April 12, 1958: The NBA Championship goes to St. Louis. If you're my age or younger, you've never seen an NBA team call St. Louis home, so this may seem strange to you. But it happened.
In 1946, a basketball team was established in Buffalo, New York, playing in the National Basketball League, taking on a name that had already been used in baseball, football and hockey: The Buffalo Bisons. It was owned by Ben Kerner and Leo Ferris. But before the calendar year, let alone the season, was out, they moved the team to Moline, Illinois.
They took on the name "Tri-Cities Blackhawks." The "Tri-Cities," a name adopted by World War I, were Moline and Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa. But the growth of Bettendorf, Iowa made the metro area a "Quad Cities." East Moline, Illinois campaigned to be the 4th city, and then to make it a "Quint Cities," but that term never caught on.
Regardless, the Blackhawks never caught on, despite being one of the NBL teams brought into the National Basketball Association in 1949. Kerner bought Ferris out, and Ferris started a new team, the Syracuse Nationals, who became the Philadelphia 76ers in 1963. In 1951, Kerner moved the Blackhawks to Milwaukee. To avoid confusion with the hockey team in nearby Chicago, they became the Milwaukee Hawks. They still didn't catch on, and, in 1955, Kerner moved them to St. Louis.
This time, they caught on, and made the Playoffs in their 1st season in St. Louis, 1955-56. The Kiel Auditorium was filled with fans watching the exploits of Bob Pettit, former Minneapolis Lakers star Slater Martin, and Frank Selvy, a 2-time All-Star who had once scored 100 points in a college game.
In the 1956 off-season, Boston Celtics owner Walter Brown, on the advice of head coach and general manager Red Auerbach, traded former University of Kentucky star Cliff Hagan and former Saint Louis University star Ed Macauley to the Hawks for the right to draft Bill Russell. It turned out to be the most short-sighted transaction in NBA history, even as St. Louis fans loved Hagan and Macauley. In 1957, the Hawks made the NBA Finals for the 1st time, and so did the Celtics. It went to Game 7, which went to double overtime, and the Celtics won it. It's often been called the greatest game in NBA history.
Alex Hannum then retired as a player, and was named the Hawks' head coach. In the 1957-58, he led them to a 41-31 regular season, finishing 1st in the NBA Western Division. They eliminated the Detroit Pistons, in their 1st season since moving from Fort Wayne, in the Semifinals, setting up a rematch with the Celtics.
Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals were played at the Boston Garden. The Hawks pulled an upset in Game 1, 104-102, before the Celtics struck back, 136-112. When the action shifted to St. Louis, Russell sprained his ankle late in the 3rd quarter of Game 3, which the Hawks won, 111-108. Russell did not play in Game 4, which the Celtics won, anyway, 109-98; or in Game 5, where the Hawks took a 2nd game in Boston, 102-100.
Bill Russell (left) and Bob Pettit
Russell tried to play in Game 6 in St. Louis, but could only play 20 minutes, scoring 8 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. In contrast, Pettit had the game of his career: 50 points, the 1st time it had been done in an NBA Finals), and 18 rebounds. Pettit's tip-in with 15 seconds left made the difference, as the Hawks won, 110-109.
This would be the only NBA Finals that Bill Russell lost. The 1966-67 season would be the only other season in his career when the Celtics didn't win the title. Celtic fans still believe their team would have won had Russell not gotten hurt. The fact that the Hawks won Game 1, in Boston, with Russell healthy suggests that they should not be so sure. Even Auerbach understood, saying, "You can always look for excuses. We just got beat."
The Hawks reached the Finals again in 1960 and 1961, but lost to the Celtics both times. They fell off, then rebuilt. In 1968, they reached the Western Division Finals, losing to the Lakers. But they weren't getting the attendance anymore. After that season, they moved to Atlanta, where they remain.
They have never reached the NBA Finals again, and are 2nd to the Sacramento Kings for the longest NBA Championship drought. (The Kings won it in 1951, as the Rochester Royals.) The Hawks do hang a banner for their St. Louis title at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
In 1967, Hannum won a 2nd title as a coach, with the Philadelphia 76ers. In 1969, he led the Oakland Oaks to the American Basketball Association title. He and Bill Sharman (1971 Utah Stars, 1972 Los Angeles Lakers) were the only 2 coaches to win titles in the NBA and the ABA.
Although other players have since scored more in an NBA Finals game -- Elgin Baylor of the Los Angeles Lakers holds the record, with 61 in 1962, though the Lakers lost the series to the Celtics -- Pettit's record for most points in an NBA Championship clincher still stands, though matched by Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021.
The following 1958 Hawks have been honored by the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame: Bob Pettit, Cliff Hagan, Chuck Share, Al Ferrari, and team owner Ben Kerner. Lenny Wilkens, a rookie on the Hawks' last Finals team in 1961, has also been honored.
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April 12, 1958 was a Saturday. The baseball season was 2 days away from opening. Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Finals were between Games 2 and 3. The Montreal Canadiens would beat the Boston Bruins in 6 games.
And in English soccer, North London team Arsenal went up to the North-East of England, and played Newcastle United to a 3-3 draw at St. James' Park in Newcastle.
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