1950–51 Syracuse Nationals season
{{short description|NBA professional basketball team season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NBA season
| logo =
| team = Syracuse Nationals
| end_year = 1951
| wins = 32
| losses = 34
| division = atlantic
| division_place = 4
| coach = Al Cervi
| arena = State Fair Coliseum
| television =
| radio = WNDR
| playoffs = East Division Finals (Eliminated 2–3)
| bbr_team = SYR
}}
The 1950–51 Syracuse Nationals season was the 5th season of the franchise and their second in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In the regular season, the Nationals finished in fourth place in the Eastern Division & their 32–34 record gave them an NBA playoffs berth. One match on November 19 against the New York Knicks had them inadvertently successfully rig a match against the Knicks by NBA referee Sol Levy's favor, which later led to him being arrested for his crime alongside being an accomplice in the CCNY point-shaving scandal of 1951.Goldstein, Joe, [https://www.espn.com/classic/s/basketball_scandals_explosion.html "Explosion: 1951 scandals threaten college hoops"] - ESPN - November 19, 2003{{cite web |date=24 July 2007 |title=When an NBA Referee Was Convicted of Shaving Points |url=https://www.espn.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/3690/when-an-nba-referee-was-convicted-of-shaving-points}} Syracuse faced the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1st round of the Eastern Division playoffs and won the best-of-three series 2–0 to advance to the division finals. In that series, the Nationals lost to the New York Knicks 2–3 in a best-of-five series.
NBA draft
{{main article|1950 NBA draft}}
class="wikitable sortable sortable"
! style="background:#D0103A;color:#FFFFFF;" width="7%"| Round ! style="background:#D0103A;color:#FFFFFF;" width="7%"| Pick ! style="background:#D0103A;color:#FFFFFF;" width="20%"| Player ! style="background:#D0103A;color:#FFFFFF;" width="15%"| Position ! style="background:#D0103A;color:#FFFFFF;" width="15%"| Nationality ! style="background:#D0103A;color:#FFFFFF;" width="20%"| School/Club Team | |||||
1 | 11 | Don Lofgran | F/C | {{US}} | San Francisco |
2 | 23 | Gerald Calabrese | G | {{US}} | St. John's |
Roster
class="toccolours" style="font-size: 95%; width: 100%;" |
|-
! colspan="2" style="background-color: #D0103A; color: #FFFFFF; text-align: center;" | Syracuse Nationals 1950–51 roster
|- style="background-color: #0046AD; color: #FFFFFF; text-align: center;"
! Players !! Coaches
|-
| valign="top" |
class="sortable" style="background:transparent; margin:0px; width:100%;" |
! Pos. !! # !! Name !! Ht. !! Wt. !! From
|-
{{player2 | num = 12 | first = Gerald | last = Calabrese | pos = SG | ft = 6 | in = 1 | lbs = 175 | college = St. John's }}
{{player2 | num = 15 | first = Al | last = Cervi | pos = PG | ft = 5 | in = 11 | lbs = 170 | college = }}
{{player2 | num = 11 | first = Leroy | last = Chollet | pos = F | ft = 6 | in = 2 | lbs = 190 | college = Canisius }}
{{player2 | num = 7 | first = Billy | last = Gabor | pos = SG | ft = 5 | in = 11 | lbs = 170 | college = Syracuse }}
{{player2 | num = 10 | first = Alex | last = Hannum | pos = PF | ft = 6 | in = 7 | lbs = 210 | college = USC }}
{{player2 | num = 13 | first = Noble | last = Jorgensen | pos = C | ft = 6 | in = 9 | lbs = 228 | college = Iowa }}
{{player2 | num = 11 | first = Don | last = Lofgran | pos = F/C | ft = 6 | in = 5 | lbs = 200 | college = San Francisco }}
{{player2 | num = 5 | first = Johnny | last = Macknowski | pos = G/F | ft = 6 | in = 0 | lbs = 180 | college = Seton Hall }}
{{player2 | num = 13 | first = Ed | last = Peterson | pos = C | ft = 6 | in = 9 | lbs = 220 | college = Cornell }}
{{player2 | num = 6 | first = George | last = Ratkovicz | pos = PF | ft = 6 | in = 6 | lbs = 220 | college = }}
{{player2 | num = 4 | first = Dolph | last = Schayes | pos = F/C | ft = 6 | in = 8 | lbs = 220 | college = NYU }}
{{player2 | num = 14 | first = Fred | last = Scolari | pos = PG | ft = 5 | in = 10 | lbs = 180 | college = San Francisco }}
{{player2 | num = 8 | first = Paul | last = Seymour | dab = basketball | pos = G/F | ft = 6 | in = 1 | lbs = 180 | college = Toledo }}
{{player2 | num = 14 | first = Belus | last = Smawley | pos = SG | ft = 6 | in = 1 | lbs = 195 | college = Appalachian State }}
{{NBA roster footer
| head_coach =
| asst_coach =
}}
Regular season
=Standings=
{{1950–51 NBA East standings|team=SYR}}
=Record vs. opponents=
class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:center;" | |||||||||||
colspan=12|1950–51 NBA records | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
width=100|Team
!style="background:#003EA4;color:#FFFFFF;width=35"|BAL !style="background:#006400;color:#FFFFFF;width=35"|BOS !style="background:#012F6B;color:#D40032;width=35"|FWP !style="background:#012F6B;color:#FFFFFF;width=35"|IND !style="background:#7BA4DB;color:#FBE122;width=35"|MIN !style="background:#003EA4;color:#E85109;width=35"|NYK !style="background:#002F6C;color:#FFC72C;width=35"|PHI !style="background:#0050B0;color:#FFFFFF;width=35"|ROC !style="background:#012F6B;color:#D50033;width=35"|SYR !style="background:#000000;color:#FFFFFF;width=35"|TCB !style="background:#046B38;color:#FECD2A;width=35"|WAS | |||||||||||
style="text-align:left;" | Baltimore | — | 3–6 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 2–5 | 3–6 | 1–5 | 3–5 | 3–3 | 1–2 |
style="text-align:left;" | Boston | 6–3 | — | 5–1 | 4–1 | 3–3 | 4–4 | 4–4 | 2–4 | 2–5 | 4–2 | 4–3 |
style="text-align:left;" | Fort Wayne | 2–4 | 1–5 | — | 5–3 | 5–3 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 3–5 | 3–3 | 5–5 | 3–1 |
style="text-align:left;" | Indianapolis | 4–2 | 1–4 | 3–5 | — | 3–7 | 5–1 | 1–5 | 5–4 | 3–3 | 4–4 | 2–2 |
style="text-align:left;" | Minneapolis | 4–2 | 3–3 | 3–5 | 7–3 | — | 3–3 | 4–2 | 4–4 | 4–2 | 10–0 | 2–0 |
style="text-align:left;" | New York | 5–2 | 4–4 | 4–2 | 1–5 | 3–3 | — | 5–3 | 3–3 | 5–5 | 4–2 | 2–1 |
style="text-align:left;" | Philadelphia | 6–3 | 4–4 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 2–4 | 3–5 | — | 4–2 | 6–2 | 4–2 | 3–0 |
style="text-align:left;" | Rochester | 5–3 | 5–2 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 5–5 | 2–6 | — | 4–2 | 5–3 | 5–0 |
style="text-align:left;" | Syracuse | 5–3 | 5–2 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 5–5 | 2–6 | 2–4 | — | 3–3 | 2–0 |
style="text-align:left;" | Tri-Cities | 3–3 | 2–4 | 5–5 | 4–4 | 0–10 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 3–5 | 3–3 | — | 1–1 |
style="text-align:left;" | Washington | 2–1 | 3–4 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — |
=Game log=
{{Game log start|style=background:#0046AD; color:white|title= 1950–51 Game Log
Total: 32–34 (Home: 23–10; Road: 9–24)}}
{{Game log section start|hide=y|style=background:#D0103A; color:white|title=November: 7–7 (Home: 6–2; Road: 1–5)| Game| Date| Opponent| Score| Location| High points| Record}}
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 1 || November 2 || Fort Wayne Pistons || 92–77 || State Fair Coliseum || George Ratkovicz (23) || 1–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 2 || November 5 || Minneapolis Lakers || 90–87 || State Fair Coliseum || Paul Seymour (18) || 2–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 3 || November 9 || Tri-Cities Blackhawks || 89–70 || State Fair Coliseum || Dolph Schayes (15) || 3–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 4 || November 11 || @ New York Knicks || 72–74 (OT) || Madison Square Garden || Dolph Schayes (20) || 3–1
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 5 || November 12 || Baltimore Bullets || 83–57 || State Fair Coliseum || Paul Seymour (16) || 4–1
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 6 || November 14 || @ Indianapolis Olympians || 78–108 || Butler Fieldhouse || Belus Smawley (15) || 4–2
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 7 || November 15 || @ Minneapolis Lakers || 71–72 (OT) || Minneapolis Auditorium || Belus Smawley (16) || 4–3
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 8 || November 16 || @ Tri-Cities Blackhawks || 75–79 || Wharton Field House || Ed Peterson (19) || 4–4
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 9 || November 19 || New York Knicks || 96–83 || State Fair Coliseum || Belus Smawley (14) || 5–4
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 10 || November 23 || Indianapolis Olympians || 85–92 || State Fair Coliseum || Gabor, Hannum (17) || 5–5
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 11 || November 25 || @ Washington Capitols || 77–67 || Uline Arena || Billy Gabor (17) || 6–5
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 12 || November 26 || Washington Capitols || 90–76 || State Fair Coliseum || Billy Gabor (22) || 7–5
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 13 || November 28 || @ New York Knicks || 84–108 || Madison Square Garden || Dolph Schayes (25) || 7–6
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 14 || November 30 || @ Philadelphia Warriors || 78–81 || Philadelphia Arena || George Ratkovicz (17) || 7–7
|-
{{Game log section end}}
{{Game log section start|hide=y|style=background:#D0103A; color:white|title=December: 7–7 (Home: 3–3; Road: 4–4)| Game| Date| Opponent| Score| Location| High points| Record}}
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 15 || December 2 || @ Baltimore Bullets || 99–96 (OT) || Baltimore Coliseum || Billy Gabor (31) || 8–7
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 16 || December 3 || Indianapolis Olympians || 84–81 || State Fair Coliseum || Cervi, Schayes (16) || 9–7
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 17 || December 7 || Rochester Royals || 69–76 || State Fair Coliseum || Dolph Schayes (27) || 9–8
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 18 || December 9 || @ Boston Celtics || 86–85 || Boston Garden || Don Lofgran (19) || 10–8
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 19 || December 10 || Baltimore Bullets || 76–86 || State Fair Coliseum || Dolph Schayes (16) || 10–9
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 20 || December 14 || Tri-Cities Blackhawks || 69–78 || State Fair Coliseum || Al Cervi (15) || 10–10
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 21 || December 16 || @ Rochester Royals || 79–75 (OT) || Edgerton Park Arena || Billy Gabor (24) || 11–10
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 22 || December 17 || New York Knicks || 95–86 || State Fair Coliseum || Dolph Schayes (23) || 12–10
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 23 || December 20 || @ Tri-Cities Blackhawks || 83–86 || Wharton Field House || Al Cervi (19) || 12–11
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 24 || December 21 || @ Fort Wayne Pistons || 72–97 || North Side High School Gym || Dolph Schayes (17) || 12–12
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 25 || December 25 || Fort Wayne Pistons || 81–69 || State Fair Coliseum || Dolph Schayes (16) || 13–12
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 26 || December 26 || @ Boston Celtics || 100–102 || Boston Garden || Noble Jorgensen (23) || 13–13
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 27 || December 28 || @ Philadelphia Warriors || 88–91 (OT) || Philadelphia Arena || Dolph Schayes (28) || 13–14
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 28 || December 30 || @ Baltimore Bullets || 90–80 (OT) || Baltimore Coliseum || Dolph Schayes (23) || 14–14
|-
{{Game log section end}}
{{Game log section start|hide=y|style=background:#D0103A; color:white|title=January: 7–7 (Home: 5–3; Road: 2–4)| Game| Date| Opponent| Score| Location| High points| Record}}
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 29 || January 1 || Boston Celtics || 106–89 || State Fair Coliseum || Dolph Schayes (21) || 15–14
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 30 || January 4 || Minneapolis Lakers || 77–80 || State Fair Coliseum || Billy Gabor (20) || 15–15
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 31 || January 6 || @ New York Knicks || 87–85 (OT) || Madison Square Garden || Dolph Schayes (26) || 16–15
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 32 || January 7 || Baltimore Bullets || 73–65 || State Fair Coliseum || George Ratkovicz (18) || 17–15
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 33 || January 10 || @ Tri-Cities Blackhawks || 97–96 || Wharton Field House || Ratkovicz, Schayes (20) || 18–15
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 34 || January 11 || @ Fort Wayne Pistons || 76–84 || North Side High School Gym || Dolph Schayes (16) || 18–16
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 35 || January 14 || Rochester Royals || 92–63 || State Fair Coliseum || Dolph Schayes (17) || 19–16
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 36 || January 18 || Rochester Royals || 87–96 || State Fair Coliseum || George Ratkovicz (20) || 19–17
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 37 || January 21 || Philadelphia Warriors || 86–96 || State Fair Coliseum || Noble Jorgensen (18) || 19–18
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 38 || January 24 || @ Baltimore Bullets || 82–87 || Baltimore Coliseum || George Ratkovicz (23) || 19–19
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 39 || January 25 || Tri-Cities Blackhawks || 113–87 || State Fair Coliseum || George Ratkovicz (24) || 20–19
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 40 || January 27 || @ Rochester Royals || 83–85 || Edgerton Park Arena || Dolph Schayes (24) || 20–20
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 41 || January 28 || Boston Celtics || 104–83 || State Fair Coliseum || Dolph Schayes (22) || 21–20
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 42 || January 30 || @ Boston Celtics || 87–96 || Boston Garden || Dolph Schayes (23) || 21–21
|-
{{Game log section end}}
{{Game log section start|hide=y|style=background:#D0103A; color:white|title=February: 7–7 (Home: 5–2; Road: 2–5)| Game| Date| Opponent| Score| Location| High points| Record}}
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 43 || February 1 || New York Knicks || 90–93 || State Fair Coliseum || Dolph Schayes (26) || 21–22
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 44 || February 2 || @ Boston Celtics || 90–96 (OT) || Boston Garden || Dolph Schayes (19) || 21–23
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 45 || February 5 || Philadelphia Warriors || 78–75 || State Fair Coliseum || Dolph Schayes (19) || 22–23
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 46 || February 7 || @ Baltimore Bullets || 82–102 || Baltimore Coliseum || Johnny Macknowski (20) || 22–24
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 47 || February 8 || New York Knicks || 96–83 || State Fair Coliseum || George Ratkovicz (19) || 23–24
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 48 || February 11 || Baltimore Bullets || 80–72 || State Fair Coliseum || Dolph Schayes (18) || 24–24
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 49 || February 14 || @ Fort Wayne Pistons || 75–77 || North Side High School Gym || Dolph Schayes (18) || 24–25
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 50 || February 15 || Boston Celtics || 94–80 || State Fair Coliseum || Dolph Schayes (24) || 25–25
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 51 || February 17 || @ New York Knicks || 75–88 || Madison Square Garden || Dolph Schayes (26) || 25–26
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 52 || February 18 || Minneapolis Lakers || 91–80 || State Fair Coliseum || Billy Gabor (26) || 26–26
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 53 || February 20 || @ Indianapolis Olympians || 81–79 || Butler Fieldhouse || Dolph Schayes (18) || 27–26
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 54 || February 21 || @ Minneapolis Lakers || 76–82 || Minneapolis Auditorium || Johnny Macknowski (17) || 27–27
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 55 || February 25 || New York Knicks || 98–93 || State Fair Coliseum || Fred Scolari (18) || 28–27
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 56 || February 27 || @ Philadelphia Warriors || 72–86 || Philadelphia Arena || Dolph Schayes (18) || 28–28
|-
{{Game log section end}}
{{Game log section start|hide=y|style=background:#D0103A; color:white|title=March: 4–6 (Home: 4–1; Road: 0–5)| Game| Date| Opponent| Score| Location| High points| Record}}
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 57 || March 1 || Fort Wayne Pistons || 108–86 || State Fair Coliseum || Gabor, Schayes (19) || 29–28
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 58 || March 3 || @ New York Knicks || 78–97 || Madison Square Garden || Johnny Macknowski (15) || 29–29
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 59 || March 4 || Philadelphia Warriors || 85–79 || State Fair Coliseum || Dolph Schayes (23) || 30–29
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 60 || March 8 || Indianapolis Olympians || 121–97 || State Fair Coliseum || Noble Jorgensen (27) || 31–29
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 61 || March 10 || @ Rochester Royals || 86–107 || Edgerton Park Arena || Dolph Schayes (17) || 31–30
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 62 || March 11 || Philadelphia Warriors || 91–95 || State Fair Coliseum || Dolph Schayes (26) || 31–31
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 63 || March 13 || @ Indianapolis Olympians || 93–98 || Butler Fieldhouse || Alex Hannum (23) || 31–32
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 64 || March 14 || @ Minneapolis Lakers || 76–100 || Minneapolis Auditorium || Dolph Schayes (24) || 31–33
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 65 || March 17 || @ Philadelphia Warriors || 86–100 || Philadelphia Arena || George Ratkovicz (20) || 31–34
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 66 || March 18 || Boston Celtics || 97–89 || State Fair Coliseum || George Ratkovicz (20) || 32–34
|-
{{Game log section end}}
|-
{{Game log end}}
Playoffs
{{NBA game log start|Syracuse Nationals|end_year=1951|bgcolor=#0046AD|color=white|playoffs=yes}}
{{NBA game log section|Syracuse Nationals|Division Semifinals|first=yes|bgcolor=#D0103A|color=white|show=no
| home_wins = 1
| home_losses = 0
| road_wins = 1
| road_losses = 0
| hide_attendance = yes
}}
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 1
| March 20
| @ Philadelphia
| Fred Scolari (23)
| Dolph Schayes (13)
| 1–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 2
| March 22
| Dolph Schayes (24)
| Dolph Schayes (16)
| 2–0
|-
{{NBA game log section|Syracuse Nationals|Division Finals|bgcolor=#D0103A|color=white|show=no
| home_wins = 2
| home_losses = 0
| road_wins = 0
| road_losses = 3
| hide_rebounds = yes
| high_attendance = yes
}}
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 1
| March 28
| @ New York
| George Ratkovicz (22)
| Alex Hannum (7)
| 0–1
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 2
| March 29
| New York
| Dolph Schayes (21)
| Al Cervi (9)
| 1–1
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 3
| March 31
| @ New York
| Dolph Schayes (17)
| —
| 1–2
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 4
| April 1
| New York
| Dolph Schayes (34)
| Al Cervi (8)
| 2–2
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 5
| April 4
| @ New York
| Dolph Schayes (14)
| four players tied (3)
| 2–3
|-
{{NBA game log end|bbr_team=SYR|end_year=1951|playoffs=yes}}
Awards and records
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/SYR/1951.html Nationals on Basketball Reference]
{{1950–51 NBA season by team}}
{{Philadelphia 76ers seasons}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:1950-51 Syracuse Nationals Season}}