World Professional Basketball Tournament
The World Professional Basketball Tournament was an invitational tournament held in Chicago and sponsored by the Chicago Herald American. The annual event was held from 1939 to 1948, and the winner was generally acknowledged as the World Champions of basketball. Many teams came from the National Basketball League, but it also included the best teams from other leagues and the best independent barnstorming teams such as the New York Rens and Harlem Globetrotters. Games were played at various sites including Chicago Coliseum, International Amphitheater and Chicago Stadium.
The NBL champion usually won this tournament, with three exceptions: the New York Rens won the first WPBT in 1939, while the Harlem Globetrotters—a strongly competitive squad in those days—won the following year. In 1943, the Washington Bears won the tournament. The NBL's Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons won the most titles, while the NBL's Oshkosh All-Stars made the most finals appearances with five, winning only once. The tournament disbanded in 1949, after the BAA and NBL merged to form the NBA.
Tournament finals results
- 1939 New York Rens 34–25 Oshkosh All-Stars
- 1940 Harlem Globetrotters 31–29 Chicago Bruins
- 1941 Detroit Eagles 39–37 Oshkosh All-Stars
- 1942 Oshkosh All-Stars 43–41 Detroit Eagles
- 1943 Washington Bears 43–31 Oshkosh All-Stars
- 1944 Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 50–33 Brooklyn Eagles
- 1945 Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 78–52 Dayton Acmes
- 1946 Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 73–57 Oshkosh All-Stars
- 1947 Indianapolis Kautskys 62–47 Toledo Jeeps
- 1948 Minneapolis Lakers 75–71 New York Rens
Tournament MVPs
- 1939 Puggy Bell, New York Rens
- 1940 Sonny Boswell, Harlem Globetrotters
- 1941 Buddy Jeannette, Detroit Eagles
- 1942 Ed Riska, Oshkosh All-Stars
- 1943 Curly Armstrong, Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons
- 1944 Bobby McDermott, Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons
- 1945 Buddy Jeannette, Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons
- 1946 George Mikan, Chicago American Gears
- 1947 Jule Rivlin, Toledo Jeeps
- 1948 George Mikan, Minneapolis Lakers
All-time championship game scoring records
| Player | Team | Games | Pts | PPG |
| Oshkosh | 5 | 53 | 10.6 | |
| Ft. Wayne | 3 | 49 | 16.3 | |
| Det/Ft. W | 4 | 45 | 11.2 | |
| Det/Ft. W | 4 | 42 | 10.5 | |
| Minneapolis | 1 | 40 | 40 | |
| NY/Wash | 3 | 37 | 12.3 | |
| Det/Ft. W | 3 | 34 | 11.3 | |
| Det/Ft. W | 5 | 30 | 6.0 | |
| NY | 1 | 24 | 24.0 | |
| Oshkosh | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | |
| Ft. Wayne | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | |
| Bkn/Ft. W | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | |
| Harlem/NY | 2 | 20 | 10.0 | |
| Detroit | 2 | 20 | 10.0 | |
| Toledo | 1 | 20 | 20.0 |
All-time World Tournament team records
- Twenty-seven teams entered the tournament in various years but did not win a game; eight teams had one win.
- The world-famous New York Celtics played in the initial tournament in 1939, but lost their only game. Another well-known team, the Philadelphia Sphas, had a win and a loss in their only appearance, in 1941.
Recap by year
1939
- 1st Place: New York Rens 34- Oshkosh All-Stars 25
- MVP- Puggy Bell
- Leading Championship Game Scorers:
- Pop Gates 12
- Leroy Edwards 12
- 3rd Place: Harlem Globetrotters 36- Sheboygan Redskins 33
- 5th Place: New York Yankees, Chicago Harmons, New York Celtics
- 8th Place: Fort Wayne Harvesters, Brenton Harbor House of David, Illinois Grads, Clarksburg Oilers
1940
- 1st Place: Harlem Globetrotters 31- Chicago Bruins 29
- MVP- Sonny Boswell
- Leading Championship Game Scorers:
- Sonny Boswell 12
- Mike Novak 7
- 3rd Place: Washington Heurich Brewers 41- Syracuse Reds 30
- 5th Place: Sheboygan Redskins, Waterloo Wonders, Oshkosh All-Stars, New York Rens
- 9th Place: Fort Wayne Harvesters, Rochester Seagrams, Kenosha Royals, Canton Bulldogs, Benton Harbor House of David, Clarksburg Oilers
1941
- 1st Place: Detroit Eagles 39- Oshkosh All-Stars 37
- MVP- Buddy Jeannette
- Leading Championship Game Scorers:
- Ed Sadowski 11
- Bob Carpenter 8
- 3rd Place: New York Rens 57- Toledo White Huts 42
- 5th Place: Chicago Bruins, Kenosha Royals, Harlem Globetrotters, Philadelphia Sphas
- 9th Place: Davenport Central Turner Rockets, Indianapolis Kautskys, Newark Elks, Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, Dayton Sucher Wonders, Rochester Seagrams, Sheboygan Redskins, Bismark Phantoms
1942
- 1st Place: Oshkosh All-Stars 43- Detroit Eagles 41
- MVP- Ed Riska
- Leading Championship Game Scorers:
- Gene Englund 17
- Buddy Jeanette 14
- 3rd Place: Long Island Grumman Flyers 43- Harlem Globetrotters 41
- 5th Place: Aberdeen Army Ordinance Training Center, Sheboygan Redskins, Chicago Bruins, New York Rens
- 9th Place: Detroit A.A.A., Columbus Bobb Chevrolets, Northern Indiana Steelers, Davenport Central Turner Rockets, Toledo White Huts, Hagerstown Conoco Oilers, Indianapolis Kautskys, Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons
1943
- 1st Place: Washington, D.C. Bears 43- Oshkosh All-Stars 31
- MVP- Curly Armstrong
- Leading Championship Game Scorers:
- Johnny Isaacs 11
- Leroy Edwards 7
- 3rd Place: Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 58- Dayton Dive Bombers 52
- 5th Place: Detroit Eagles, Sheboygan Redskins, Harlem Globetrotters, Minneapolis Sparklers
- 9th Place: Akron Collegians, Indianapolis Pure Oils, Chicago Ramblers, South Bend Studebaker Champions
1944
- 1st Place: Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 50- Brooklyn Eagles 33
- MVP- Bobby McDermott
- Leading Championship Game Scorers:
- Jake Pellington 19
- Bob Tough & Bernie Opper 11
- 3rd Place: Harlem Globetrotters 37- New York Rens 29
- 5th Place: Dayton Aviators, Cleveland Chase Brassmen, Sheboygan Redskins, Oshkosh All-Stars
- 9th Place: Akron Collegians, Camp Campbell Tankmen, Detroit Suffrins, Indianapolis Pure Oils, Rochester Wings, Pittsburgh Corbetts
1945
- 1st Place: Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 78- Dayton Acmes 52
- MVP- Buddy Jeanette
- Leading Championship Game Scorers:
- Buddy Jeanette 18
- John Mahnken 16
- 3rd Place: Chicago American Gears 64- New York Rens 55
- 5th Place: Oshkosh All-Stars, Pittsburgh Raiders, Midland Dow Chemicals, Harlem Globetrotters
- 9th Place: Hartford Nutmegs, Detroit Mansfields, Indianapolis Oilers, Cleveland Allmen Transfers, Newark C-O Twos, Long Island Grumman Hellcats
1946
- 1st Place: Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 73- Oshkosh All-Stars 57
- Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 56- Oshkosh All-Stars 47
- Oshkosh All-Stars 61- Ft. Wayne Zollner Pistons 59
- MVP- George Mikan
- Leading Championship Game Scorers:
- Bobby McDermott 20
- Leroy Edwards 24
- 3rd Place: Chicago American Gears 65- Baltimore Bullets 50
- Chicago American Gears 59- Baltimore Bullets 54
- 5th Place: New York Rens, Sheboygan Redskins, Midland Dows, Anderson Chiefs
- 9th Place: Pittsburgh Raiders, Cleveland Allmen Transfers, Indianapolis Kautskys, Detroit Mansfields, Toledo Whites, Dayton Mickeys
1947
- 1st Place: Indianapolis Kautskys 62- Toledo Jeeps 47
- MVP- Jule Rivlin
- Leading Championship Game Scorers:
- Leo Klier 12
- George Sobek 20
- 3rd Place: Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 86- Oshkosh All-Stars 67
- 5th Place: Sheboygan Redskins, Tri-Cities Blackhawks, Anderson Duffey Packers, Midland Dows
- 9th Place: Herkimer Mohawk Redskins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Syracuse Nationals, Portland Indians, New York Rens, Baltimore Bullets
1948
- 1st Place: Minneapolis Lakers 75- New York Rens 71
- MVP- George Mikan
- Leading Championship Game Scorers:
- George Mikan 40
- Sweetwater Clifton 24
- 3rd Place: Anderson Duffey Packers 66- Tri-Cities Blackhawks 44
- 5th Place: Bridgeport Newfield Steelers, Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, Indianapolis Kautskys, Wilkes-Barre Barons