Editing Providence Steamrollers

{{short description|Defunct American basketball team}}
{{about|the 1940s basketball team|the 1920s [[National Football League|NFL]] team |Providence Steamrollers (NFL)}}
{{Infobox basketball club
| logo = Providence Steamrollers logo.svg
| name = Providence Steamrollers
| division = [[Eastern Division (NBA)|Eastern]]
| founded = 1946
| folded = 1949
| history = '''Providence Steamrollers'''<br />1946–1949
| city = [[Providence, Rhode Island]]
| arena = [[Rhode Island Auditorium]]
| owner = [[Louis Pieri]]
| gm = [[Joe Fay]]
| colors = Burgundy, pink, black<br />{{color box|#AC162C}} {{color box|#FFBF9E}} {{color box|#010101}}
}}

The '''Providence Steamrollers''' were a [[Basketball Association of America]] team based in [[Providence, Rhode Island]].<ref>[https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/PRO/ Providence Steam Rollers Franchise Index]</ref> As of 2025, the Steamrollers were the last professional sports franchise from one of the [[Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada#"Big Four" leagues|Big Four]] leagues to be based in [[Rhode Island]].

==Franchise history==
The Steamrollers were one of the original eleven NBA franchises (when the league was called the Basketball Association of America).  The franchise posted an all-time record of 46–122 (.274) before folding after three seasons.

The Steamrollers still hold the dubious NBA record for the fewest games won in a season with six, in the [[1947-48 NBA season|1947–48 season]], paired with 42 losses. However, the [[2011–12 Charlotte Bobcats season|2011–2012 Charlotte Bobcats]] hold the record for the lowest winning percentage in NBA history, with .106, the result of a 7–59 record.  During that 1947–48 season, the Steamrollers' coach [[Nat Hickey]] activated himself as a player for two games, the second of which was two days before his 46th birthday, setting a still-standing record as the oldest player in NBA history.

On August 3, 1949, the Steamrollers would join the [[Indianapolis Jets]] as the only teams from the [[Basketball Association of America]] side of the BAA-[[National Basketball League (United States)|NBL]] merger in what's now known as the [[NBA]] to not join in on the merger and survive as a team. Nine days later, seven of the Steamrollers' players would be bought out and play for the [[Boston Celtics]] instead.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bradley|first=Robert D.|title=The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts|year=2013|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810890695}}, pg. 423</ref>

==Christmas Tradition==
The Steamrollers took on the New York Knicks on Christmas Day in 1947 in the first Christmas Day game in NBA history.  The Steamrollers lost the game to the Knicks 89–75 in what would become an annual tradition for the NBA.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://nbahoopsonline.com/teams/Xdefunct/ProvidenceSteamrollers/index.html | title=Providence Steamrollers }}</ref>

==Attempts to bring the Steamrollers back==
In 1980 entrepreneur Robert "Skip" Chernov attempted to bring the Steamrollers back to the NBA.  Chernov had purchased the rights to the Steamrollers from Lou Pieri's estate and believed that the NBA bylaws at the time would allow him to resurrect the franchise.  The NBA led by Chief Counsel David Stern disagreed, but Chernov, undeterred, sued the NBA.  Chernov asked the courts to allow the Steamrollers return to the NBA and to grant them to first overall draft pick in the 1980 draft.  Ultimately, the court ruled in the NBA's favor and the short-lived attempt to resurrect the Providence Steamrollers failed.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://nbahoopsonline.com/teams/Xdefunct/ProvidenceSteamrollers/SteamrollersResurrection.html | title=The failed resurrection of the Providence Steamrollers }}</ref>

==Players of note==
* [[Ernie Calverley]] – Second-team All-NBA and led league in assists during NBA's first season
* [[George Nostrand]] – Tallest player in the NBA's first year
* [[Howie Shannon]] – [[NBA Rookie of the Year Award#Unofficial winners|Leading NBA rookie]] in 1949
* [[Nat Hickey]] – Oldest player in NBA history
* [[Kenny Sailors]] – Led team in scoring in 1948 and 1949

===[[Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame]]===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="5" style="{{NBA color cell |Providence Steamrollers}};"|Providence Steamrollers Hall of Famers
|-
! colspan="5" style="{{NBA color cell|Providence Steamrollers}};"|Coaches
|-
! colspan=2|Name !! Position !! Tenure !! Inducted
|-
| colspan=2|[[Ken Loeffler]] || Head Coach || 1948–1949 || 1964
|}

== Draft ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Player name
!College
!Year
|-
|[[Howie Shannon]]
|Kansas State University
|1949
|-
|[[Ed Leede]]
|Dartmouth College
|1949
|-
|[[Warren Perkins]]
|Tulane University
|1949
|-
|[[Ray Corley]]
|Georgetown University
|1949
|-
|[[Bob Royer]]
|Indiana State University
|1949
|-
|[[Paul Courty|Paul Courtey]]
|University of Oklahoma
|1949
|-
|[[Carl Shaeffer|Carl Schaeffer]]
|University of Alabama
|1949
|-
|[[Bill Tanzler]]
|University of Florida
|1949
|-
|[[Jack Theolan]]
|DePaul University
|1949
|-
|[[Andy Tonkovich]]
|Marshall University
|1948
|-
|[[A. L. Bennett|Al Bennett]] 
|Oklahoma State University
|1948
|-
|[[Jack Coleman (basketball)|Jack Coleman]]
|University of Louisville
|1948
|-
|[[Ed Faber]]
|Trinity University
|1948
|-
|[[Verl Heap]]
|Arizona State University
|1948
|-
|[[Otto Schnellbacher]]
|University of Kansas
|1948
|-
|[[Brady Walker]]
|Brigham Young University
|1948
|-
|[[Walt Dropo]]
|University of Connecticut
|1947
|-
|Joe Barry
|
|1947
|-
|Dick Furey
|University of St. Thomas
|1947
|-
|[[Bob Hubbard]] 
|Springfield College
|1947
|-
|Bob Joyce
|Bates College
|1947
|-
|[[Roy Lipscomb]]
|St. Mary's College of Maryland
|1947
|-
|John Mills
|Hofstra University
|1947
|-
|[[Al Nicolas]]
|University of Rhode Island
|1947
|}

<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/PRO/draft.html|title=Providence Steam Rollers Draft Picks {{!}} Basketball-Reference.com|website=Basketball-Reference.com|language=en|access-date=2018-11-13}}</ref>

==Coaches and others==
*[[Robert Morris (basketball)|Robert Morris]] (1946–47)
*[[Hank Soar]] (1947–48)
*[[Nat Hickey]] (1948)
*[[Ken Loeffler]] (1948–49)

==Season-by-season record==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
| style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;"|'''[[List of NBA champions|BAA champions]]''' 
| style="text-align:center; background:#D0E7FF;"|'''Division champions''' 
| style="text-align:center; background:#96CDCD;"|'''Playoff berth''' 
|}

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%"
|-
! scope="col"|[[List of National Basketball Association seasons|Season]]
! scope="col"|League
! scope="col"|[[Division (sport)|Division]]
! scope="col"|Finish
! scope="col"|Wins
! scope="col"|Losses
! scope="col"|[[Winning percentage|Win%]]
! scope="col"|[[Games behind|GB]]
! scope="col"|[[NBA playoffs|Playoffs]]
! scope="col"|[[National Basketball Association awards|Awards]]
|-
| [[1946–47 Providence Steamrollers season|1946–47]] || [[National Basketball Association|BAA]] || [[Eastern Division (NBA)|Eastern]] || 4th || 28 || 32 || {{winpct|28|32}} || 21 || — || —
|-
| [[1947–48 Providence Steamrollers season|1947–48]] || BAA || Eastern || 4th || 6 || 42 || {{winpct|6|42}} || 21 || — || —
|-
| [[1948–49 Providence Steamrollers season|1948–49]] || BAA || Eastern || 6th || 12 || 48 || {{winpct|12|48}} || 26 || — || —
|-
! colspan="4"|Regular season record || 46 || 122 || {{winpct|46|122}} || colspan="3"|1946–1949
|-
! colspan="4"|Playoff record || 0 || 0 || {{winpct|0|0}} || colspan="3"|&nbsp;
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://nbahoopsonline.com/teams/Xdefunct/ProvidenceSteamrollers/index.html Providence Steam Rollers history]

{{NBAdefunct}}

[[Category:Providence Steamrollers| ]]
[[Category:Defunct NBA teams]]
[[Category:Basketball Association of America teams]]
[[Category:Basketball teams in Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Sports in Providence, Rhode Island|Steamrollers]]
[[Category:Basketball teams established in 1946]]
[[Category:Basketball teams disestablished in 1949]]
[[Category:1946 establishments in Rhode Island]]
[[Category:1949 disestablishments in Rhode Island]]