The 1946-1947 New York Knicks

The 1946-1947 New York Knicks

Roster (via Basketball Reference)

No.	Player	Pos	Ht	Wt	Birth Date	Exp	College
12-15	Aud Brindley	F	6-4	175	December 31, 1923	R	Dartmouth College
14	Tommy Byrnes	F-G	6-3	175	February 19, 1923	R	Seton Hall University
3	Bob Cluggish	C	6-10	235	September 18, 1917	R	University of Kentucky
10	Bob Fitzgerald	F-C	6-5	190	March 14, 1923	R	Fordham University
4	Frido Frey	F	6-2	195	October 26, 1921	R	Long Island University
9	Leo Gottlieb	G	5-11	180	November 28, 1920	R
8	Sonny Hertzberg	G	5-10	175	July 29, 1922	R	City College of New York
5	Ralph Kaplowitz	G-F	6-2	170	May 18, 1919	R	New York University
5-19	Lee Knorek	C	6-7	215	July 15, 1921	R	University of Detroit Mercy
5	Frank Mangiapane	G	5-10	195	August 5, 1925	R	New York University
4	Nat Militzok	F	6-3	195	May 3, 1923	R	Cornell University
10	Bob Mullens	G	6-1	175	November 1, 1922	R	Fordham University
11-15	Dick Murphy	G	6-1	175	March 10, 1921	R	Manhattan College
12	John Murphy	F	6-2	175	September 13, 1924	R
16	Bud Palmer	F-C	6-4	180	September 14, 1921	R	Princeton University
12	Hank Rosenstein	F	6-4	185	June 16, 1920	R	City College of New York
6	Ossie Schectman	G	6-0	175	March 30, 1919	R	Long Island University
7	Stan Stutz	G-F	5-10	170	April 14, 1920	R	University of Rhode Island
11-17	Butch Van Breda Kolff	G-F	6-3	185	October 28, 1922	R	New York University
11	Jake Weber	C	6-6	225	March 18, 1918	R	Purdue University

The NBA’s (formerly known as the Basketball Association of America[1]) launched in 1946, with 11 franchises, with each team playing 60 games.  Out of those 11 teams, the New York Knicks, along with the Boston Celtics, are the only franchises that are still located in their original city.

On November 1^st 1946, the Knicks played the first game in NBA history, beating the Toronto Huskies at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens, 68-66. The Knicks would finish 33-27, well for 3^rd place in the Eastern Division, finishing behind the Philadelphia Warriors who finished 35-25 and the Washington Capitals, coached by Red Auerbach, who finished an astounding 49-11.  During the regular season, the Knicks had a nine game winning streak and a five game winning streak, but also suffered two five game losing streaks. 

Basketball was a completely different game back then. The Knicks leading scorer was Bud Palmer who, only averaged 9.5 points per game! Ossie Schectman led the team in assists with 2.0 assists a game.  To put that in perspective, Jr Smith who is known for his terrible shot selection, averages 3.0 assists a game this season. Forward John Murphy had the highest field goal percentage at 32%.[2] The Knicks were 8^th in scoring, averaging 64.7 points per game, but were 2^nd in the league in opponent’s points per game, only giving up 64.0 points per game.

In the playoffs, the Knicks beat the Cleveland Rebels in the quarterfinals two games to one, winning the final two games in New York.   But unfortunately, the Knicks were swept 2 games to zero in the next round to the Philadelphia Warriors, which ended their season.

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[1]  The NBA was known as the BAA until 1946, when the BAA absorbed the National Basketball League (NBL) forming the NBA.

[2]  Even John Starks in the 1994 finals shot better than that!