The NBL champion usually won this tournament, with three exceptions: the New York Rens won the first WPBT in 1939,[2] while theHarlem Globetrotters—a strongly competitive squad in those days—won the following year.[3] In 1943, the Washington Bears (with many New York Rens players on their roster) won the tournament. The NBL'sFort Wayne Zollner Pistons won the most titles (three, from 1944 to 1946), while the NBL'sOshkosh All-Stars made the most finals appearances with five, winning only once (in 1942).
The last tournament was held in 1948, with theMinneapolis Lakers defeating theNew York Rens 75–71 in the tournament final.[1][4] The following year,The Indianapolis News attempted to hold a similar tournament,[5] inviting theWilkes-Barre Barons from theAmerican Basketball League, three teams each from theBasketball Association of America and theNational Basketball League, and one team that would remain unidentified until shortly before the seeded draw (though it was suggested the eighth team was to be the Montgomery Rebels, the regular season champions of the Southern Professional Basketball League).[6][7] Although the National Basketball League agreed to attend, the tournament did not come to fruition after the BAA declined the invitation.[8]
Twenty-seven teams entered the tournament in various years but did not win a game; eight teams had one win.
TheNew York Celtics played in the initial tournament in 1939, but lost their only game. Another well-known team, thePhiladelphia Sphas, had a win and a loss in their only appearance, in 1941 .
Dave Quinn; John Duxbury; Steven Brainerd; William F. Himmelman; Steve Dimitry; Robert Bradley."World Professional Basketball Tournament 1939—1948". The Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved2013-04-22.
Schleppi, John. (2008).Chicago's Showcase of Basketball: The World Tournament of Professional Basketball and the College All-Star Game. Haworth, New Jersey: St. Johann Press.ISBN978-1878282491.
