1957β58 Cincinnati Royals season | |
---|---|
Head coach | Bobby Wanzer |
Owners | Jack Harrison Les Harrison |
Arena | Cincinnati Gardens |
Results | |
Record | 33–39 (.458) |
Place | Division: 3rd ( Western) |
Playoff finish |
West Division Semifinals (Eliminated 0β2) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Local media | |
Television | WKRC-TV |
Radio | WKRC |
The 1957β58 season was the Royals first season in Cincinnati, following its relocation from Rochester during the offseason. Interest in the team was created by a draft deal that brought Lakers All-Star Clyde Lovellette to the team. The team then lured guard George King, the former Syracuse starter back from college coaching. Both additions added talent and veteran leadership to a still young squad.
The roster included star shooter Jack Twyman, Dick Ricketts (who also pitched in the major leagues), and star swing man Tom Marshall. In their first year in Cincinnati, the Royals ended a two-year playoff drought by finishing in third place after tie-breakers in the NBA's West Division. [1] The Royals finished with a record of 33β39. One of the team leaders was Maurice Stokes, who finished second in rebounding with 18.1 rebounds per game. [1] The 6'8 240-pound Stokes, arguably the NBA's first black superstar, also amazed by rating third in the NBA in assists.
Lovellette was fourth in the NBA in scoring, while Twyman led the NBA in shooting accuracy. The entire frontline of Stokes, Lovellette and Twyman were named NBA All-Stars that first season. The team had the makings of a real contender, but the backcourt was debilitated by injuries to Marhsall and King, plus promising Si Green and Johnny McCarthy had been lost to mandatory military service. The team's first-year promise took a tragic turn in mid-March. In the final game of the regular season, played on March 12, Stokes suffered an injury when his head hit the hardwood floor in a game versus the Minneapolis Lakers. Despite being knocked unconscious, Stokes would play in the playoffs against the Detroit Pistons. On the flight home after losing to the Pistons, Stokes suddenly fell ill and was rushed to the hospital upon landing. [1] As the Pistons swept the Royals, Stokes lapsed into a coma. It was revealed that Stokes suffered encephalopathy, a traumatic brain injury that damaged his motor control center. The injury would leave Maurice Stokes as a quadriplegic without the ability to speak. [1] Teammate Jack Twyman would serve as Stokes legal guardian until his death in 1970. The Stokes tragedy would ultimately decimate the team, with six other players not returning for next season. The team was also suddenly sold to local Cincinnati buyers, and coach Bobby Wanzer would also later be replaced. This first year, therefore, stands out from all the Cincinnati teams.
Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club Team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Rod Hundley | United States | West Virginia |
The Royals made the deal of the NBA draft with the first overall pick. They selected high-touted Rod Hundley, and then sent him along with two reserves to the Lakers for All-Star Clyde Lovellette and solid reserve Jim Paxson, who had been a college star at nearby Dayton. The Royals then tried to shore up their backcourt with selections Dick Duckett( 2 ), Gerry Paulson( 3 ),John Maglio ( 6 ) and Chet Forte ( 7 ). Forte was later the Director of ABC's Monday Night Football. As the season ended, local stars Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas were tabbed as territorial draft picks. Each would be selected by the team after the college senior seasons.
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x- St. Louis Hawks | 41 | 31 | .569 | - | 23-8 | 8-19 | 10-4 | 24-12 |
x- Detroit Pistons | 33 | 39 | .458 | 8 | 14-14 | 13-17 | 6-8 | 18-18 |
x- Cincinnati Royals | 33 | 39 | .458 | 8 | 17-12 | 10-19 | 6-8 | 17-19 |
Minneapolis Lakers | 19 | 53 | .264 | 22 | 10-15 | 4-21 | 5-17 | 13-23 |
1957-58 NBA Records | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | BOS | CIN | DET | MIN | NYK | PHI | STL | SYR |
Boston | β | 7β2 | 8β1 | 9β0 | 7β5 | 6β6 | 5β4 | 7β5 |
Cincinnati | 2β7 | β | 6β6 | 8β4 | 4β5 | 6β3 | 3β9 | 4β5 |
Detroit | 1β8 | 6β6 | β | 6β6 | 4β5 | 5β4 | 6β6 | 5β4 |
Minneapolis | 0β9 | 4β8 | 6β6 | β | 1β8 | 3β6 | 3β9 | 2β7 |
New York | 5β7 | 5β4 | 5β4 | 8β1 | β | 4β8 | 3β6 | 5β7 |
Philadelphia | 6β6 | 3β6 | 4β5 | 6β3 | 8β4 | β | 7β2 | 3β9 |
St. Louis | 4β5 | 9β3 | 6β6 | 9β3 | 6β3 | 2β7 | β | 5β4 |
Syracuse | 5β7 | 5β4 | 4β5 | 7β2 | 7β5 | 9β3 | 4β5 | β |
1957β58 Game log | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Date | Opponent | Score | High points | Record | |||||
1 | October 26 | Syracuse | 100β110 | Jack Twyman (32) | 1β0 | |||||
2 | November 1 | St. Louis | 92β99 | Clyde Lovellette (26) | 2β0 | |||||
3 | November 2 | @ St. Louis | 93β102 | Stokes, Twyman (17) | 2β1 | |||||
4 | November 3 | Detroit | 94β88 | Regan, Stokes (15) | 2β2 | |||||
5 | November 8 | Boston | 122β110 (OT) | Lovellette, Stokes (22) | 2β3 | |||||
6 | November 10 | Philadelphia | 106β101 | Jack Twyman (24) | 2β4 | |||||
7 | November 15 | New York | 99β101 | Clyde Lovellette (33) | 3β4 | |||||
8 | November 17 | St. Louis | 98β97 | Jack Twyman (23) | 3β5 | |||||
9 | November 19 | N Detroit | 75β92 | Clyde Lovellette (25) | 4β5 | |||||
10 | November 20 | @ Philadelphia | 99β89 | Clyde Lovellette (30) | 5β5 | |||||
11 | November 22 | @ Syracuse | 102β98 | Clyde Lovellette (30) | 6β5 | |||||
12 | November 27 | N Minneapolis | 106β107 | Clyde Lovellette (22) | 7β5 | |||||
13 | November 28 | @ St. Louis | 96β112 | Jack Twyman (19) | 7β6 | |||||
14 | November 29 | Detroit | 96β99 (OT) | Maurice Stokes (20) | 8β6 | |||||
15 | November 30 | @ Detroit | 96β100 | Clyde Lovellette (30) | 8β7 | |||||
16 | December 1 | Minneapolis | 89β90 | Clyde Lovellette (23) | 9β7 | |||||
17 | December 3 | @ New York | 104β110 | Clyde Lovellette (27) | 9β8 | |||||
18 | December 5 | N Detroit | 99β109 | Maurice Stokes (22) | 10β8 | |||||
19 | December 6 | New York | 112β97 | Lovellette, Stokes (21) | 10β9 | |||||
20 | December 7 | @ Detroit | 105β109 | Clyde Lovellette (31) | 10β10 | |||||
21 | December 8 | Philadelphia | 88β99 | Jack Twyman (24) | 11β10 | |||||
22 | December 10 | N St. Louis | 102β90 | Clyde Lovellette (30) | 11β11 | |||||
23 | December 11 | @ Boston | 104β116 | Clyde Lovellette (26) | 11β12 | |||||
24 | December 14 | N Syracuse | 104β100 | Clyde Lovellette (31) | 11β13 | |||||
25 | December 15 | @ Syracuse | 83β109 | Clyde Lovellette (23) | 11β14 | |||||
26 | December 20 | Syracuse | 122β113 | Jack Twyman (26) | 11β15 | |||||
27 | December 21 | @ Detroit | 101β112 | Clyde Lovellette (28) | 11β16 | |||||
28 | December 22 | Boston | 115β98 | Lovellette, Twyman (26) | 11β17 | |||||
29 | December 26 | N Syracuse | 104β100 | Clyde Lovellette (32) | 11β18 | |||||
30 | December 27 | St. Louis | 97β96 | Jack Twyman (25) | 11β19 | |||||
31 | December 28 | @ Minneapolis | 112β101 | Jack Twyman (33) | 12β19 | |||||
32 | December 29 | Minneapolis | 111β103 | Jack Twyman (33) | 12β20 | |||||
33 | December 31 | Detroit | 96β130 | Jack Twyman (30) | 13β20 | |||||
34 | January 3 | Philadelphia | 94β106 | Jack Twyman (28) | 14β20 | |||||
35 | January 5 | @ New York | 101β100 | Maurice Stokes (27) | 15β20 | |||||
36 | January 7 | N Detroit | 99β114 | Jack Twyman (26) | 16β20 | |||||
37 | January 8 | N New York | 123β105 | Maurice Stokes (26) | 16β21 | |||||
38 | January 10 | New York | 104β107 | Clyde Lovellette (34) | 17β21 | |||||
39 | January 11 | Syracuse | 100β105 | Dick Ricketts (22) | 18β21 | |||||
40 | January 12 | Boston | 97β115 | Jack Twyman (26) | 19β21 | |||||
41 | January 14 | N New York | 111β117 | Jack Twyman (34) | 20β21 | |||||
42 | January 16 | Minneapolis | 108β124 | Clyde Lovellette (30) | 21β21 | |||||
43 | January 17 | @ Detroit | 94β115 | Clyde Lovellette (23) | 21β22 | |||||
44 | January 19 | @ St. Louis | 90β108 | Clyde Lovellette (26) | 21β23 | |||||
45 | January 22 | @ Syracuse | 115β109 | Clyde Lovellette (27) | 22β23 | |||||
46 | January 24 | Philadelphia | 102β92 | Jim Paxson (24) | 22β24 | |||||
47 | January 26 | Detroit | 103β107 | Clyde Lovellette (25) | 23β24 | |||||
48 | January 30 | @ Minneapolis | 104β105 | Jack Twyman (25) | 23β25 | |||||
49 | January 31 | St. Louis | 92β100 | Clyde Lovellette (25) | 24β25 | |||||
50 | February 1 | @ St. Louis | 88β127 | Piontek, Regan (16) | 24β26 | |||||
51 | February 2 | @ Minneapolis | 95β106 | Dave Piontek (21) | 24β27 | |||||
52 | February 4 | N Boston | 87β107 | Clyde Lovellette (20) | 24β28 | |||||
53 | February 5 | @ Boston | 89β116 | Clyde Lovellette (16) | 24β29 | |||||
54 | February 7 | @ Philadelphia | 103β100 | Clyde Lovellette (26) | 25β29 | |||||
55 | February 8 | N Boston | 91β109 | Maurice Stokes (25) | 25β30 | |||||
56 | February 9 | Minneapolis | 104β121 | Clyde Lovellette (34) | 26β30 | |||||
57 | February 11 | N Minneapolis | 103β106 | Maurice Stokes (23) | 27β30 | |||||
58 | February 14 | New York | 103β92 | Jack Twyman (22) | 27β31 | |||||
59 | February 15 | @ New York | 97β99 | Clyde Lovellette (24) | 27β32 | |||||
60 | February 16 | @ Syracuse | 105β113 | Clyde Lovellette (30) | 27β33 | |||||
61 | February 20 | @ Boston | 92β94 | Maurice Stokes (28) | 27β34 | |||||
62 | February 21 | Detroit | 109β107 | Jack Twyman (24) | 27β35 | |||||
63 | February 22 | @ Minneapolis | 81β100 | Dave Piontek (14) | 27β36 | |||||
64 | February 23 | Minneapolis | 93β111 | Clyde Lovellette (25) | 28β36 | |||||
65 | February 26 | N St. Louis | 105β103 | Clyde Lovellette (27) | 28β37 | |||||
66 | March 1 | @ Philadelphia | 101β88 | Clyde Lovellette (29) | 29β37 | |||||
67 | March 2 | @ St. Louis | 93β103 | Maurice Stokes (23) | 29β38 | |||||
68 | March 4 | N Philadelphia | 97β91 | Clyde Lovellette (29) | 29β39 | |||||
69 | March 6 | @ Philadelphia | 110β108 | Clyde Lovellette (37) | 30β39 | |||||
70 | March 9 | @ Boston | 121β107 | Jack Twyman (30) | 31β39 | |||||
71 | March 10 | St. Louis | 84β122 | Lovellette, Twyman (23) | 32β39 | |||||
72 | March 12 | @ Minneapolis | 96β89 | Maurice Stokes (24) | 33β39 |
The first Cincinnati Royals game ever was a home game against Syracuse, 26 October 1957, a 110β100 win behind local star Jack Twyman. The team opened to good crowds with home games in their first ten. Nov 7β7, Dec 5β13 with injuries and extra road games, January 11β5, Feb 4β12 with a season-ending injury to Marshall, March 5β2, plus two playoff losses to Detroit, due to the permanent loss of Stokes.
1958 playoff game log | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Division Semifinals: 0β2 (home: 0β1; road: 0β1)
| |||||||||||||||||||||
1958 schedule |
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dick Duckett | |||||||||||
George King | |||||||||||
Clyde Lovellette | |||||||||||
Tom Marshall | |||||||||||
Monk Meineke | |||||||||||
Jerry Paulson | |||||||||||
Jim Paxson | |||||||||||
Dave Piontek | |||||||||||
Richie Regan | |||||||||||
Dick Ricketts | |||||||||||
Maurice Stokes | |||||||||||
Jack Twyman |
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
George King | |||||||||||
Clyde Lovellette | |||||||||||
Tom Marshall | |||||||||||
Monk Meineke | |||||||||||
Jim Paxson | |||||||||||
Dave Piontek | |||||||||||
Richie Regan | |||||||||||
Dick Ricketts | |||||||||||
Maurice Stokes | |||||||||||
Jack Twyman |