1943 World Professional Basketball Tournament


The 1943 World Professional Basketball Tournament was the fifth edition of the World Professional Basketball Tournament. It was held in Chicago, Illinois, during the days of 15–18 March 1943 and featured 12 teams, with the teams mostly being independently run teams that also competed alongside the four remaining teams that were from the National Basketball League at the time because of World War II. The Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons got their revenge on the NBL champion Sheboygan Red Skins by winning 48–40 over them in the quarterfinal match, but were upset by the Oshkosh All-Stars in the semifinals by a close 40–39 win by Oshkosh. Meanwhile, the other finalist team, the Washington Bears, were an all-black team that was composed of New York Renaissance players that lost only one time in the over 50 games they played in during the independent season they had under that name. One player that was originally on the Bears' roster earlier in the season, Wilmeth Sidat-Singh, had left the team to enlist in the all-black Tuskegee Airmen fighter squadron, but tragically died in a plane crash during World War II months after the tournament concluded on May 9, 1943, at the young age of 25. This year's event was won by the Washington Bears, which included many former New York Renaissance players and coincidentally was the final year that an independent team would win the WPBT, who defeated the Oshkosh All-Stars 43–31 in the championship game. The Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons came in third after beating the Dayton Dive Bombers 58–52 in the third-place game. Despite his team not even making it to the championship match, Curly Armstrong of the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Individual awards

All-Tournament First team

All-Tournament Second team