1941 World Professional Basketball Tournament

World Professional Basketball Tournament
1941
Tournament information
Location	Chicago, Illinois
Dates	15 March–19 March
Venue(s)	International Amphitheater
Teams	16
Final positions
Champions	Detroit Eagles
1st runner-up	Oshkosh All-Stars
2nd runner-up	New York Rens
Tournament statistics
MVP	Buddy Jeannette
Top scorer(s)	Chuck Chuckovits
	← 1940 1942 →

The 1941 World Professional Basketball Tournament was the third edition of the World Professional Basketball Tournament. It was held in Chicago, Illinois, during the days of 15–19 March 1941 and featured 16 teams, with the teams mostly comprising of independently ran teams (including the Indianapolis Kautskys who left the NBL this season before later returning to the NBL the following season afterward and both the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons and Rochester Seagrams, who held roots to the modern-day Detroit Pistons and Sacramento Kings NBA teams) who also competed alongside four teams in the National Basketball League (including the league champion Oshkosh All-Stars) and the American Basketball League champion Philadelphia Sphas. Entering the tournament, the Oshkosh All-Stars of the NBL were considered heavy favorites to win the entire event after winning their first NBL championship; they managed to reach the WPBT championship match after beating the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, Philadelphia Sphas, and Toledo White Huts throughout the tournament. Meanwhile, the other team in the championship round, the NBL's Detroit Eagles, had them go all the way by beating the Indianapolis Kautskys 58–43 before beating the defending champion Harlem Globetrotters and New York Renaissance by one point each in their respective matches, thus guaranteeing an NBL team would win the WPBT for the first time.This year's event was won by the Detroit Eagles, who upset the NBL champion Oshkosh All-Stars 39–37 in the WPBT championship game.^[1] The New York Rens came in third after beating the Toledo White Huts 57–42 in the third-place game.^[2] Buddy Jeannette of the Detroit Eagles was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Results

Bracket

Round 1		Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final

Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons	41

Oshkosh All-Stars	47
		Oshkosh All-Stars	38

		Philadelphia Sphas	31
Philadelphia Sphas	48

Bismark Phantoms	30
				Oshkosh All-Stars	40

				Toledo White Huts	37
Toledo White Huts	36

Sheboygan Red Skins	28
		Toledo White Huts	43

		Chicago Bruins	33
Chicago Bruins	53

Davenport Central Turner Rockets	17
						Oshkosh All-Stars	37

						Detroit Eagles	39
Detroit Eagles	58

Indianapolis Kautskys	43
		Detroit Eagles	37

		Harlem Globetrotters	36
Harlem Globetrotters	38

Newark Elks	29
				Detroit Eagles	43

				New York Rens	42
New York Rens	43					Third place

Dayton Sucher Wonders	20
		New York Rens	43			Toledo White Huts	42

		Kenosha Royals	15			New York Rens	57
Kenosha Royals	40

Rochester Seagrams	36

First round

Chicago v Davenport

15 March 1941
8:00 p.m.

Box score and recap

Chicago Bruins 53, Davenport Central Turner Rockets 17
Scoring by half: 25–4, 28–13
Pts: S. Szukala, G. Hogan – 10		Pts: S. Gamber – 8

International Amphitheater
Attendance: 10,000
Referees: Hooker, Russell

Detroit v Indianapolis

15 March 1941

Detroit Eagles 58, Indianapolis Kautskys 43
Pts: E. Sadowski, B. Calihan – 19		Pts: B. Towery – 11

International Amphitheater
Referees: Kriznecky, Kuzma

Harlem v Newark

15 March 1941

Harlem Globetrotters 38, Newark Elks 29
Pts: S. Boswell – 11		Pts: E. Sonderman – 10

International Amphitheater
Referees: Messinger, Enright

Oshkosh v Fort Wayne

16 March 1941

Oshkosh All-Stars 47, Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 41
Scoring by quarter: 11–3, 6–11, 24–9, 6–18
Pts: S. Putnam – 13		Pts: J. Keller – 15

International Amphitheater
Referees: Nat Messinger, Dutch Kriznecky

New York v Dayton

16 March 1941

New York Rens 43, Dayton Sucher Wonders 20

International Amphitheater

Kenosha v Rochester

16 March 1941

Kenosha Royals 40, Rochester Seagrams 36
Pts: K. Binder – 15		Pts: A. Cerir – 14

International Amphitheater
Referees: Kennedy, Hooker

Toledo v Sheboygan

16 March 1941

Toledo White Huts 36, Sheboygan Red Skins 28
Scoring by quarter: 9–5, 11–10, 9–6, 7–7
Pts: C. Chuckovits – 21		Pts: O. Kolar, P. Sokody – 8

International Amphitheater

Philadelphia v Bismark

16 March 1941

Philadelphia Sphas 48, Bismark Phantoms 30

International Amphitheater

Quarter-finals

Detroit v Harlem

16 March 1941

Detroit Eagles 37, Harlem Globetrotters 36

International Amphitheater

Toledo v Chicago

17 March 1941

Toledo White Huts 43, Chicago Bruins 33

International Amphitheater
Referees: 9,500

New York v Kenosha

17 March 1941

Box score and recap

New York Rens 43, Kenosha Royals 15
Scoring by quarter: 10–6, 20–6, 11–2, 2–1
Pts: D. King – 14		Pts: B. Monteen – 4

International Amphitheater
Referees: Pat Kennedy, John Russell

Oshkosh v Philadelphia

17 March 1941

Box score and recap

Oshkosh All-Stars 38, Philadelphia Sphas 31
Scoring by quarter: 11–12, 9–9, 11–8, 7–2
Pts: L. Edwards – 12		Pts: I. Lautman, P. Rosenberg – 8

International Amphitheater
Attendance: 10,000
Referees: Pat Kennedy, Dutch Kriznecky

Semi-finals

Oshkosh v Toledo

18 March 1941
8:30 p.m.

Box score and recap

Oshkosh All-Stars 40, Toledo White Huts 37
Scoring by quarter: 8–12, 8–4, 12–12, 12–9
Pts: B. Carpenter – 18		Pts: C. Chuckovits – 16

International Amphitheater
Attendance: 13,000
Referees: Dick Kuzma, Frank "Dutch" Kriznecky

Detroit v New York

18 March 1941
9:30 p.m.

Detroit Eagles 43, New York Rens 42

International Amphitheater

Third place game

19 March 1942
8:30 p.m.

Box score and recap

New York Rens 57, Toledo White Huts 42
Scoring by quarter: 10–11, 18–10, 18–5, 11–16
Pts: D. King – 23		Pts: C. Chuckovits – 23

International Amphitheater
Attendance: 12,000
Referees: Jim Enright, Elmer Hooker

Championship game

19 March 1942
9:30 p.m.

Box score and recap

Detroit Eagles 39, Oshkosh All-Stars 37
Scoring by quarter: 14–6, 12–10, 9–7, 4–14
Pts: E. Sadowski – 11		Pts: B. Carpenter – 8