Once Upon a Time--Eastern Iowa Had a Team in the NBA

A number of years ago we had a story about eastern Iowa's former NBA team. Let's expand on that piece of Iowa sports history.

The Waterloo Hawks of the NBA were the only professional sports franchise ever in the Hawkeye State to be a member of the major professional sports leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL). The Hawks were founded in 1948 and owned by P.L. "Pinkie" George.

According to nbahoopsonline.com, the team was named after Chief Blackhawk, "who led a long-standing war against the US Government in the area in the 19th century."

Though the Hawks were in the NBA just one season, they can claim they are one on a very short list of basketball teams to play in three separate leagues in three different years.

The site continues:

The Hawks started out in the National Basketball League, and when the NBL merged with the BAA they moved to the NBA. After one season in the NBA they and several other former NBL teams were forced out and formed the NPBL. The NPBL didn't last a full season before it and the Hawks disbanded.

Their records:

Season	League	W	L	%	Playoffs
1948-49	NBL	30	32	.484	None
1949-50	NBA	19	43	.306	None
1950-51	NPBL	32	24	.571	League Disbanded

Their coach, Charley Shipp, clearly wasn't elite at his profession. He probably didn't have much talent to help him, either.

Here's a list of some of the 'best' players in the team's brief history -- with very minimal stats to go off of. This is according to en.hispanosnba.com:

PLAYER	GP	MP	FG(%)	3P(%)	FT(%)	RB	AS	ST	TO	BK	PTS
Dick Mehen	62	--	42.0	--	70.5	--	3.1	--	--	--	14.4
Harry Boykoff	61	--	41.3	--	77.5	--	2.4	--	--	--	12.8
Don Boven	62	--	37.3	--	68.8	--	2.2	--	--	--	10.6
Leo Kubiak	62	--	32.6	--	81.4	--	3.2	--	--	--	11.5

The team played in the McElroy Auditorium in Waterloo, which was built in 1919. It housed just, 5,155 people. Now referred to as the Hippodrome where the Waterloo Blackhawks play, it has a capacity of 7,000.

The overall worth of the franchise was $105,000. The average value for an organization in the NBA today is $2.2 BILLION DOLLARS.

You can blame inflation, or you blame the awful product basketball was in the '40s and '50s.

Look at this:

I mean, I'm 5'9, am an average athlete at best, and didn't play varsity basketball in high school. I would wipe the floor with these guys.

LOOK: 50 images of winning moments from sports history

Sometimes images are the best way to honor the figures we've lost. When tragedy swiftly reminds us that sports are far from the most consequential thing in life, we can still look back on an athlete's winning moment that felt larger than life, remaining grateful for their sacrifice on the court and bringing joy to millions.

Read on to explore the full collection of 50 images Stacker compiled showcasing various iconic winning moments in sports history. Covering achievements from a multitude of sports, these images represent stunning personal achievements, team championships, and athletic perseverance.