The First Season: Game 25

65 years ago, a new league, the Basketball Association of America (eventually to become the National Basketball Association), appeared on the hoops firmament. Numbering among the league's charter membership were the Philadelphia Warriors, a franchise that would move to San Francisco in 1962, and then to Oakland in 1971, to become the Golden State Warriors we know and love. This is the story of their first season.

January 9, 1947

The Toronto Huskies did not start their BAA tenure with the most inspiring of beginnings. Within the first 12 games of the season the team had broken down into mutually antagonistic cliques causing the head coach to quit in disgust and forcing team management to trade several players as quickly as possible to prevent further damage. Leo Mogus, received from Cleveland in one of the trades, had proven to be a team leader, and the Huskies had regained much of their aplomb, having won four of their last five, and were now just three games behind the Warriors for third place in the division.

A relatively full Convention Hall greeted the Warriors and Huskies in Philadelphia, and from the start physical play dominated the contest. As it turned out, Mogus was down with the flu, and Toronto head coach Red Rolfe had decided that, whatever else happened, Joe Fulks was going to be hammered every time he took a shot. Early on, the Huskies kept matters close, but with the score tied at 11, Fulks managed to sink consecutive shots and the run was on. Fulks continued to be fouled at every opportunity and spent much of his time at the line, but the Warriors managed a 38-31 lead at halftime. Not without cost, however. Howie Dallmar and George Senesky were both first half casualties of the rough play: Senesky because of an injured ankle, and Dallmar because he fouled out.

In the end, it made no difference. Despite the hack-a-Fulks strategy, Jumping Joe continued to light up the scoreboard and pushed his team to a 54-38 lead before taking himself out of the game to rest his bruises. The remaining Warriors, particularly seldom-used benchwarmer Matt Guokas, played well enough to hold the lead during Fulks's absence and when he returned to the game after a five minute break, Fulks finished with a flurry, scoring five points in the last minute-and-change, leading the Warriors to a 74-55 triumph.

Fulks finished with 35 points, just two off his league record, and his 13 successful free throws (out of 15 attempts) broke his previous league mark of 11. Toronto's center Kleggie Hermsen was the only other player in the game to reach double figures in points, with 11. The Warriors were now back to three games over .500 at 14-11, while the Huskies dropped to 11-16.

Box

January 9, 1947
Convention Hall
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance 5,152

Warriors 74, Huskies 55

Toronto scoring

Kleggie Hermsen 11p
Roy Hurley 9p
Bob Fitzgerald 8p
Mike McCarron 8p
Frank Fucarino 6p
Dick Fitzgerald 4p
Harry Miller 4p
Red Wallace 3p
Dick Schultz 2p
Ed Kasid

Philadelphia scoring

Joe Fulks 35p
Jerry Fleishman 8p
Angelo Musi 8p
Matt Guokas 7p
Howie Dallmar 6p
Art Hillhouse 6p
Pete Rosenberg 2p
Jerry Rullo 2p
George Senesky
Fred Sheffield