National Industrial Basketball League
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1947 |
| Ceased | 1963 |
| No. of teams | 5-11 |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Last champion(s) |
Cleveland Pipers (1st title) |
| Most titles | Phillips 66ers (11) |
The National Industrial Basketball League was founded in 1947 to enable U.S. mill workers a chance to compete in basketball. The league was founded by the industrial teams (teams sponsored by the large companies and made up of their employees) belonging to the National Basketball League (NBL) that did not join the National Basketball Association when the NBL merged with the Basketball Association of America.
The league first year, 1947–48, featured five teams in an eight-game schedule—the Milwaukee Harnischfegers (which won the round robin schedule with an 8-0 record), Peoria Cats, Milwaukee Allen-Bradleys, Akron Goodyear Wingfoots, and Fort Wayne General Electrics. The following season, with a 16-game schedule, the new lineup was league champion Bartlesville Phillips 66ers (15-1 record), Denver Chevies, Peoria Cats, Akron Goodyear Wingfoots, and Milwaukee Allen-Bradleys.
In the 1949-50 season, with the addition of the Dayton Industrialists making the league a six-team circuit, the Phillips 66ers repeated as champions. The league expanded again in the 1950-51 season to eight teams, adding the Oakland Blue 'n Gold Atlas and San Francisco Stewart Chevolets. The Dayton team became the Dayton Air Gems, and the Phillips 66ers repeated for their third consecutive title.
The league in 1951-52 expanded to 11 teams, with such new teams as the Los Angeles Fibber McGee & Mollys, Artesia REA Travelers, and Santa Maria Golden Dukes. The Phillips 66ers just edged the Oakland Atlas-Pacific Engineers and the San Francisco Stewart Chevolets for their fourth title, with a 17-5 record to their opponents 16-6 records that tied for second. The next season, the league dropped down to nine teams, but saw new opponents in the Houston Ada Oilers and the Los Angeles Kirby's Shoes. The Phillips 66ers edged the Peoria Cats for the title by one game, with a 13-3 record.
The Peoria Cats tied the Phillips 66ers for the 1953-54 title, each with a 10-4 record. Charter member Milwaukee Allen Bradleys, which managed to stay in the league, took last place for the fifth year in seven years in the eight-team circuit. Those Milwaukee fans were supportive apparently. The next two seasons, the Phillips 66ers and the Peoria Cats took first and second respectively. A new team in the greatly reduced circuit of five teams in 1955-56 was the Wichita Vickers. Milwaukee Allen-Bradley again took last place, their sixth time since the league began.
...
Wikipedia