Leo F. Ferris (May 31, 1917 – June 1, 1993)[1] was an American sports executive and businessman fromElmira, New York. He played a critical role in the birth of theNational Basketball Association.
Ferris founded theNational Basketball League'sBuffalo Bisons, which after a series of moves survives today as theNational Basketball Association'sAtlanta Hawks. In 1946, as the Bisons' general manager, he signed the firstAfrican American player in the NBL,Pop Gates, several months beforeJackie Robinson broke the color barrier inMajor League Baseball.
In 1948, at age 31, he became president of the NBL; a year later, he negotiated the league's merger with theBasketball Association of America, which created the modern NBA. But he is perhaps best known as the primary inventor of the NBA's 24-secondshot clock.[2]
With Ben Kerner, Ferris founded theBuffalo Bisons, which played in theNational Basketball League in 1946. The Bisons evolved into theTri-Cities Blackhawks, based inMoline, Illinois, which eventually became the Milwaukee Hawks, the St. Louis Hawks, and finally today'sAtlanta Hawks.[3] He signedPop Gates, the firstAfrican-American player in the NBL, on October 12, 1946.[4]
"When Leo Ferris came to me, it was like a godsend," Gates was quoted as saying in the bookPioneers of the Hardwood: Indiana and the Birth of Professional Basketball. "It was a real highlight of my career to be accepted by the NBL as one of only two blacks in the league." (Dolly King was signed by theRochester Royals a few days later.)[5]
He later became NBL vice president and president and helped orchestrate its eventual merger with theBasketball Association of America, forming what would become today's NBA. Indiana sportswriter John Whitaker called Ferris the most influential owner in basketball, the "minister, ring bearer, best man" at what Whitaker described as "the shotgun wedding" that created the NBA.[6]
The Syracuse Nationals' "recipe for success" began by recruiting Leo F. Ferris, then a talented team executive to reorganize the Syracuse team.[7] Acting in capacity of NBL Vice President and then as general manager of the Nationals, Ferris first moves included signingDolph Schayes,Al Cervi &Billy Gabor to the roster which put in place the core of the club that took three trips NBA Finals and captured the 1955 NBA title.[8]
Concerns about a fan-unfriendly slow pace led to discussion of adding ashot clock to NBA games, adding possessions and excitement. Ferris andDanny Biasone — owner of theSyracuse Nationals, where Ferris was general manager — are often given credit for the selection of 24 seconds, though there is evidence Ferris may deserve the lion's share.[2]
Ferris became the first general manager in basketball to organize celebrity halftime shows and brought acts likeBob Hope,Dean Martin,Jerry Lewis,Sarah Vaugh,Duke Ellington, and others to perform in Syracuse.[9] Many of them provided halftime entertainment for the Syracuse Nationals home games. Ferris was successful boosting attendance and expanded the possibilities of the types of entertainment one could enjoy at a basketball game."Get an attractive 'package', and put it within reach of the greatest possible number of customers. Satisfy the fans, and you have a steady, and increasing, following. That's what pro basketball is doing."[citation needed]
Ferris left sports in 1955 and entered the real estate business. He died in 1993, at age 76 ofHuntington's disease.
Ferris has been nominated nine times to theNaismith Basketball Hall of Fame — in 2016, 2017,[10] 2018,[11] 2019,[12] 2020,[13] 2021, 2022,[14] 2023[15] & 2024[16] by the Veterans Committee, but he has not yet been inducted.
Some have attributed the omission to the NBA considering itself a continuation of the BAA, not the NBL. The NBA uses the BAA's date of founding, June 6, 1946, as its own birthday, despite the NBL being founded in 1937 and the merger occurring in 1949. "It's sad and it's comical," Bill Himmelman, the NBA's former official historian, said of Ferris not being in the sport's main hall of fame.[17][18]
Ferris is a member of three regional sports halls of fame: the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame,[19] Chemung County Sports Hall of Fame,[20] and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.[21]
In 2017, the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame produced an induction video detailing Ferris' career highlights.[22]