The Waterloo Hawks

The Waterloo Hawks were an NBA team that played their home games in Waterloo, Iowa. They are the only team that have every played in any of the four major sports (baseball, basketball, hockey, football). Their original owner was P.L. George, but was commonly known as Pinky, and the organization was founded in 1948. The Waterloo Hawks started their first season in 1948 in the National Basketball League. They won thirty games that year and lost thirty-two. Then, the next year, the National Basketball League joined with the Basketball Association of America. This made of the new National Basketball Association, which still exists today as the NBA. Therefore, the Hawks were a founding member on the beginning of the NBA.

They played all of their games in the Western Conference. They were always in the Western Division, too. They played their games at the McElroy Auditorium, which was also referred to as the Waterloo Hippodrome. The team's jerseys and logo consisted of three colors - black, gold, and white. They are now one of the fifteen defunct teams of the National Basketball Association.

They played only one season in the NBA, which was the 1949 to 1950 season. They won nineteen of their games but lost forty-three of them. They finished their season in fifth place out of six teams in the Western Division. The following year, they moved to the National Professional Basketball League, never to play in the National Basketball Association again. They do fare well in the NPBL. They won thirty-two of their games and lost only twenty-four, resulting in a .571 winning average. However, they did not qualify for the playoffs.

They had two coaches during their stint as a basketball team. Their first coach was Charley Shipp. He was a previous basketball player that made it onto five NBL first teams. He also led a local high school team to a state championship in basketball. He posted a record of eight and twenty-seven when coaching the Hawks. He coached the team from 1948 until 1950. Then, he was followed by Jack Smiley. Smiley posted a record of eleven wins and sixteen losses. Smiley was the head coach during the 1950-1951 season. Smiley was a player and a coach at the same time, something that not uncommon during this time period. Some of the more well-known players on the team, which consisted mainly of the starters, were Harry Boykoff, Don Boven, Paul Cloyd, and Johnny Orr.

Wikipedia, Waterloo Hawks