Toronto Huskies
| Toronto Huskies | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Division | Eastern Division | ||
| Founded | 1946 | ||
| History |
Toronto Huskies 1946–1947 |
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| Arena | Maple Leaf Gardens | ||
| Location | Toronto, Ontario | ||
| Team colours | Blue, white |
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| Team manager | Lew Hayman | ||
| Ownership | Ben Newman, Eric Cradock and Harold Shannon | ||
| Uniforms | |||
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The Toronto Huskies were a team in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) (a forerunner of the National Basketball Association (NBA)) during the 1946–47 season, based in Toronto, Ontario. The team compiled a 22–38 win–loss record in its only season before formally disbanding in the summer of 1947.
In 1946, a group of owners and operators of some of the larger arenas in America held a meeting in New York, to establish the Basketball Association of America (now the NBA). The majority of the would-be basketball owners were involved with the NHL and needed to fill empty dates. The only Canadian delegation invited was from Maple Leaf Gardens: Frank Selke Sr, who was in charge of the Gardens while Conn Smythe was overseas, got in touch with Ben Newman (who had coached two Canadian national championship teams and had staged a game in the Gardens previously.) The franchise cost approximately $150,000, funded mostly from Bay Street backers in Toronto. The major partners in the ownership group were Eric Cradock (co-owner of the Montreal Alouettes football team), Harold Shannon and Newman.
"I honestly thought we could have made a go of the team," Newman once said, "but we were given the worst possible home dates." The hardships started almost immediately when Newman's father took ill soon after the first game, forcing Newman to leave the Huskies to take over the family scrap and steel metal business in St. Catharines, Ontario. Lack of co-operation from the local media and lack of talent on the court kept crowds low, despite the use of such gimmicks that included free stockings to all women in attendance.
On November 1, 1946, they hosted the first game in BAA league history losing 68–66 to the New York Knickerbockers before an opening night crowd of 7,090. Ossie Schectman scored the opening basket for the New York Knickerbockers against the Toronto Huskies.
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