Akron Firestone Non-Skids (original) (raw)

Akron Firestone Non-Skids

Founded: 1936 1937 joined NBL Folded: 1941 Location: Akron, OH Owner: Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Arena: Built in: Capacity: Titles: 2

The Akron Firestone Non-Skids was a professional basketball team in Akron, Ohio. It was one of the founding teams in the National Basketball League, which formed in 1937. In 1949, this league joined with the Basketball Association of America to form the National Basketball Association.

The Akron Firestone Non-Skids was named for the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, which was headquartered in Akron. The team played for four seasons (1937-1941). During the 1937-1938 season, the Akron Firestone Non-Skids won the National Basketball League's Eastern Division, with a record of fourteen wins and four losses. The team, however, lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots, another team from Akron. The next season, the Non-Skids, with a record of twenty-four wins and three losses, won the Eastern Division again, and this time triumphed in the playoffs, emerging as the National Basketball League's champion. With a record of eighteen wins and nine losses, the team successfully defended its championship the next season.

During the 1940-1941 season the Akron Firestone Non-Skids finished third in the league, with a record of thirteen wins and eleven losses. The team lost in the first round of the playoffs. Following the season, the Akron Firestone Non-Skids disbanded, leaving Akron with only one team, the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots, to represent the city in the National Basketball League.

In their 1941 playoff loss, the Firestones may have been the first professional basketball team to travel by air as they flew from Detroit to Akron.

One interesting player that played for the Non-Skids is Howard "Soup" Cable. Cable may be the first recorded player to jump from High School to the pro's, which he did in 1937.

Chuck Taylor, the guy for whom the shoes are named after, was a player for the Non-skids and also an employee of Converse; who made the Chuck Taylor All--stars shoe.

Season W L W/L% Finish Playoffs 1940-41 Akron Firestone Non-Skids 13 11 .542 3 Lost NBL Semifinals 1939-40 Akron Firestone Non-Skids 19 9 .679 1 Won NBL Championship 1938-39 Akron Firestone Non-Skids 24 3 .889 1 Won NBL Championship 1937-38 Akron Firestone Non-Skids 14 4 .778 1 Lost Eastern Division Semifinals

Jack Jennings