April 13, 1949: Mikan the Conqueror

George Mikan. "MPLS" means "Minneapolis."

April 13, 1949: The Minneapolis Lakers win the Championship of the Basketball Association of America, in their 1st season in the league. The following season, following a merger with the NBA, the National Basketball League, it will be renamed the NBA: The National Basketball Association.
 
The Lakers were coached by John Kundla, and led on the court by center George Mikan. At 6-foot-10, he might not have been the tallest man in basketball, but he was the biggest in terms of impact. He dominated the game so much in the NBA's 1st 10 years of play that the marquee at the old Madison Square Garden, advertising his upcoming game there, didn't read, "KNICKS V/S LAKERS," it read, "GEO MIKAN V/S KNICKS."

No, I'm not making that up:

Big George got top billing over the home team.

 
The native of Joliet, Illinois had led DePaul University of Chicago to the 1945 NIT Championship, and the Lakers to the NBL title in 1948. They joined the BAA immediately, and, in the 1949 Finals, beat the Washington Capitols, 4 games to 2. The last game was at home, at the Minneapolis Auditorium, and the Lakers won it, 77-56.
 
The Capitols' coach left in the off-season, in a dispute with team owner Mike Uline. That dispute changed the history of the sport. The former Washington boss was hired by another NBA team, and never lost another Finals to the Lakers as a head coach, winning 5 of them. It would be 8-0 before he lost one as a general manager. His name was Arnold "Red" Auerbach. 

The Capitols played 2 more seasons, and went out of business. The city didn't win an NBA Championship until the Bullets in 1978. Indeed, the city didn't even make the Finals in any sport again for 23 years, until the Redskins won the 1972 NFC Championship Game before losing Super Bowl VII.

The Lakers also had forwards Jim Pollard and Arnie Ferrin. Later, they would have forward Vern Mikkelsen and Clyde Lovellette, and guard Slater Martin. All except Ferrin (unfairly so), along with Kundla, have been elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. They won titles in 1950, 1952, 1953 and 1954 – 6 league titles in 7 years, 5 in 6 if you only count the NBA.

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April 13, 1949 was a Wednesday. Baseball season started 5 days later. Football was out of season. Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals was played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-1. The Leafs completed the sweep 3 days later.