out of 8) in the second half. Their first season in
1860-600: The Sphas did not directly evolve into the Washington Generals . Instead, Saperstein had asked Red Klotz to create a separate exhibition team because the Sphas had beaten the Globetrotters on more than one occasion. After creating the Generals, Klotz sold the Sphas to one of his players, Pete Monska, who coached the team "for a year or two until it disbanded [in October 1959.]" The Sphas played their last game as
1922-648: The Sphas moniker as a way of paying tribute to their upbringing. Douglas Stark, author of The SPHAS: The Life and Times of Basketball's Greatest Jewish Team , noted that "[f]or a number of years, the team was known as the Wandering Jews, because the team did not have its own home court." The team continued to play in the American League of Philadelphia after losing their partnership with the SPHA, and played in two different leagues during 1922–23 season: The Manufacturer's League, containing teams from area companies, and
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1984-871: The United States: the American Basketball League (ABL) in the East, founded 1925, and the National Basketball League (NBL) in Midwestern industrial cities, founded 1937. However, most of the ABL and NBL teams played in small arenas, and in some cases even ballrooms or high school gymnasiums. Walter Brown , owner of the Boston Garden , believed that major ice hockey arenas, which sat empty on many nights, could be put to profitable use hosting basketball games when there were no ice hockey games to be played. To put this theory into practice,
2046-525: The Warriors in the first term of the BAA, 1946–47. Behind "Jumping Joe" Fulks , who led the league with 23.2 points per game, the Warriors logged a 35–25 regular-season record, second to the Washington Capitols in the Eastern Division. In the playoffs the Warriors defeated New York, the St. Louis Bombers , and the Chicago Stags for the title. Gottlieb and rivaling Stags coach Harold Olsen would be
2108-424: The association stopped providing the uniforms, the team kept the unusual name. Having no home court, the team nicknamed themselves "the Wandering Jews". In the early days of the SPHAs, a game was as much a social event. "We played in a lot of dance halls in those early years", Gottlieb told The Associated Press. "It was basketball, then dancing. A very nice Saturday evening for yourself and your date. We used to let
2170-402: The ball for long periods. The owners discussed trying a 60-minute game and even doing "innings" where each team would have the ball for a certain period of time. In addition, the teams in the league were financially weak. However, the BAA still had fans eager to see former college stars play. From the beginning, the league aspired to be a major league. The league also differed from its rival,
2232-479: The basketball." Gottlieb was involved with sports throughout his life. Born Isadore Gottlieb in 1898 in Kiev , he moved with his family to Philadelphia at the turn of the century. By the time he was a young adult he had not only played on but had also coached, owned, and operated neighborhood sports teams. He was, by his own admission, a born promoter and organizer, and changed his name to Edward. In 1917, when he
2294-402: The burgeoning professional basketball community. Riding the wave of victories his team achieved against the ABL and barnstorming teams, Gottlieb entered the Sphas in the ABL, rechristening them the Philadelphia Warriors. During their two years in the ABL as the Warriors, the team performed moderately well, finishing third (14–7) and then fourth (10–11) in the 1926–27 season. For the 1927–28 season,
2356-567: The country's biggest cities were looking for events to help fill their schedules. They met in New York City in 1946 and created the 11-team Basketball Association of America . The league was fashioned after the National Hockey League, with a 60-game schedule followed by championship playoffs. Of the original 11 teams, only three still survive in the present-day NBA: the Boston Celtics , the New York Knickerbockers , and
2418-557: The first rookie coaches to compete in the championship match-ups, with such a feat not happening again until the 2015 NBA Finals with Steve Kerr of the Warriors (now in Golden State) and David Blatt of the Cleveland Cavaliers both competing for their first championships in their rookie coaching seasons in the NBA. In the league's second season the BAA lost four teams and picked up another one. The Warriors edged
2480-509: The girls in for free, because you couldn't have a dance after the game without the girls. We had no trouble getting the guys to pay for the basketball game when they heard that news." The SPHAs became one of the powerhouses of basketball in the East. The team entered the Philadelphia League and won two consecutive championships, the final two in the league's history. The SPHAs then joined the Eastern League, which went out of business in
2542-400: The idea of a 24-second shot clock in 1954, and he helped to implement a rule that gave a bonus free throw after six team fouls in a quarter. The new rules supplied the framework for a more fast-paced and exciting game and were pivotal in the continued existence and eventual success of the NBA. "I probably was responsible for more rule changes in pro basketball than any other man", Gottlieb told
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2604-502: The inaugural BAA championship by winning the series 4–1. The first year had many problems. In arenas shared with hockey teams, some arena owners simply put a wooden basketball floor over the ice. This caused some games to be cancelled due to puddles on the floor. In addition, some owners would not heat their buildings, leading fans to bring blankets to the games and players to wear gloves. Attendance averaged just 3,000 per game. Teams with large leads would stall by having players dribble
2666-560: The league from the ABL , and were assigned to the Western Division along with the Washington Capitols to even the divisions. Prior to the start of the season, the league held its inaugural college draft on July 1, 1947. Each team played 48 regular season games. The Eastern Division was won by the Philadelphia Warriors, the West by the St. Louis Bombers. The 1948 Playoffs followed the same format as
2728-414: The league that later became the NBA. Gottlieb coached the original Philadelphia Warriors , bought the team, and sent it to San Francisco in order to expand the game westward. He headed the NBA rules committee for 25 years and was solely in charge of NBA scheduling for the last three decades of his life. Fellow Hall of Famer Harry Litwack stated: "Gottlieb was about as important to the game of basketball as
2790-639: The league's top club, the Cleveland Rosenblums . The SPHAs then defeated two of the game's best touring squads, the New York Original Celtics and the New York Renaissance Five (Rens) , in best-of-three series. In about six weeks, Gottlieb's team had won nine of 11 contests against the most celebrated squads in basketball. For the next two years Gottlieb devoted his energy to the Philadelphia Warriors,
2852-584: The merge, the league held the 1949 college draft on March 21, which was the last event held under the name BAA. The NBA later adopted the BAA's history and statistics as its own but did not do the same for NBL records and statistics. The series was initially known as the BAA Finals prior to the 1949–50 season when the Basketball Association of America (BAA) merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) to create
2914-533: The new Basketball Association of America. Gottlieb sold the SPHAs to Red Klotz in 1950. In the spring of 1946, the United States was celebrating the end of World War II, which had formally ended in September 1945. Peace brought the population leisure time and money for entertainment, and basketball was ripe for a move to the big time. College basketball had grown immensely in popularity during
2976-433: The next three seasons the Warriors lost in the first round of the playoffs without winning a game. Gottlieb, who was instrumental in helping original Warriors owner Peter A. Tyrrell launch the franchise, bought the club in 1952 for $ 25,000. He also had a major role in shaping the league's rules, serving as chairman of the rules committee for 25 years. He was there when Syracuse Nationals owner Danny Biasone came up with
3038-502: The original team on October 17, 1959, losing to the Globetrotters in a double-header exhibition game. The Sphas were then reconstituted as the Baltimore Rockets, another Globetrotters exhibition team. Eddie Gottlieb Edward Gottlieb (born Isadore Gottlieb ; September 15, 1898 – December 7, 1979) was a Jewish-Ukrainian professional basketball coach and executive. Nicknamed " Mr. Basketball " and " The Mogul ", he
3100-605: The previous 10 years, and there was no professional basketball circuit (as hockey had with the National Hockey League ). The National Basketball League was operating primarily in the Midwest, and did not attract the attention of other cities where basketball was popular, such as New York, Philadelphia , and Boston —which, for nearly half a century, had been the hotbeds of barnstorming teams and fly-by-night leagues. The owners or operators of major arenas in some of
3162-543: The previous year, the Baltimore Bullets in 1948 and the Minneapolis Lakers in 1949. The league started with 11 teams, which were divided into two divisions, the Eastern Division and the Western Division . Each team played 60 or 61 regular season games. The best three teams from each division advanced to the playoffs . The two division winners received first-round byes and qualified directly to
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#17327824464373224-697: The previous year. The Eastern Division winner, the Philadelphia Warriors defeated the Western Division winner, St. Louis Bombers . In the finals , the Warriors were defeated by the Bullets 4–2. Prior to the start of the season, four teams from the NBL , the Fort Wayne Pistons , Indianapolis Jets , Minneapolis Lakers and the Rochester Royals , joined the BAA. This caused a surge in talent as players such as George Mikan were now playing in
3286-431: The same season, forcing the team to book its own games. Gottlieb, an entrepreneur and future schedule maker, had no trouble lining up a series of exhibition games against teams from both New York's Metropolitan League and the American Basketball League , which in 1925–26 began operation as the country's first major professional basketball league. The SPHAs won five of six games against ABL teams in 1925–26, losing only to
3348-480: The season prior to his death, he reluctantly gave up his duties to a software program. A lifelong bachelor, Gottlieb remained employed by the NBA until his death in December 1979, traveling from Philadelphia to New York a few times a week as a coordinator and consultant. "Eddie Gottlieb was one of the real pioneers of professional round ball", Red Smith wrote in The New York Times . Wrote Lupica, "Eddie Gottlieb loved basketball. Maybe no one ever loved basketball quite
3410-500: The season with an 11–3 record. They went on that year to defeat the Tri-Council Caseys 2–0 for their first championship. For the 1924–25 season, the Philadelphia League reconstituted itself as the Philadelphia Basket Ball League, dropping the number of teams in the league to six. The Sphas continued a strong spate of play, finishing 1st in the first half of the season, and third in the second half. They would go on to be repeat champions that season, winning 2–1 again over Tri-Council. Due to
3472-411: The semifinals, while the two second-place teams and two third-place teams competed in the best-of-3 quarterfinals, followed by the semifinals. The final series was also played in a best-of-7 format. On November 1, 1946, at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto , the Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers , which the NBA now regards as the league's first official game. In the opening game of
3534-402: The success of the Sphas against teams in the Philadelphia area, and frustration with playing in the "poorly managed" Eastern League in 1924–25, owner Eddie Gottlieb set up games against professional teams from the newly-formed American Basketball League . The Sphas played a six-game stretch against the Brooklyn Arcadians , Fort Wayne Caseys , Cleveland Rosenblums , Washington Palace Five , and
3596-402: The team. The new uniforms featured the acronym SPHA in Hebrew (ספהא) across the front. Again, their sponsorial relationship was short-lived, as the SPHA withdrew their sponsorship shortly after for an unspecified reason. The men had better financial solvency this time around, as they opened a sporting goods store, calling it P.G.B. Sporting Goods. With the store, they created new uniforms, but kept
3658-435: The way he did." His story is featured in The First Basket , a documentary on the history of Jews and Basketball. Source # denotes interim head coach Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America ( BAA ) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) to form
3720-454: The west to professional basketball. Gottlieb remained involved with the team in San Francisco before "retiring" in 1964. However, he retained his leadership position with the NBA. His role was crucial: the job of planning the league schedule had become solely his. "They joked that Eddie Gottlieb carried the NBA around in his briefcase", Lupica wrote. In any July or August, a visit to Gottlieb's office would find him in front of stacks of paper,
3782-434: Was 19, Gottlieb organized a team of mostly Jewish players representing the Young Men's Hebrew Association, which supplied the team with uniforms for three years. The players later found a new sponsor with the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association, a social club from which the team derived its new identity, the Philadelphia Sphas . The team wore uniforms with the acronym SPHAs sewn across the chest in Hebrew letters. Even after
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#17327824464373844-433: Was the first coach and manager of the Philadelphia Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and later became the owner of the team from 1951 to 1962. A native of Kiev , Ukraine , he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor on April 20, 1972. The NBA Rookie of the Year Award , the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy, was formerly named after him. Gottlieb organized, and played for,
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