1949–50 St. Louis Bombers season
NBA professional basketball team season
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The 1949–50 St. Louis Bombers season was the fourth and final season for the Bombers in the National Basketball Association. This season would technically be considered the only season in the Bombers' history where they would officially play in the NBA properly after previously playing their first three seasons in the precursor league known as the Basketball Association of America (BAA) before it officially merged with the older, rivaling National Basketball League (NBL) to become the present-day NBA (though they would still only participate in the 1949 BAA draft while failing to participate in the subsequent 1950 NBA draft soon afterward due to a failed $50,000 bond payment made to enter the 1950–51 NBA season following the completion of the 1950 NBA playoffs). While Grady Lewis would retire as a professional basketball player to try and become a full-time head coach for St. Louis, the Bombers would end up having their worst season in their entire history when they got realigned into the shortly-formed Central Division (which was a division that would not be created again until the 1970–71 NBA season when the NBA would return to the size that it would be under its first season under the NBA name properly) alongside the Chicago Stags and the original three NBL-turned-BAA-turned-NBA franchises in the Fort Wayne Pistons, Rochester Royals, and the two-time defending champion Minneapolis Lakers. This would result in the Bombers having the worst record in the temporarily short-lived division's history with a 26–42 losing record, which not only gave St. Louis their worst record in franchise history, but also ended with them having their only season where they failed to qualify for the NBA Playoffs and being the only team in that division to have a losing record there altogether. The franchise ceased operations after the season, and the St. Louis market would be left without an NBA team until 1955.
| 1949–50 St. Louis Bombers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Grady Lewis |
| Arena | Kiel Auditorium St. Louis Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 26–42 (.382) |
| Place | Division: 5th (Central) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Radio | WIL and WTMV |
BAA/NBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position(s) | Nationality | College/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T (1) | – (5) | Ed Macauley | PF/C |  United States |
Saint Louis |
| 2 | 15 | Johnny Orr | SF | United States |
Beloit College |
| 3 | 27 | Marv Schatzman | SF | United States |
Saint Louis |
| 4 | 38 | Preston Ward | SG/SF | United States |
Missouri State |
| 5 | 47 | Earl Dodd | SF | United States |
Northeast Missouri State |
| 6 | 54 | Dave "Jack" Davidson | SG | United States |
Stanford |
| 7 | 60 | John Pritchard | PF/C | United States |
Drake |
| 8 | 66 | Claude "Bob" Retherford | SG | United States |
Nebraska |
| 9 | 69 | Cliff "Joe" Crandall | SG/SF | United States |
Oregon State |
| 10 | 71 | Eddie Van Zant | – | United States |
Northwestern State College |
This ultimately became the last draft the St. Louis Bombers would ever participate in. They were initially slated to be a part of the 1950 NBA draft, which would be the debut NBA draft to utilize the proper NBA name following the merger of the Basketball Association of America that the Bombers were in with the National Basketball League, but the Bombers would ultimately fold operations the day before the 1950 NBA draft began, with four other teams also leaving the NBA around this time to create a short-lived rivaling basketball league of their own.
Roster
| St. Louis Bombers 1949–50 roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Head coach
Legend
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Regular season
Season standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x-Minneapolis Lakers | 51 | 17 | .750 | – | 30–1 | 18–16 | 3–0 | 16–8 |
| x-Rochester Royals | 51 | 17 | .750 | – | 33–1 | 17–16 | 1–0 | 15–9 |
| x-Fort Wayne Pistons | 40 | 28 | .588 | 11 | 28–6 | 12–22 | – | 14–10 |
| x-Chicago Stags | 40 | 28 | .588 | 11 | 18–6 | 14–21 | 8–1 | 11–13 |
| St. Louis Bombers | 26 | 42 | .382 | 25 | 17–14 | 7–26 | 2–2 | 4–20 |
Game log
| 1949–50 Game log | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Date | Opponent | Score | High points | Record | |||||
| 1 | November 1 | vs Tri-Cities | 72–51 | Johnny Logan (21) | 1–0 | |||||
| 2 | November 3 | at Baltimore | 81–65 | Mike Todorovich (19) | 2–0 | |||||
| 3 | November 4 | at Philadelphia | 58–79 | Ed Macauley (15) | 2–1 | |||||
| 4 | November 5 | at Washington | 69–81 | Ed Macauley (19) | 2–2 | |||||
| 5 | November 8 | at Anderson | 62–70 | Johnny Logan (18) | 2–3 | |||||
| 6 | November 10 | Syracuse | 73–67 | Logan, Macauley (23) | 3–3 | |||||
| 7 | November 12 | at Indianapolis | 71–94 | Red Rocha (20) | 3–4 | |||||
| 8 | November 13 | Chicago | 65–91 | Belus Smawley (12) | 3–5 | |||||
| 9 | November 16 | at Minneapolis | 71–94 | Belus Smawley (16) | 3–6 | |||||
| 10 | November 17 | Minneapolis | 78–65 | Red Rocha (24) | 4–6 | |||||
| 11 | November 20 | Rochester | 95–74 | Johnny Logan (22) | 5–6 | |||||
| 12 | November 24 | Baltimore | 63–65 | Belus Smawley (16) | 5–7 | |||||
| 13 | November 26 | at Anderson | 63–73 | Ed Macauley (18) | 5–8 | |||||
| 14 | November 27 | Philadelphia | 80–67 | Belus Smawley (20) | 6–8 | |||||
| 15 | November 30 | at Tri-Cities | 89–82 | Ed Macauley (19) | 7–8 | |||||
| 16 | December 1 | New York | 68–85 | Belus Smawley (20) | 7–9 | |||||
| 17 | December 3 | at Sheboygan | 75–72 | Maughan, Rocha (18) | 8–9 | |||||
| 18 | December 4 | Boston | 85–76 | Logan, Smawley (17) | 9–9 | |||||
| 19 | December 7 | at Denver | 76–72 | Belus Smawley (27) | 10–9 | |||||
| 20 | December 10 | at Baltimore | 66–69 | Ed Macauley (25) | 10–10 | |||||
| 21 | December 14 | at Washington | 61–79 | Johnny Orr (12) | 10–11 | |||||
| 22 | December 15 | at Boston | 81–83 | Rocha, Smawley (18) | 10–12 | |||||
| 23 | December 16 | at Philadelphia | 68–54 | Belus Smawley (17) | 11–12 | |||||
| 24 | December 17 | at New York | 76–81 (2OT) | Belus Smawley (20) | 11–13 | |||||
| 25 | December 21 | New York | 75–52 | Red Rocha (19) | 12–13 | |||||
| 26 | December 22 | at Fort Wayne | 75–87 | Belus Smawley (22) | 12–14 | |||||
| 27 | December 25 | Washington | 68–81 | Johnny Logan (24) | 12–15 | |||||
| 28 | December 29 | Baltimore | 90–63 | Belus Smawley (15) | 13–15 | |||||
| 29 | December 31 | at Rochester | 68–87 | Ed Macauley (21) | 13–16 | |||||
| 30 | January 1 | Waterloo | 91–79 | Johnny Logan (24) | 14–16 | |||||
| 31 | January 4 | Boston | 72–68 | Johnny Logan (20) | 15–16 | |||||
| 32 | January 5 | at Fort Wayne | 83–87 | Red Rocha (20) | 15–17 | |||||
| 33 | January 8 | Rochester | 73–75 (2OT) | Johnny Logan (18) | 15–18 | |||||
| 34 | January 12 | Minneapolis | 73–89 | Ed Macauley (22) | 15–19 | |||||
| 35 | January 15 | Denver | 89–83 | Ed Macauley (25) | 16–19 | |||||
| 36 | January 16 | at Chicago | 69–78 | Ed Macauley (23) | 16–20 | |||||
| 37 | January 18 | at Waterloo | 69–80 | Ed Macauley (14) | 16–21 | |||||
| 38 | January 19 | Fort Wayne | 74–64 | Red Rocha (19) | 17–21 | |||||
| 39 | January 22 | Boston | 71–47 | Logan, Rocha, Smawley (14) | 18–21 | |||||
| 40 | January 24 | vs Washington | 67–75 | Johnny Logan (23) | 18–22 | |||||
| 41 | January 25 | at Minneapolis | 78–85 | Red Rocha (16) | 18–23 | |||||
| 42 | January 26 | Washington | 71–82 | Red Rocha (18) | 18–24 | |||||
| 43 | January 29 | Chicago | 51–66 | Belus Smawley (14) | 18–25 | |||||
| 44 | February 2 | New York | 73–87 | Maughan, Smawley (13) | 18–26 | |||||
| 45 | February 5 | Indianapolis | 76–64 | Ed Macauley (29) | 19–26 | |||||
| 46 | February 7 | at Rochester | 84–90 | Ed Macauley (34) | 19–27 | |||||
| 47 | February 8 | at New York | 84–82 (2OT) | Macauley, Smawley (17) | 20–27 | |||||
| 48 | February 9 | at Baltimore | 67–79 | Belus Smawley (12) | 20–28 | |||||
| 49 | February 10 | at Boston | 79–89 | Macauley, Rocha (20) | 20–29 | |||||
| 50 | February 12 | Philadelphia | 86–70 | Belus Smawley (23) | 21–29 | |||||
| 51 | February 16 | Minneapolis | 71–72 | Belus Smawley (17) | 21–30 | |||||
| 52 | February 19 | Sheboygan | 72–65 | Logan, Macauley (19) | 22–30 | |||||
| 53 | February 22 | at Minneapolis | 57–100 | Logan, Macauley (11) | 22–31 | |||||
| 54 | February 23 | Fort Wayne | 72–74 | Ed Macauley (20) | 22–32 | |||||
| 55 | February 24 | at Chicago | 62–77 | Red Rocha (20) | 22–33 | |||||
| 56 | February 26 | Rochester | 79–81 | Ed Macauley (31) | 22–34 | |||||
| 57 | March 1 | Fort Wayne | 70–75 | Ed Macauley (23) | 22–35 | |||||
| 58 | March 2 | at Fort Wayne | 61–91 | Red Rocha (19) | 22–36 | |||||
| 59 | March 5 | Philadelphia | 71–67 | Ed Macauley (18) | 23–36 | |||||
| 60 | March 8 | at New York | 78–80 (OT) | Ed Macauley (24) | 23–37 | |||||
| 61 | March 9 | at Syracuse | 74–85 | Ed Macauley (20) | 23–38 | |||||
| 62 | March 10 | at Philadelphia | 73–78 | Belus Smawley (25) | 23–39 | |||||
| 63 | March 11 | at Washington | 90–92 | Ed Macauley (21) | 23–40 | |||||
| 64 | March 12 | at Rochester | 72–99 | Ed Macauley (20) | 23–41 | |||||
| 65 | March 14 | at Boston | 86–76 | Ed Macauley (31) | 24–41 | |||||
| 66 | March 16 | Baltimore | 71–63 | Ed Macauley (22) | 25–41 | |||||
| 67 | March 17 | vs Chicago | 85–69 | Ed Macauley (35) | 26–41 | |||||
| 68 | March 19 | Chicago | 64–80 | Ed Macauley (24) | 26–42 | |||||
Dispersal Draft
After the Bombers folded their franchise officially the day before the 1950 NBA draft began on April 24, 1950 (the same day the likes of the original Denver Nuggets, Sheboygan Red Skins, and Waterloo Hawks all withdrew from the NBA in order to join up with the Anderson Packers (who previously withdrew from the NBA themselves on April 10, 1950 following pressure from bigger marketplace teams like the Knicks, Celtics, and Warriors) to create the short-lived rivaling National Professional Basketball League as a means for them to all try and survive together), the St. Louis franchise would join the Packers players (who had previously withdrawn from the NBA before creating the NPBL with the other three teams that withdrew on the same day the Bombers folded) in a dispersal draft that the NBA held on August 25, 1950 as the first of three different dispersal drafts held during the 1950–51 NBA season period. In the Bombers' case, they were the only team from the initial April 24, 1950 deadline to not post a $50,000 bond to the NBA by the newly-established league's deadline and not defect themselves into the newer, rivaling National Professional Basketball League soon afterward.[1] The following teams acquired these players from the Bombers during the dispersal draft period.