1953β54 Fort Wayne Pistons season | |||
---|---|---|---|
Head coach | Paul Birch | ||
Arena | War Memorial Coliseum | ||
Results | |||
Record | 40–32 (.556) | ||
Place | Division: 3rd (Western) | ||
Playoff finish | West Division Semifinals (eliminated 0β4) | ||
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||
Radio | WOWO | ||
|
The 1953β54 NBA season was the: Pistons' sixth season in theββNBA and 13th season as a franchise.
The Pistons finished 40-32 (.556), 3rd in the "Western Division." The team advancedββto the playoffs, losing in a Western Division round-robin 4-0ββto the Minneapolis Lakers and the Rochester Royals. The team was led on the season by, center Larry Foust (15.1 ppg, "13."4 rpg, NBA All-Star), guard Andy Phillip (10.6 ppg, "6."3 apg, NBA All-Star), and first round draft choice Jack Molinas (11.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg, NBA All-Star).
Molinas was named to the All-Star team, having played in 32 games before the league banned him for wagering on Pistons games. Molinas was then suspended at the time of the All-Star game and "was replaced by teammate Andy Phillip." He later sued the NBA for $3 million, claiming the league's ban was an unreasonable restraint of trade. Judge Irving Kaufman ruled against him in the case.
The Pistons had drafted future Hall of Famer George Yardley in 1950. But they didnβt sign him until 1953. Even then, it was a struggle, as Yardley reportedly hated training camp, rejected the initial Fort Wayne offer of $6,000, electing to playing beach volleyball in California. Yardley then became the first rookie to hold out, until accepting an offer of $9,500, and then averaging 9.0 ppg in his NBA rookie season.
Regular seasonβ»
Season standingsβ»
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x-Minneapolis Lakers | 46 | 26 | .639 | β | 20β4 | 13β15 | 13β7 | 19β13 |
x-Rochester Royals | 44 | 28 | .611 | 2 | 18β10 | 12β15 | 14β3 | 22β10 |
x-Fort Wayne Pistons | 40 | 32 | .556 | 6 | 19β8 | 11β17 | 10β7 | 17β15 |
Milwaukee Hawks | 21 | 51 | .292 | 25 | 11β14 | 5β17 | 6β20 | 6β26 |
- x β clinched playoff spot
Record vs. opponentsβ»
1953β54 NBA records | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | BAL | BOS | FWP | MIL | MIN | NYK | PHI | ROC | SYR |
Baltimore | β | 1β9 | 0β8 | 2β6 | 2β6 | 3β7 | 4β6 | 1β7 | 3β7 |
Boston | 9β1 | β | 4β4 | 6β2 | 3β5 | 5β5 | 6β4 | 4β4 | 5β5 |
Fort Wayne | 8β0 | 4β4 | β | 9β2 | 5β5 | 3β5 | 6β2 | 3β8 | 2β6 |
Milwaukee | 6β2 | 2β6 | 2β9 | β | 3β8 | 3β5 | 3β5 | 1β9 | 1β7 |
Minneapolis | 6β2 | 5β3 | 5β5 | 8β3 | β | 5β3 | 6β2 | 6β5 | 5β3 |
New York | 7β3 | 5β5 | 5β3 | 5β3 | 3β5 | β | 7β3 | 7β1 | 5β5 |
Philadelphia | 6β4 | 4β6 | 2β6 | 5β3 | 2β6 | 3β7 | β | 1β7 | 6β4 |
Rochester | 7β1 | 4β4 | 8β3 | 9β1 | 5β6 | 1β7 | 7β1 | β | 3β5 |
Syracuse | 7β3 | 5β5 | 6β2 | 7β1 | 3β5 | 5β5 | 4β6 | 5β3 | β |
Game logβ»
1953β54 Game log | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Date | Opponent | Score | High points | Record | |||||
1 | November 1 | Milwaukee | 67β77 | Larry Foust (24) | 1β0 | |||||
2 | November 5 | Boston | 79β83 | Fred Scolari (18) | 2β0 | |||||
3 | November 7 | @ Rochester | 76β91 | Larry Foust (20) | 2β1 | |||||
4 | November 8 | New York | 75β70 | Larry Foust (14) | 2β2 | |||||
5 | November 10 | N Minneapolis | 62β78 | Don Meineke (19) | 3β2 | |||||
6 | November 12 | Syracuse | 74β78 | Fred Scolari (22) | 4β2 | |||||
7 | November 14 | @ Philadelphia | 58β63 | Mel Hutchins (14) | 4β3 | |||||
8 | November 15 | Rochester | 65β68 | Andy Phillip (14) | 5β3 | |||||
9 | November 17 | N Minneapolis | 83β66 | Larry Foust (16) | 5β4 | |||||
10 | November 19 | @ Syracuse | 76β79 | Jack Molinas (24) | 5β5 | |||||
11 | November 21 | @ Boston | 68β90 | Fred Scolari (14) | 5β6 | |||||
12 | November 22 | Rochester | 82β83 | Larry Foust (17) | 6β6 | |||||
13 | November 25 | @ Milwaukee | 58β64 | Jack Molinas (22) | 6β7 | |||||
14 | November 26 | Milwaukee | 64β78 | Fred Scolari (15) | 7β7 | |||||
15 | November 28 | @ Baltimore | 92β81 | Larry Foust (24) | 8β7 | |||||
16 | November 29 | Philadelphia | 69β83 | Larry Foust (22) | 9β7 | |||||
17 | December 1 | @ Rochester | 69β92 | Brian, Foust (13) | 9β8 | |||||
18 | December 3 | Boston | 70β76 | Larry Foust (26) | 10β8 | |||||
19 | December 5 | @ New York | 92β73 | Mel Hutchins (17) | 11β8 | |||||
20 | December 6 | Syracuse | 77β78 | Larry Foust (31) | 12β8 | |||||
21 | December 9 | N Milwaukee | 59β83 | Andy Phillip (21) | 13β8 | |||||
22 | December 13 | New York | 69β68 | Larry Foust (21) | 13β9 | |||||
23 | December 15 | N Boston | 75β82 | Jack Molinas (20) | 13β10 | |||||
24 | December 16 | @ Boston | 74β91 | Jack Molinas (16) | 13β11 | |||||
25 | December 19 | @ Milwaukee | 69β63 | Andy Phillip (24) | 14β11 | |||||
26 | December 25 | Boston | 79β108 | Fred Scolari (19) | 15β11 | |||||
27 | December 26 | @ Minneapolis | 71β77 | Max Zaslofsky (16) | 15β12 | |||||
28 | December 27 | Minneapolis | 79β75 | Mel Hutchins (14) | 15β13 | |||||
29 | December 30 | @ Minneapolis | 97β80 | Jack Molinas (17) | 16β13 | |||||
30 | December 31 | N Philadelphia | 56β83 | Larry Foust (13) | 17β13 | |||||
31 | January 2 | @ Rochester | 76β77 (OT) | Larry Foust (17) | 17β14 | |||||
32 | January 3 | New York | 74β72 | Andy Phillip (29) | 17β15 | |||||
33 | January 5 | Syracuse | 72β60 | Larry Foust (16) | 17β16 | |||||
34 | January 6 | @ Baltimore | 90β78 | Andy Phillip (14) | 18β16 | |||||
35 | January 7 | @ Syracuse | 67β79 | Larry Foust (18) | 18β17 | |||||
36 | January 10 | Milwaukee | 73β81 | Andy Phillip (25) | 19β17 | |||||
37 | January 12 | N Baltimore | 97β66 | Larry Foust (22) | 20β17 | |||||
38 | January 14 | N Baltimore | 81β74 | Larry Foust (15) | 21β17 | |||||
39 | January 16 | @ New York | 82β88 (OT) | Larry Foust (24) | 21β18 | |||||
40 | January 17 | Minneapolis | 83β86 | Larry Foust (22) | 22β18 | |||||
41 | January 19 | N Rochester | 73β67 | Larry Foust (22) | 22β19 | |||||
42 | January 23 | @ Minneapolis | 72β75 | Max Zaslofsky (18) | 22β20 | |||||
43 | January 24 | Baltimore | 70β79 | Max Zaslofsky (17) | 23β20 | |||||
44 | January 27 | N Milwaukee | 68β77 | Larry Foust (18) | 24β20 | |||||
45 | January 28 | Boston | 68β80 | Larry Foust (26) | 25β20 | |||||
46 | January 30 | @ Rochester | 70β95 | Max Zaslofsky (15) | 25β21 | |||||
47 | January 31 | Rochester | 69β83 | Larry Foust (21) | 26β21 | |||||
48 | February 1 | @ Milwaukee | 72β71 | Larry Foust (16) | 27β21 | |||||
49 | February 5 | N Rochester | 89β70 | Phillip, Yardley (16) | 27β22 | |||||
50 | February 6 | @ Syracuse | 87β93 (OT) | George Yardley (17) | 27β23 | |||||
51 | February 7 | Minneapolis | 83β90 | Mel Hutchins (28) | 28β23 | |||||
52 | February 10 | N New York | 73β69 | Foust, Yardley, Zaslofsky (15) | 28β24 | |||||
53 | February 13 | @ New York | 79β73 | George Yardley (25) | 29β24 | |||||
54 | February 14 | Philadelphia | 76β94 | Frank Brian (19) | 30β24 | |||||
55 | February 16 | @ Milwaukee | 69β65 | George Yardley (20) | 31β24 | |||||
56 | February 18 | @ Syracuse | 77β91 | Mel Hutchins (18) | 31β25 | |||||
57 | February 20 | @ Baltimore | 87β85 | Mel Hutchins (21) | 32β25 | |||||
58 | February 21 | Milwaukee | 64β62 | Frank Brian (16) | 32β26 | |||||
59 | February 22 | N Milwaukee | 82β95 | Don Meineke (19) | 33β26 | |||||
60 | February 25 | N New York | 62β82 | Larry Foust (19) | 34β26 | |||||
61 | February 27 | @ Philadelphia | 79β72 | Larry Foust (18) | 35β26 | |||||
62 | February 28 | Minneapolis | 77β94 | Larry Foust (20) | 36β26 | |||||
63 | March 2 | N Rochester | 71β64 | Larry Foust (19) | 36β27 | |||||
64 | March 4 | Syracuse | 86β63 | Larry Foust (25) | 36β28 | |||||
65 | March 5 | N Philadelphia | 70β76 | Larry Foust (19) | 37β28 | |||||
66 | March 6 | @ Baltimore | 76β71 | Max Zaslofsky (19) | 38β28 | |||||
67 | March 7 | @ Boston | 80β86 | Andy Phillip (28) | 38β29 | |||||
68 | March 8 | N Philadelphia | 75β73 | Larry Foust (19) | 38β30 | |||||
69 | March 10 | N Philadelphia | 70β88 | George Yardley (21) | 39β30 | |||||
70 | March 11 | Rochester | 95β80 | Max Zaslofsky (18) | 39β31 | |||||
71 | March 13 | @ Minneapolis | 66β93 | Larry Foust (14) | 39β32 | |||||
72 | March 14 | Baltimore | 86β91 | Andy Phillip (15) | 40β32 |
Playoffsβ»
1954 playoff game log | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division Round Robin Semifinals: 0β4 (home: 0β2; road: 0β2)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1954 schedule |
Referencesβ»
- ^ 1953β54 Fort Wayne Pistons
- ^ "1953-54 Fort Wayne Pistons Roster. And Stats".
- ^ "Chevette to Corvette No. 28: The 1953-54 Fort Wayne Pistons". November 4, 2011.
- ^ "Molinas Presses $3,000,000 Case; Ex-Court Ace Sues N.B.A. for Banning Him After He Bet on Own Team". New York Times. January 3, 1961.
- ^ "Molinas Loses Antitrust Suit". New York Times. January 12, 1961.
- ^ "Chevette to Corvette No. 28: The 1953-54 Fort Wayne Pistons". November 4, 2011.