1955β56 Fort Wayne Pistons season | |
---|---|
Division champions | |
Head coach | Charles Eckman |
Arena | War Memorial Coliseum |
Results | |
Record | 37–35 (.514) |
Place | Division: 1st ( Western) |
Playoff finish |
NBA Finals (eliminated 1β4) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Local media | |
Television | WKJG-TV |
Radio | WOWO |
The 1955β56 Fort Wayne Pistons season was the eighth season for the Pistons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 15th season as a franchise.
The Pistons would finish with a 37-35 (.514) record, 1st in the NBA Western Division and the only division team above .500 on the season. In the Western Division Finals the Pistons defeated the St. Louis Hawks in a best-of-five series 3β2 to reach the NBA Finals for the second straight season. They would go on to lose the Finals in five games to the Philadelphia Warriors. [1] The team was led by forward Mel Hutchins (12.0 ppg, 7. rpg, NBA All-Star), forward George Yardley (17.4 ppg, 9.7 rpg, NBA All-Star) and center Larry Foust (16.2 ppg, 9.0 rpg, NBA All-Star). [2]
The Pistons also drafted their first black player in the team's history, Jesse Arnelle out of Penn State in the 2nd round of the 1955 NBA draft. Arnelle initially refused to sign with Fort Wayne, playing for the Harlem Globetrotters, but signed with the Pistons after the conclusion of the Globetrotters European tour, played in 31 games, averaging 4.7 ppg and 5.5 rpg, before breaking his nose in February to end the season. Arnelle did not return to Fort Wayne the following season, ending his professional basketball career. He became a successful lawyer and would serve on the Penn State Board of Trustees. [3] [4]
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x- Fort Wayne Pistons | 37 | 35 | .514 | - | 19-7 | 10-17 | 8-11 | 19-17 |
x- Minneapolis Lakers | 33 | 39 | .458 | 4 | 14-12 | 6-21 | 13-6 | 19-17 |
x- St. Louis Hawks | 33 | 39 | .458 | 4 | 15-11 | 11-17 | 7-11 | 18-18 |
Rochester Royals | 31 | 41 | .431 | 6 | 15-14 | 6-21 | 10-6 | 16-20 |
1955-56 NBA Records | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | BOS | FWP | MIN | NYK | PHI | ROC | STL | SYR |
Boston | β | 4β5 | 7β2 | 5β7 | 5β7 | 5β4 | 5β4 | 8β4 |
Fort Wayne | 5β4 | β | 5β7 | 5β4 | 4β5 | 7β5 | 7β5 | 4β5 |
Minneapolis | 2β7 | 7β5 | β | 5β4 | 3β6 | 7β5 | 5β7 | 4β5 |
New York | 7β5 | 4β5 | 4β5 | β | 6β6 | 6β3 | 4β5 | 4β8 |
Philadelphia | 7β5 | 5β4 | 6β3 | 6β6 | β | 6β3 | 6β3 | 9β3 |
Rochester | 4β5 | 5β7 | 5β7 | 3β6 | 3β6 | β | 6β6 | 5β4 |
St. Louis | 4β5 | 5β7 | 7β5 | 5β4 | 3β6 | 6β6 | β | 3β6 |
Syracuse | 4β8 | 5β4 | 5β4 | 8β4 | 3β9 | 4β5 | 6β3 | β |
1955β56 Game log | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Date | Opponent | Score | High points | Record | |||||
1 | November 5 | @ Syracuse | 113β114 (OT) | Hutchins, Yardley (24) | 0β1 | |||||
2 | November 6 | Minneapolis | 96β95 | Larry Foust (25) | 0β2 | |||||
3 | November 12 | N Rochester | 84β79 | Larry Foust (14) | 0β3 | |||||
4 | November 13 | Syracuse | 79β93 | Bob Houbregs (22) | 1β3 | |||||
5 | November 17 | N New York | 110β88 | George Yardley (22) | 1β4 | |||||
6 | November 19 | @ Boston | 102β104 | Larry Foust (25) | 1β5 | |||||
7 | November 20 | New York | 119β115 (OT) | Larry Foust (30) | 1β6 | |||||
8 | November 24 | Rochester | 93β104 | George Yardley (28) | 2β6 | |||||
9 | November 26 | @ Philadelphia | 82β87 | George Yardley (22) | 2β7 | |||||
10 | November 27 | St. Louis | 106β114 (OT) | George Yardley (29) | 3β7 | |||||
11 | November 29 | @ New York | 104β99 | Larry Foust (28) | 4β7 | |||||
12 | November 30 | @ Rochester | 76β87 | Odie Spears (19) | 4β8 | |||||
13 | December 4 | Boston | 90β111 | Larry Foust (18) | 5β8 | |||||
14 | December 6 | N Syracuse | 88β90 | Larry Foust (18) | 6β8 | |||||
15 | December 8 | Syracuse | 94β105 | Chuck Noble (28) | 7β8 | |||||
16 | December 10 | @ Rochester | 116β117 (OT) | Bob Houbregs (26) | 7β9 | |||||
17 | December 11 | Philadelphia | 91β96 | George Yardley (23) | 8β9 | |||||
18 | December 14 | N Minneapolis | 98β85 | Larry Foust (22) | 8β10 | |||||
19 | December 15 | @ Philadelphia | 73β80 | Noble, Yardley (14) | 8β11 | |||||
20 | December 17 | New York | 100β95 | George Yardley (17) | 8β12 | |||||
21 | December 18 | Minneapolis | 86β96 | Larry Foust (33) | 9β12 | |||||
22 | December 25 | New York | 87β92 | Bob Houbregs (15) | 10β12 | |||||
23 | December 26 | N St. Louis | 67β83 | George Yardley (15) | 11β12 | |||||
24 | December 29 | Rochester | 75β83 | Bob Houbregs (14) | 12β12 | |||||
25 | December 30 | N St. Louis | 89β90 | Hutchins, Phillip (18) | 13β12 | |||||
26 | January 1 | St. Louis | 68β85 | Chuck Noble (21) | 14β12 | |||||
27 | January 2 | N Minneapolis | 95β89 | Larry Foust (25) | 14β13 | |||||
28 | January 3 | @ Philadelphia | 82β102 | George Yardley (22) | 14β14 | |||||
29 | January 4 | @ Rochester | 88β86 | George Yardley (25) | 15β14 | |||||
30 | January 5 | N Philadelphia | 81β92 | George Yardley (21) | 16β14 | |||||
31 | January 7 | @ St. Louis | 108β97 | Foust, Noble (22) | 17β14 | |||||
32 | January 8 | St. Louis | 96β91 | George Yardley (20) | 17β15 | |||||
33 | January 10 | Boston | 89β105 | Chuck Noble (21) | 18β15 | |||||
34 | January 14 | @ Minneapolis | 94β117 | Larry Foust (21) | 18β16 | |||||
35 | January 15 | Minneapolis | 99β104 | Bob Houbregs (24) | 19β16 | |||||
36 | January 17 | N Boston | 85β91 | Larry Foust (18) | 19β17 | |||||
37 | January 18 | N Boston | 90β95 | George Yardley (30) | 19β18 | |||||
38 | January 19 | N St. Louis | 83β90 | Hutchins, Yardley (18) | 20β18 | |||||
39 | January 21 | @ Philadelphia | 92β91 | George Yardley (27) | 21β18 | |||||
40 | January 22 | Rochester | 93β111 | Corky Devlin (18) | 22β18 | |||||
41 | January 25 | N Boston | 101β100 | Mel Hutchins (24) | 23β18 | |||||
42 | January 27 | @ Boston | 106β97 | George Yardley (23) | 24β18 | |||||
43 | January 28 | @ New York | 92β91 (OT) | George Yardley (25) | 25β18 | |||||
44 | January 29 | Philadelphia | 85β99 | Bob Houbregs (18) | 26β18 | |||||
45 | February 2 | @ St. Louis | 90β98 | Andy Phillip (17) | 26β19 | |||||
46 | February 4 | N St. Louis | 98β94 | George Yardley (23) | 26β20 | |||||
47 | February 5 | @ Syracuse | 85β90 | Bob Houbregs (19) | 26β21 | |||||
48 | February 6 | Syracuse | 98β99 | George Yardley (26) | 27β21 | |||||
49 | February 8 | @ Minneapolis | 82β106 | Larry Foust (17) | 27β22 | |||||
50 | February 11 | @ Rochester | 93β97 | Bob Houbregs (23) | 27β23 | |||||
51 | February 12 | Minneapolis | 78β82 | George Yardley (28) | 28β23 | |||||
52 | February 13 | N Philadelphia | 105β94 | Bob Houbregs (22) | 28β24 | |||||
53 | February 15 | N Philadelphia | 101β78 | George Yardley (19) | 28β25 | |||||
54 | February 16 | Rochester | 81β93 | Larry Foust (18) | 29β25 | |||||
55 | February 18 | @ Syracuse | 84β85 | George Yardley (30) | 29β26 | |||||
56 | February 19 | @ St. Louis | 89β83 | Mel Hutchins (18) | 30β26 | |||||
57 | February 20 | N St. Louis | 84β82 | Mel Hutchins (15) | 30β27 | |||||
58 | February 21 | Rochester | 106β102 | Larry Foust (22) | 30β28 | |||||
59 | February 23 | @ Syracuse | 92β94 | Larry Foust (19) | 30β29 | |||||
60 | February 25 | @ Rochester | 97β72 | Larry Foust (22) | 31β29 | |||||
61 | February 26 | @ Minneapolis | 95β90 | Larry Foust (25) | 32β29 | |||||
62 | February 27 | Syracuse | 98β95 (OT) | Larry Foust (28) | 32β30 | |||||
63 | February 28 | @ New York | 99β95 | Larry Foust (19) | 33β30 | |||||
64 | February 29 | @ Boston | 99β106 | Larry Foust (26) | 33β31 | |||||
65 | March 2 | N New York | 97β104 | Mel Hutchins (21) | 34β31 | |||||
66 | March 3 | @ St. Louis | 86β92 | Bob Houbregs (16) | 34β32 | |||||
67 | March 4 | Rochester | 88β103 | George Yardley (22) | 35β32 | |||||
68 | March 7 | @ Minneapolis | 95β98 | Corky Devlin (19) | 35β33 | |||||
69 | March 8 | Minneapolis | 82β100 | George Yardley (26) | 36β33 | |||||
70 | March 10 | N Boston | 106β103 | George Yardley (26) | 37β33 | |||||
71 | March 11 | New York | 122β96 | Spears, Yardley (20) | 37β34 | |||||
72 | March 14 | @ Minneapolis | 96β100 | Houbregs, Yardley (20) | 37β35 |
1955β56 Fort Wayne Pistons season | |
---|---|
Division champions | |
Head coach | Charles Eckman |
Arena | War Memorial Coliseum |
Results | |
Record | 37–35 (.514) |
Place | Division: 1st ( Western) |
Playoff finish |
NBA Finals (eliminated 1β4) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Local media | |
Television | WKJG-TV |
Radio | WOWO |
The 1955β56 Fort Wayne Pistons season was the eighth season for the Pistons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 15th season as a franchise.
The Pistons would finish with a 37-35 (.514) record, 1st in the NBA Western Division and the only division team above .500 on the season. In the Western Division Finals the Pistons defeated the St. Louis Hawks in a best-of-five series 3β2 to reach the NBA Finals for the second straight season. They would go on to lose the Finals in five games to the Philadelphia Warriors. [1] The team was led by forward Mel Hutchins (12.0 ppg, 7. rpg, NBA All-Star), forward George Yardley (17.4 ppg, 9.7 rpg, NBA All-Star) and center Larry Foust (16.2 ppg, 9.0 rpg, NBA All-Star). [2]
The Pistons also drafted their first black player in the team's history, Jesse Arnelle out of Penn State in the 2nd round of the 1955 NBA draft. Arnelle initially refused to sign with Fort Wayne, playing for the Harlem Globetrotters, but signed with the Pistons after the conclusion of the Globetrotters European tour, played in 31 games, averaging 4.7 ppg and 5.5 rpg, before breaking his nose in February to end the season. Arnelle did not return to Fort Wayne the following season, ending his professional basketball career. He became a successful lawyer and would serve on the Penn State Board of Trustees. [3] [4]
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x- Fort Wayne Pistons | 37 | 35 | .514 | - | 19-7 | 10-17 | 8-11 | 19-17 |
x- Minneapolis Lakers | 33 | 39 | .458 | 4 | 14-12 | 6-21 | 13-6 | 19-17 |
x- St. Louis Hawks | 33 | 39 | .458 | 4 | 15-11 | 11-17 | 7-11 | 18-18 |
Rochester Royals | 31 | 41 | .431 | 6 | 15-14 | 6-21 | 10-6 | 16-20 |
1955-56 NBA Records | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | BOS | FWP | MIN | NYK | PHI | ROC | STL | SYR |
Boston | β | 4β5 | 7β2 | 5β7 | 5β7 | 5β4 | 5β4 | 8β4 |
Fort Wayne | 5β4 | β | 5β7 | 5β4 | 4β5 | 7β5 | 7β5 | 4β5 |
Minneapolis | 2β7 | 7β5 | β | 5β4 | 3β6 | 7β5 | 5β7 | 4β5 |
New York | 7β5 | 4β5 | 4β5 | β | 6β6 | 6β3 | 4β5 | 4β8 |
Philadelphia | 7β5 | 5β4 | 6β3 | 6β6 | β | 6β3 | 6β3 | 9β3 |
Rochester | 4β5 | 5β7 | 5β7 | 3β6 | 3β6 | β | 6β6 | 5β4 |
St. Louis | 4β5 | 5β7 | 7β5 | 5β4 | 3β6 | 6β6 | β | 3β6 |
Syracuse | 4β8 | 5β4 | 5β4 | 8β4 | 3β9 | 4β5 | 6β3 | β |
1955β56 Game log | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Date | Opponent | Score | High points | Record | |||||
1 | November 5 | @ Syracuse | 113β114 (OT) | Hutchins, Yardley (24) | 0β1 | |||||
2 | November 6 | Minneapolis | 96β95 | Larry Foust (25) | 0β2 | |||||
3 | November 12 | N Rochester | 84β79 | Larry Foust (14) | 0β3 | |||||
4 | November 13 | Syracuse | 79β93 | Bob Houbregs (22) | 1β3 | |||||
5 | November 17 | N New York | 110β88 | George Yardley (22) | 1β4 | |||||
6 | November 19 | @ Boston | 102β104 | Larry Foust (25) | 1β5 | |||||
7 | November 20 | New York | 119β115 (OT) | Larry Foust (30) | 1β6 | |||||
8 | November 24 | Rochester | 93β104 | George Yardley (28) | 2β6 | |||||
9 | November 26 | @ Philadelphia | 82β87 | George Yardley (22) | 2β7 | |||||
10 | November 27 | St. Louis | 106β114 (OT) | George Yardley (29) | 3β7 | |||||
11 | November 29 | @ New York | 104β99 | Larry Foust (28) | 4β7 | |||||
12 | November 30 | @ Rochester | 76β87 | Odie Spears (19) | 4β8 | |||||
13 | December 4 | Boston | 90β111 | Larry Foust (18) | 5β8 | |||||
14 | December 6 | N Syracuse | 88β90 | Larry Foust (18) | 6β8 | |||||
15 | December 8 | Syracuse | 94β105 | Chuck Noble (28) | 7β8 | |||||
16 | December 10 | @ Rochester | 116β117 (OT) | Bob Houbregs (26) | 7β9 | |||||
17 | December 11 | Philadelphia | 91β96 | George Yardley (23) | 8β9 | |||||
18 | December 14 | N Minneapolis | 98β85 | Larry Foust (22) | 8β10 | |||||
19 | December 15 | @ Philadelphia | 73β80 | Noble, Yardley (14) | 8β11 | |||||
20 | December 17 | New York | 100β95 | George Yardley (17) | 8β12 | |||||
21 | December 18 | Minneapolis | 86β96 | Larry Foust (33) | 9β12 | |||||
22 | December 25 | New York | 87β92 | Bob Houbregs (15) | 10β12 | |||||
23 | December 26 | N St. Louis | 67β83 | George Yardley (15) | 11β12 | |||||
24 | December 29 | Rochester | 75β83 | Bob Houbregs (14) | 12β12 | |||||
25 | December 30 | N St. Louis | 89β90 | Hutchins, Phillip (18) | 13β12 | |||||
26 | January 1 | St. Louis | 68β85 | Chuck Noble (21) | 14β12 | |||||
27 | January 2 | N Minneapolis | 95β89 | Larry Foust (25) | 14β13 | |||||
28 | January 3 | @ Philadelphia | 82β102 | George Yardley (22) | 14β14 | |||||
29 | January 4 | @ Rochester | 88β86 | George Yardley (25) | 15β14 | |||||
30 | January 5 | N Philadelphia | 81β92 | George Yardley (21) | 16β14 | |||||
31 | January 7 | @ St. Louis | 108β97 | Foust, Noble (22) | 17β14 | |||||
32 | January 8 | St. Louis | 96β91 | George Yardley (20) | 17β15 | |||||
33 | January 10 | Boston | 89β105 | Chuck Noble (21) | 18β15 | |||||
34 | January 14 | @ Minneapolis | 94β117 | Larry Foust (21) | 18β16 | |||||
35 | January 15 | Minneapolis | 99β104 | Bob Houbregs (24) | 19β16 | |||||
36 | January 17 | N Boston | 85β91 | Larry Foust (18) | 19β17 | |||||
37 | January 18 | N Boston | 90β95 | George Yardley (30) | 19β18 | |||||
38 | January 19 | N St. Louis | 83β90 | Hutchins, Yardley (18) | 20β18 | |||||
39 | January 21 | @ Philadelphia | 92β91 | George Yardley (27) | 21β18 | |||||
40 | January 22 | Rochester | 93β111 | Corky Devlin (18) | 22β18 | |||||
41 | January 25 | N Boston | 101β100 | Mel Hutchins (24) | 23β18 | |||||
42 | January 27 | @ Boston | 106β97 | George Yardley (23) | 24β18 | |||||
43 | January 28 | @ New York | 92β91 (OT) | George Yardley (25) | 25β18 | |||||
44 | January 29 | Philadelphia | 85β99 | Bob Houbregs (18) | 26β18 | |||||
45 | February 2 | @ St. Louis | 90β98 | Andy Phillip (17) | 26β19 | |||||
46 | February 4 | N St. Louis | 98β94 | George Yardley (23) | 26β20 | |||||
47 | February 5 | @ Syracuse | 85β90 | Bob Houbregs (19) | 26β21 | |||||
48 | February 6 | Syracuse | 98β99 | George Yardley (26) | 27β21 | |||||
49 | February 8 | @ Minneapolis | 82β106 | Larry Foust (17) | 27β22 | |||||
50 | February 11 | @ Rochester | 93β97 | Bob Houbregs (23) | 27β23 | |||||
51 | February 12 | Minneapolis | 78β82 | George Yardley (28) | 28β23 | |||||
52 | February 13 | N Philadelphia | 105β94 | Bob Houbregs (22) | 28β24 | |||||
53 | February 15 | N Philadelphia | 101β78 | George Yardley (19) | 28β25 | |||||
54 | February 16 | Rochester | 81β93 | Larry Foust (18) | 29β25 | |||||
55 | February 18 | @ Syracuse | 84β85 | George Yardley (30) | 29β26 | |||||
56 | February 19 | @ St. Louis | 89β83 | Mel Hutchins (18) | 30β26 | |||||
57 | February 20 | N St. Louis | 84β82 | Mel Hutchins (15) | 30β27 | |||||
58 | February 21 | Rochester | 106β102 | Larry Foust (22) | 30β28 | |||||
59 | February 23 | @ Syracuse | 92β94 | Larry Foust (19) | 30β29 | |||||
60 | February 25 | @ Rochester | 97β72 | Larry Foust (22) | 31β29 | |||||
61 | February 26 | @ Minneapolis | 95β90 | Larry Foust (25) | 32β29 | |||||
62 | February 27 | Syracuse | 98β95 (OT) | Larry Foust (28) | 32β30 | |||||
63 | February 28 | @ New York | 99β95 | Larry Foust (19) | 33β30 | |||||
64 | February 29 | @ Boston | 99β106 | Larry Foust (26) | 33β31 | |||||
65 | March 2 | N New York | 97β104 | Mel Hutchins (21) | 34β31 | |||||
66 | March 3 | @ St. Louis | 86β92 | Bob Houbregs (16) | 34β32 | |||||
67 | March 4 | Rochester | 88β103 | George Yardley (22) | 35β32 | |||||
68 | March 7 | @ Minneapolis | 95β98 | Corky Devlin (19) | 35β33 | |||||
69 | March 8 | Minneapolis | 82β100 | George Yardley (26) | 36β33 | |||||
70 | March 10 | N Boston | 106β103 | George Yardley (26) | 37β33 | |||||
71 | March 11 | New York | 122β96 | Spears, Yardley (20) | 37β34 | |||||
72 | March 14 | @ Minneapolis | 96β100 | Houbregs, Yardley (20) | 37β35 |
1956 playoff game log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division Finals: 3β2 (home: 2β1; road: 1β1)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NBA Finals: 1β4 (home: 1β1; road: 0β3)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1956 schedule |