PIPittsburgh Ironmen

Franchise history

The Pittsburgh Ironmen were a charter member of the Basketball Association of America, playing out of Duquesne Gardens in the league's inaugural 1946-47 season before it became the NBA in 1949. The Ironmen were the BAA's weakest team that year, finishing last in the Western Division at 15-45; forward Coulby Gunther led the club at 14.1 points per game. Their reward for the league's worst record was the first overall pick in the 1947 BAA draft, used on Clifton McNeely, who never actually played in the league. Financial losses, common across the BAA's shakiest first-year markets, made the franchise unworkable, and Pittsburgh dropped out of the league on July 27, 1947, after ownership failed to find a group willing to keep it running. No relocation followed, and Pittsburgh has never hosted another NBA franchise.

Sources

• Pittsburgh Ironmen — Wikipedia
• 1946-47 Pittsburgh Ironmen — Basketball-Reference