Chicago Stags

Conference

Western (1946–49)
Central (1949–50)

Division

Western Division

Founded

1946

History

1946–50

Arena

Chicago Stadium

Location

Chicago, Illinois

Team colors

Red, blue, white

Head coach

Harold Olsen (1946–1948)
Philip Brownstein (1948–1950)

Championships

Conference titles

1
(1947)

Uniforms

Home

Away

The Chicago Stags were a National Basketball Association team based in Chicago.

The Chicago Stags was founded in June 6, 1946 and folded in September 25, 1950. During their short history, they were able to acquire the draft rights to a young Bob Cousy in a trade with the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (although he never played a game for them). When the Stags folded, a dispersal draft was held to divide their players throughout the league. Cousy was drafted by the Boston Celtics. Despite their short existence in the BAA and NBA, the Stags made their way to the BAA finals in 1947, where they lost to the Philadelphia Warriors.

In the BAA's inaugural year, there were 11 teams split into two divisions. The Chicago Stags were placed in the Western Division, and won the division by one game, finishing 39–22 over the St. Louis Bombers. They finished second in the regular season standings, behind only the 49–11 Washington Capitols. In the playoffs, they received a first-round bye, only to play the Capitols in the semi-finals. Chicago won the series 4–2, and proceeded to the finals, where they played the Philadelphia Warriors, who won 4–1.

The next season, the Stags finished second in their four-team division with a mark of 28–20, one game behind the St. Louis Bombers, and second overall in the league (the total number of teams was down from 11 to 8). In the playoffs, they won a tiebreaking game against the Washington Capitols), advancing to play the Boston Celtics in the quarter-finals. The Stags won, moving into the semi-finals for the second consecutive year. However, they were then defeated by the eventual champions, the Baltimore Bullets.

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Wikipedia