National Industrial Basketball League

National Industrial Basketball League

Sport	Basketball
Founded	1947
Ceased	1963
No. of teams	25
Country	United States
Last champion(s)	Cleveland Pipers (1st title)
Most titles	Phillips 66ers (11)

The National Industrial Basketball League was founded in 1947 to enable U.S. mill workers a chance to compete in basketball. The league was founded by the industrial teams (teams sponsored by the large companies and made up of their employees) belonging to the National Basketball League (NBL) that did not join the National Basketball Association when the NBL merged with the Basketball Association of America.

League history[]

The league first year, 1947–48, featured five teams in an eight-game schedule—the Milwaukee Harnischfegers (which won the round robin schedule with an 8-0 record), Peoria Caterpillars, Milwaukee Allen-Bradleys, Akron Goodyear Wingfoots, and Fort Wayne General Electrics. The following season (1948-1949), with a 16-game schedule, the new lineup was league champion Bartlesville Phillips 66ers (15-1 record), Denver Chevvies, Peoria Caterpillars, Akron Goodyears/Akron Goodyear Wingfoots, and Milwaukee Allen-Bradleys.

In the 1949-50 season, with the addition of the Dayton Industrialists making the league a six-team circuit, the Phillips 66ers repeated as champions. The league expanded again in the 1950-51 season to eight teams, adding the (Oakland Blue 'n Gold Atlas) and San Francisco Stewart Chevrolets. The Dayton team renamed as the Dayton Air Gems, and the Phillips 66ers repeated for their third consecutive title.

High Point of League Expansion[]

The league in 1951-52 expanded to 11 teams, with such new teams as the Los Angeles Fibber McGee & Mollys, Artesia REA Travelers, and Santa Maria Golden Dukes. The Phillips 66ers just edged the Oakland Atlas-Pacific Engineers and the San Francisco Stewart Chevrolets for their fourth title, with a 17-5 record to their opponents 16-6 records that tied for second. The next season (1952-1953), the league dropped down to nine teams, but saw new opponents in the Houston Ada Oilers and the Los Angeles Kirby's Shoes. The Phillips 66ers edged the Peoria Caterpillars for the title by one game, with a 13-3 record.

The Peoria Cats tied the Phillips 66ers for the 1953-54 title, each with a 10-4 record. Charter member Milwaukee Allen Bradleys, which managed to stay in the league, took last place for the fifth year in seven years in the eight-team circuit. Those Milwaukee fans were supportive apparently. The next two seasons, the Phillips 66ers and the Peoria Cats took first and second respectively. A new team in the greatly reduced circuit of five teams in 1955-56 was the Wichita Vickers. Milwaukee Allen-Bradley again took last place, their sixth time since the league began.

The 1956-57 season was one of the most competitive in the NIBL history, with the Phillips 66ers taking first with a 13-7 record, but tied for second were four teams with 11-9 records, among them new member the Denver-Chicago Truckers, headquartered in Denver. Milwaukee Allen-Bradley was typically the only non-competitive team, finishing last for the seventh time with a 3-17 record. This was the last season for the Milwaukee team, which had valiantly survived since the league's founding.

The 1957-58 season saw the Wichita Vickers move to the forefront, tying the Phillips 66ers for the league title, each with a 21-9 record. A new team that year was the Kansas City Kaycees.

End of the Phillips 66ers Winning Streak[]

Finally, in the 1958-59 season, the Phillips 66ers showed they were mortal, and took a mediocre third-place. First was the Denver-Chicago Truckers, with a 21-9 record, and second the Wichita Vickers, with a 19-11 record. Joining the league that season was the Seattle Buchan Bakers.

Unhappily for the rest of the league, in the 1959-60 season, the Phillips 66ers were again on top.

Demise of the NIBL[]

The escalation in the salaries of the National Basketball Association had a serious impact on industrial basketball teams. When the salaries of NBA players and industrial league players were comparable in the 1950s, top-notch players saw little advantage to joining the pros. However, by the early 1960s, the industrial teams found that they could not compete with the pros salary-wise, as top college graduates increasingly gravitated to the NBA. The NIBL saw a decline in its program. The Peoria Cats, for example, disbanded at the end of the 1959-60 season.

In the NIBL's final season, 1960–61, the league had dropped down to only six members, and was divided into two divisions, Eastern (Cleveland Pipers, Akron Goodyears, New York Tuck Tapers) and Western (Denver-Chicago Truckers, Phillips 66ers, and Seattle Buchan Bakers). Instead of the round-robin schedule determining a winner, the league sponsored a four-team playoff. The Cleveland Pipers beat the Denver-Chicago Truckers for the championship, 136-100; and for third place, the Phillips 66ers beat the Akron Goodyears, 114-112.

In 1961 the league reorganized changing sponsorship from industrial companies and became the National Alliance of Basketball Leagues (NABL). The Cleveland Pipers and the New York Tapers joined the newly formed American Basketball League in 1961.

The Bartlesville Phillips 66ers won the league championship in 11 of the league's 14 seasons.

The amateur nature of the NIBL[]

In the 1950s the salaries were about the same as the NBA and there was a job for all players in their companies. Some of them they ended up being president of their companies, working there for a lifetime. Most of players wanted no part of the uncertain professional game, and instead were accepting a position with the companies, rejecting offers even from NBA.

The NIBL was dedicated to remaining amateur at a time when basketball was desperately trying to carve out some postwar space in the pro sports landscape. But professional basketball staggered forward and the NIBL flourished, mostly because its stability allowed companies to poach stars such as Bob Kurland.

The NIBL merged with other AAU leagues and reorganized into the National AAU Basketball League (NABL) in 1961.^[1]

Notable NIBL alumni[]

NIBL Teams[]

NIBL Champions[]

NIBL All-Star Game[]

1958, Peoria: East - West 113-104 ^[2]
1959, Denver: East - West 81-78

Yearly NIBL Standings (1947-1948 to 1960-1961)[]

1947-1948 Season
Team Name	Wins	Losses	Win Pct
Milwaukee Harnischfegers	8	0	1
Caterpillar Diesels	5	3	0.625
Milwaukee Allen-Bradleys	4	4	0.5
Akron Goodyear Wingfoots	3	5	0.375
Fort Wayne General Electrics	0	8	0

Team Name	Wins	Losses	Win Pct
Bartlesville Phillips 66ers	15	1	0.938
Denver Chevvies	11	5	0.688
Caterpillar Diesels	8	8	0.5
Akron Goodyear Wingfoots	4	12	0.25
Milwaukee Allen-Bradleys	2	14	0.125

Team Name	Wins	Losses	Win Pct
Bartlesville Phillips 66ers	9	1	0.9
Caterpillar Diesels	7	3	0.7
Denver Chevvies	5	5	0.5
Akron Goodyear Wingfoots	3	7	0.3
Dayton Industrialists	3	7	0.3
Milwaukee Allen-Bradleys	2	14	0.125

Team Name	Wins	Losses	Win Pct
Bartlesville Phillips 66ers	22	3	0.888
Oakland Blue 'n Gold Atlas	11	6	0.647
San Francisco Stewart Chevrolets	12	8	0.6
Caterpillar Diesels	15	13	0.538
Akron Goodyear Wingfoots	5	8	0.385
Dayton Air Gems	5	12	0.294
Denver Chevvies	5	14	0.263
Milwaukee Allen-Bradleys	1	12	0.077

Team Name	Wins	Losses	Win Pct
Bartlesville Phillips 66ers	17	5	0.773
Oakland Atlas-Pacific Engineers	16	6	0.727
San Francisco Stewart Chevrolets	16	6	0.727
Caterpillar Diesels	13	9	0.591
Akron Goodyear Wingfoots	12	10	0.545
Los Angeles Fibber McGee & Mollys	9	13	0.409
Artesia REA Travelers	9	13	0.409
Denver Central Bankers	8	14	0.364
Santa Maria Golden Dukes	8	14	0.364
Dayton Air-Gems	7	15	0.318
Milwaukee Allen-Bradleys	5	17	0.227

Team Name	Wins	Losses	Win Pct
Phillips 66ers	13	3	0.812
Peoria Cats	12	4	0.75
Santa Maria Golden Dukes	10	6	0.625
Akron Goodyear Wingfoots	9	7	0.562
Houston Ada Oilers	8	8	0.5
Los Angeles Kirby's Shoes	7	9	0.438
Denver Central Bankers	6	10	0.375
Milwaukee Allen-Bradleys	5	11	0.312
Artesia REA Travelers	2	14	0.125

Team Name	Wins	Losses	Win Pct
Phillips 66ers	10	4	0.714
Peoria Cats	10	4	0.714
Akron Goodyear Wingfoots	9	5	0.643
Denver Central Bankers	9	5	0.643
Santa Maria Golden Dukes	7	7	0.5
Artesia CVE Travelers	4	10	0.286
Houston Ada Oilers	4	10	0.286
Milwaukee Allen-Bradleys	3	11	0.214

Team Name	Wins	Losses	Win Pct
Phillips 66ers	19	5	0.792
Peoria Cats	16	8	0.667
Denver Central Bankers	12	12	0.5
Houston Ada Oilers	12	12	0.5
Milwaukee Allen-Bradleys	10	14	0.417
Artesia CVE Travelers	8	16	0.333
Akron CVE Travelers	7	17	0.292

Team Name	Wins	Losses	Win Pct
Phillips 66ers	16	8	0.667
Peoria Cats	15	9	0.625
Wichita Vickers	15	9	0.625
Akron Goodyear Wingfoots	9	15	0.375
Milwaukee Allen-Bradleys	5	19	0.208

Team Name	Wins	Losses	Win Pct
Phillips 66ers	13	7	0.65
Akron Goodyear Wingfoots	11	9	0.55
Denver Denver-Chicago Truckers	11	9	0.55
Peoria Cats	11	9	0.55
Wichita Vickers	11	9	0.55
Milwaukee Allen-Bradleys	3	17	0.15

Team Name	Wins	Losses	Win Pct
Phillips 66ers	21	9	0.7
Wichita Vickers	21	9	0.7
Denver Denver-Chicago Truckers	16	14	0.533
Akron Goodyear Wingfoots	15	15	0.5
Peoria Cats	15	15	0.5
Kansas City Kaycees	2	28	0.064

Team Name	Wins	Losses	Win Pct
Denver Denver-Chicago Truckers	21	9	0.7
Wichita Vickers	19	11	0.633
Phillips 66ers	15	15	0.5
Akron Wingfoots	13	17	0.433
Peoria Cats	12	18	0.4
Seattle Buchan Bakers	10	20	0.333

Team Name	Wins	Losses	Win Pct
Phillips 66ers	24	8	0.75
Wichita Vickers	22	10	0.688
Akron Wingfoots	18	14	0.563
Cleveland Pipers	16	16	0.5
Peoria Cats	16	16	0.5
San Francisco Investors	15	17	0.469
Seattle Buchan Bakers	14	18	0.438
Denver Denver-Chicago Truckers	12	20	0.375
New York Tuck Tapers	7	25	0.219

Team Name	Wins	Losses	Win Pct
Eastern Division
Cleveland Pipers	24	10	0.706
Akron Goodyears	15	19	0.441
New York Tuck Tapers	15	19	0.441
Western Division
Denver Denver-Chicago Truckers	22	12	0.647
Bartlesville Phillips 66ers	16	18	0.471
Seattle Buchan Bakers	10	24	0.294
Playoffs
Championship Game		Cleveland 136, Denver 100
Consolation Game		Bartlesville 114, Akron 112

Teams profiles[]

Division	Team	City	Arena	Capacity	Club	Founded	NIBL Years	NIBL Titles
National Industrial Basketball League
	Akron Goodyear Wingfoots	Akron, Ohio	Akron Goodyear Hall	5,000	1918		1947-1961	-
	Phillips 66ers	Bartlesville, Oklahoma	Bartlesville High School Gym and	1,400 and 2,600	1925		1948-1961	11
	Peoria Caterpillars	Peoria, Illinois	Robertson Memorial Field House	8,300	1937		1947-1960	1
	Fort Wayne General Electrics	Fort Wayne, Indiana	North Side High School Gym	3,000	1935		1947-1948	-
	Buchan Bakers	Seattle, Washington	Seattle Civic Auditorium	2,963	1948		1948-1961	-
	Houston Ada Oilers	Houston, Texas	Jeppesen Gymnasium	2,500	1952		1952-1955	-
	Oakland Bittners	Oakland, California	?	?	1941		1950-1952	-
	Wichita Vickers	Wichita, Kansas		?	1955		1955-1960	-
	Cleveland Pipers	Cleveland, Ohio	Cleveland Arena	10,000	1959		1959-1961	1

References[]

External links[]

• History of the Amateur Athletic Union
• http://www.dondennisfamily.com/D_C_Truckers/index.html