| 1944 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Chicago, Illinois |
| Dates | 20 March–24 March |
| Venue | Chicago Stadium |
| Teams | 14 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons |
| 1st runner-up | Brooklyn Eagles |
| 2nd runner-up | Harlem Globetrotters |
| MVP | Bobby McDermott |
The1944 World Professional Basketball Tournament was the sixth edition of theWorld Professional Basketball Tournament. It was held inChicago, Illinois,[1] during the days of 20–24 March 1944 and featured 14 teams, with the teams mostly independently run teams alongside the teams that were from theNational Basketball League at the time and also theAmerican Basketball League'sBrooklyn Eagles, which was composed of star players from the ABL. Entering the tournament, the NBL'sFort Wayne Zollner Pistons (who had likely already won that league's championship earlier on) were slated to win the entire event, despite them competing against theNew York Renaissance, who were competing as themselves after their players participated in last year's event as theWashington Bears, in the semifinal event. The Globetrotters advanced past the Oshkosh All-Stars in the quarterfinals in a contest officially recorded as a 41–31 Harlem victory, though theFort Wayne News-Sentinel reported the game was in fact declared a 2–0 forfeit in Harlem’s favor after a series of fights within the final six minutes escalated to the point that police became involved, prompting Oshkosh head coachLon Darling to withdraw his team.[2] The Zollner Pistons would end up stunning the Renaissance with a close 42–38 victory in Fort Wayne's favor, while the ABL's Brooklyn squad ended up upsetting theHarlem Globetrotters in their semifinal match with a 63–41 blowout victory due to their fast-paced action. Ultimately, the championship match was won by the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons for the first time in the franchise's history alongside the NBL championship, who defeated the ABL's basedBrooklyn Eagles 50–33 in the championship game in what ultimately became the best performance for an ABL team in a WPBT event.[3] TheHarlem Globetrotters came in third after beating theNew York Rens 37–29 in the third-place game.Bobby McDermott of Fort Wayne was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.[4]
23 March 1944 |
| Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons42,New York Rens 38 | ||
| Pts:B. McDermott,J. Bush – 9 | Pts:P. Bell – 14 | |
24 March 1944 8:15 p.m. |
| Harlem Globetrotters37,New York Rens 29 | ||
| Pts:D. Cumberland – 10 | Pts:Sonny Wood – 8 | |
Chicago Stadium Attendance: 14,226 |
24 March 1945 9:15 p.m.[6] |
| Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons50,Brooklyn Eagles 33 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 12–9, 16–2, 14–10, 8–12 | ||
| Pts:J. Pelkington – 19 | Pts:B. Tough,B. Opper – 11 | |
Bob Tough, former Seton Hall star, equalled the tourney record by scoring 32 points against the Trotters, former champions.