World Professional Basketball Tournament
1945
Tournament information
LocationChicago, Illinois
Dates19 March–24 March
Teams14
Final positions
ChampionsFort Wayne Zollner Pistons
1st runner-upDayton Acmes
2nd runner-upChicago American Gears
MVPBuddy Jeannette

The 1945 World Professional Basketball Tournament was the 7th edition of the World Professional Basketball Tournament. It was held in Chicago, Illinois, during the days of 19–24 March 1945 and featured 14 teams. It was won by the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons who defeated the Dayton Acmes 78–52 in the championship game. The Chicago American Gears came in third after beating the New York Rens 64–55 in the third-place game.[1] Buddy Jeannette of Fort Wayne was named the tournaments Most Valuable Player.[2]

Results

First round

19 March - Chicago American Gears 58, Hartford Nutmegs 47
19 March - Oshkosh All-Stars 60, Detroit Mansfields 56
19 March - New York Rens 67, Indianapolis Oilers 59
19 March - Midland Dow Chemicals 61, Cleveland Allmen Transfers 46
19 March - Pittsburgh Raiders 53, Newark C-O Twos 50
19 March - Dayton Acmes 43, Long Island Grumman Hellcats 27

Quarter-finals

21 March - Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 63, Oshkosh All-Stars 52
21 March - New York Rens 61, Pittsburgh Raiders 52
21 March - Dayton Acmes 52, Midland Dow Chemicals 50
21 March - Chicago American Gears 53, Harlem Globetrotters 49

Semi-finals

22 March - Dayton Acmes 80, Chicago American Gears 51
22 March - Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 68, New York Rens 45[3]

Third place game

24 March 1945
Chicago American Gears 64, New York Rens 55
Scoring by quarter: 14–21, 16–12, 16–11, 18–11[4]
Pts: P. Brookfield – 15 Pts: P. Bell, Z. Clayton – 17
Chicago Stadium
Referees: Dutch Kriznecky, Steve Barak

Championship game

24 March 1945
Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 78, Dayton Acmes 52
Scoring by half: 40–26, 38–26
Pts: B. Jeannette – 18 Pts: J. Mahnken – 16
Chicago Stadium
Attendance: 15,119
Referees: Nat Messenger, Art Mansfield

Individual awards

All-Tournament First team

All-Tournament Second team

References

  1. Maurice Shevlin (March 25, 1945). "Zollners beat Dayton, 78-52, for Pro Crown". Chicago Tribune. p. 27. Retrieved April 5, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. "Zollners seek cage opponents". The Spokesman-Review. March 26, 1945. p. 3. Retrieved April 5, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. "Zollners to meet Acmes for Crown". The Sheboygan Press. March 24, 1945. p. 11. Retrieved April 5, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. "Gears defeat Rens, 64-55". The Daily Oklahoman. March 25, 1945. p. 21. Retrieved April 5, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
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