| Indianapolis Olympians | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Division | Western |
| Founded | 1949 |
| Folded | 1953 |
| History | Indianapolis Olympians 1949–1953 |
| Arena | Butler Fieldhouse |
| Location | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Team colors | Blue, white, red |
| Championships | 0 |
| Division titles | 1 (1950) |
The Indianapolis Olympians were a founding National Basketball Association (NBA) team based in Indianapolis. They were founded in 1949 and folded in 1953. Their home arena was Butler Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University, now known as Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The Olympians were founded in 1949 to replace the Indianapolis Jets. The Olympians were led by University of Kentucky alumni Alex Groza and Ralph Beard, both of whom were key contributors on the gold medal winning 1948 US Olympic basketball team. Olympic team members Wallace Jones and Cliff Barker (both also Kentucky alumni) also played on the team. An Olympic alternate and UK grad, Joe Holland, played forward for the Indianapolis team through the 1952 season.
After the 1951 season, Groza and Beard were suspended from the NBA for life by commissioner Maurice Podoloff when the players admitted point shaving during their college careers. The Olympians finished with a 28–43 record in 1953, and folded after that season. The Olympians compiled a 132–137 record in four seasons in the NBA.
Indianapolis would not have an NBA team until 1976 when the Indiana Pacers were one of the four teams admitted from the American Basketball Association in the ABA–NBA merger.
The Olympians still hold the distinction of being the winning team in the longest game in NBA history—they were the 75–73 victors in a six-overtime game against the Rochester Royals in a game played on January 6, 1951. [1]
| NBA champions ‡ | Division champions ^ | Playoff berth # |
| Season | Division | Finish [lower-alpha 1] | W [lower-alpha 2] | L [lower-alpha 2] | Win% | GB | Playoffs | Awards | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949–50 | Western ^ | 1st ^ | 39 | 25 | .609 | — | Won Division semifinals (Red Skins) 2–1 Lost Division finals (Packers) 1–2 [2] | Cliff Barker | |
| 1950–51 | Western | 4th # | 31 | 37 | .456 | 13 | Lost Division semifinals (Lakers) 1–2 [3] | Cliff Barker Wally Jones | |
| 1951–52 | Western | 3rd # | 34 | 32 | .515 | 7 | Lost Division semifinals (Lakers) 0–2 [4] | Herm Schaefer | |
| 1952–53 | Western | 4th # | 28 | 43 | .394 | 20.5 | Lost Division semifinals (Lakers) 0–2 [5] | Herm Schaefer |
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Hoosier hysteria is the state of excitement surrounding basketball in Indiana or, more specifically, the Indiana high school basketball tournament. The most famous example occurred in 1954, when Milan defeated Muncie Central to win the state title.
Maurice Podoloff was an American lawyer and a basketball and ice hockey administrator. He served as the president of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) from 1946 to 1949, and the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1949 to 1963, making Podoloff the de facto 1st commissioner in NBA history.
Alex John Groza was an American professional basketball player from Martins Ferry, Ohio. Resulting from the CCNY point shaving scandal, Groza was banned from the National Basketball Association (NBA) for life in 1951. In college, he won two NCAA championships as captain of the University of Kentucky Wildcats, and was a two-time All-NBA player for the Indianapolis Olympians before his career abruptly ended.
Ralph Milton Beard Jr. was an American collegiate and professional basketball player. He won two NCAA national basketball championships at the University of Kentucky and played two years in the National Basketball Association prior to being barred for life for his participation in the 1951 point shaving scandal.
The 1950–51 NBA season was the fifth season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Rochester Royals winning the NBA Championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
Hinkle Fieldhouse is a basketball arena on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Completed in early 1928, it was the largest basketball arena in the United States until 1950. The facility was renamed Hinkle Fieldhouse in 1966 in honor of Butler's longtime coach and athletic director, Paul D. "Tony" Hinkle. It is the sixth-oldest college basketball arena still in use. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1987, Hinkle Fieldhouse is sometimes referred to as "Indiana's Basketball Cathedral."
Wallace Clayton "Wah Wah" Jones was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1949 to 1952 with the Indianapolis Olympians.
The 1953 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1952–53 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Minneapolis Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
The 1951 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game played on March 2, 1951, at Boston Garden in Boston, home of the Boston Celtics. The game was the first edition of the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game and was played during the 1950–51 NBA season. The idea of holding an All-Star Game was conceived during a meeting between NBA President Maurice Podoloff, NBA publicity director Haskell Cohen and Boston Celtics owner Walter A. Brown. At that time, the basketball world had just been stunned by the college basketball point-shaving scandal. In order to regain public attention to the league, Cohen suggested the league to host an exhibition game featuring the league's best players, similar to the Major League Baseball's All-Star Game. Although most people, including Podoloff, were pessimistic about the idea, Brown remained confident that it would be a success. He even offered to host the game and to cover all the expenses or potential losses incurred from the game. The Eastern All-Stars team defeated the Western All-Stars team 111–94. Boston Celtics' Ed Macauley was named as the first NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award. The game became a success, drawing an attendance of 10,094, much higher than that season's average attendance of 3,500.
Eugene Stephen Rhodes was an American basketball player and coach.
The Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team represents Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. The school's team currently competes in the Big East Conference. They play their home games at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
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Donald E. Boven was an American basketball player, coach, and university instructor. He was a World War II veteran who was a standout athlete at Western Michigan University. After playing professional basketball, he served as an instructor at the University for more than 30 years. In the 1980s, Boven retired from his teaching duties but remained active in sporting circles and became involved in voluntary public service in his Michigan township.
William Edwin Spivey was an American basketball player. A 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) center, he played college basketball for the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Kentucky Wildcats from 1949 to 1951. After his high school career, Spivey was recruited by the University of Kentucky. During his time with the Wildcats, he led the team to the 1951 NCAA tournament championship, and was voted Most Outstanding Player of the event. When a point shaving scandal was revealed that year, Spivey was accused of being involved, which he denied. He left the Wildcats in December 1951, and the university banned him from the squad in March 1952.
Paul Richard Unruh was an American college basketball standout at Bradley University from 1946 to 1950. He finished as Bradley's all-time leading scorer and was a consensus first-team All-American as a senior in 1949–50. A native of the greater Peoria, Illinois metropolitan area, Unruh attended Toulon High School prior to matriculating at Bradley.
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Joseph Burnett Holland Sr. was an American basketball player. He won an NCAA championship at the University of Kentucky and played three years in the National Basketball Association from 1949 to 1952.