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1957–58  St. Louis Hawks season
NBA champions
Division champions
Head coach Alex Hannum
Arena Kiel Auditorium
Results
Record41–31 (.569)
PlaceDivision: 1st ( Western)
Playoff finish NBA Champions
(Defeated Celtics 4-2)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
< 1956–57 1958–59 >

The 1957–58 St. Louis Hawks season was the third for the franchise in St. Louis, ninth in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and 12th overall. Coming off their trip to the 1957 NBA Finals, the Hawks won the Western Division by 8 games with a record of 41 wins and 31 losses. Bob Pettit ranked 3rd in scoring and 2nd in rebounding. [1] In the Western Finals, the Hawks would beat the Detroit Pistons in 5 games. The Hawks would then face the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. After Games 1 and 2, the teams headed to St. Louis with the series tied at a game apiece. The Hawks took Game 3, as the Celtics lost Bill Russell to an ankle injury. [1] Despite playing without Russell, the Celtics were triumphant in Game 4. The Hawks pulled out a 2-point victory in the Game 5 to take control of the series. Needing one more win for their first NBA Championship, the Hawks beat the Celtics 110–109 in Game 6. Bob Pettit scored 50 points playing against an injured Bill Russell as the Hawks and owner Ben Kerner won their first NBA Title. [1]

The Hawks were the second St. Louis–based pro sports team to win a major championship, joining the, then, six-time World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball. They would be followed by five more World Series championships by the Cardinals, a championship by the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV, and a championship by the St. Louis Blues in the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals which made St. Louis the eighth city to win a championship in each of the four major U.S. sports. The Hawks were the last non-integrated team to win an NBA title; every NBA champion since has had at least one African-American player.

The 1958 title remains the only one to be won by the franchise, which has been based in Atlanta since 1968.

Roster

St. Louis Hawks roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
PF 11 Coleman, Jack 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1924-05-23 Louisville
PF 12 Davis, Walt 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1931-01-05 Texas A&M
SF 16 Hagan, Cliff 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1931-12-09 Kentucky
C 20 Macauley, Ed 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1928-03-22 Saint Louis
PG 22 Martin, Slater 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1925-10-22 Texas
SG 21 McMahon, Jack 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1928-12-03 St. John's
C 12 Morrison, Red 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1932-04-26 Idaho
SG 17 Park, Med 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1933-04-11 Missouri
PF 9 Pettit, Bob 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1932-12-12 LSU
G/F 19 Selvy, Frank 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1932-11-09 Furman
C 13 Share, Chuck 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1927-03-14 Bowling Green
PG 15 Wilfong, Win 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1933-03-18 Memphis
Head coach

Alex Hannum

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster
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Regular season

Season standings

Western Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x- St. Louis Hawks 41 31 .569 - 23-8 8-19 10-4 24-12
x- Detroit Pistons 33 39 .458 8 14-14 13-17 6-8 18-18
x- Cincinnati Royals 33 39 .458 8 17-12 10-19 6-8 17-19
Minneapolis Lakers 19 53 .264 22 10-15 4-21 5-17 13-23

Record vs. opponents

1957-58 NBA Records
Team BOS CIN DET MIN NYK PHI STL SYR
Boston — 7–2 8–1 9–0 7–5 6–6 5–4 7–5
Cincinnati 2–7 — 6–6 8–4 4–5 6–3 3–9 4–5
Detroit 1–8 6–6 — 6–6 4–5 5–4 6–6 5–4
Minneapolis 0–9 4–8 6–6 — 1–8 3–6 3–9 2–7
New York 5–7 5–4 5–4 8–1 — 4–8 3–6 5–7
Philadelphia 6–6 3–6 4–5 6–3 8–4 — 7–2 3–9
St. Louis 4–5 9–3 6–6 9–3 6–3 2–7 — 5–4
Syracuse 5–7 5–4 4–5 7–2 7–5 9–3 4–5 —

Game log

1957–58 Game log
# Date Opponent Score High points Record
1 October 22 Boston 115–90 Bob Pettit (26) 0–1
2 October 23 N New York 95–112 Cliff Hagan (19) 0–2
3 October 26 Minneapolis 84–112 Bob Pettit (27) 1–2
4 November 1 @ Cincinnati 92–99 Bob Pettit (45) 1–3
5 November 2 Cincinnati 93–102 Slater Martin (25) 2–3
6 November 5 Syracuse 101–115 Bob Pettit (34) 3–3
7 November 9 Philadelphia 100–105 Bob Pettit (23) 4–3
8 November 11 @ Boston 88–92 Ed Macauley (19) 4–4
9 November 15 @ Syracuse 86–91 Cliff Hagan (22) 4–5
10 November 16 Syracuse 101–118 Bob Pettit (33) 5–5
11 November 17 @ Cincinnati 98–97 Bob Pettit (24) 6–5
12 November 19 New York 115–118 Bob Pettit (38) 7–5
13 November 23 Detroit 110–115 Cliff Hagan (40) 8–5
14 November 26 @ New York 120–110 Bob Pettit (27) 9–5
15 November 27 @ Detroit 121–110 Bob Pettit (27) 10–5
16 November 28 Cincinnati 96–112 Bob Pettit (28) 11–5
17 November 30 @ Minneapolis 113–118 Bob Pettit (28) 11–6
18 December 3 N Minneapolis 115–108 Bob Pettit (31) 12–6
19 December 5 @ Philadelphia 109–124 Slater Martin (27) 12–7
20 December 6 @ Boston 97–111 Bob Pettit (28) 12–8
21 December 8 New York 113–110 Cliff Hagan (24) 12–9
22 December 10 N Cincinnati 102–90 Bob Pettit (31) 13–9
23 December 11 N New York 135–126 Bob Pettit (43) 14–9
24 December 12 N Boston 97–94 Cliff Hagan (28) 15–9
25 December 14 New York 124–136 Bob Pettit (23) 16–9
26 December 15 @ Minneapolis 138–118 Cliff Hagan (40) 17–9
27 December 17 N Detroit 106–99 Bob Pettit (36) 18–9
28 December 21 N Syracuse 136–146 Bob Pettit (51) 19–9
29 December 22 Minneapolis 115–123 Cliff Hagan (31) 20–9
30 December 26 Detroit 110–106 Cliff Hagan (21) 20–10
31 December 27 @ Cincinnati 97–96 Ed Macauley (25) 21–10
32 December 28 Boston 107–112 Cliff Hagan (33) 22–10
33 December 30 N Minneapolis 105–98 Ed Macauley (27) 23–10
34 January 2 @ Philadelphia 93–95 Ed Macauley (26) 23–21
35 January 5 Detroit 93–95 Bob Pettit (26) 24–11
36 January 7 @ New York 114–112 Ed Macauley (25) 25–11
37 January 10 @ Philadelphia 93–124 Share, Wilfong (15) 25–12
38 January 11 Boston 98–102 Cliff Hagan (25) 26–12
39 January 12 Minneapolis 105–111 Cliff Hagan (27) 27–12
40 January 14 Philadelphia 110–109 Cliff Hagan (36) 27–13
41 January 16 @ Syracuse 96–112 Hagan, Pettit (24) 27–14
42 January 17 N Minneapolis 110–112 (OT) Cliff Hagan (32) 27–15
43 January 18 Detroit 103–105 Bob Pettit (40) 28–15
44 January 19 Cincinnati 90–108 Bob Pettit (28) 29–15
45 January 25 @ Detroit 98–105 Ed Macauley (24) 29–16
46 January 26 Philadelphia 125–112 Cliff Hagan (32) 29–17
47 January 28 N Philadelphia 123–109 Bob Pettit (29) 30–17
48 January 29 @ Boston 101–111 Bob Pettit (22) 30–18
49 January 31 @ Cincinnati 92–100 Cliff Hagan (23) 30–19
50 February 1 Cincinnati 88–127 Cliff Hagan (24) 31–19
51 February 2 Syracuse 102–100 Cliff Hagan (29) 31–20
52 February 4 @ New York 116–120 Cliff Hagan (41) 31–21
53 February 7 N Detroit 107–125 Cliff Hagan (19) 31–22
54 February 8 @ Syracuse 103–102 Bob Pettit (32) 32–22
55 February 9 @ Philadelphia 98–105 Bob Pettit (29) 32–23
56 February 11 New York 105–107 Win Wilfong (25) 33–23
57 February 12 @ Detroit 122–105 Bob Pettit (25) 34–23
58 February 14 @ Minneapolis 104–100 Bob Pettit (23) 35–23
59 February 16 Detroit 100–98 Bob Pettit (27) 35–24
60 February 18 Minneapolis 98–118 Bob Pettit (33) 36–24
61 February 21 Boston 100–119 Bob Pettit (29) 37–24
62 February 22 @ Detroit 96–98 Cliff Hagan (32) 37–25
63 February 23 @ Syracuse 92–101 Bob Pettit (21) 37–26
64 February 25 N Detroit 113–114 (OT) Cliff Hagan (34) 37–27
65 February 26 N Cincinnati 105–103 Ed Macauley (29) 38–27
66 March 2 Cincinnati 93–103 Bob Pettit (21) 39–27
67 March 5 @ Boston 102–109 Bob Pettit (30) 39–28
68 March 7 Syracuse 100–102 Bob Pettit (39) 40–28
69 March 8 Minneapolis 123–126 Hagan, Pettit (25) 41–28
70 March 9 @ Minneapolis 99–107 Bob Pettit (28) 41–29
71 March 10 @ Cincinnati 84–122 Hagan, Pettit (17) 41–30
72 March 11 Philadelphia 106–101 Bob Pettit (30) 41–31

Playoffs

1958 playoff game log
Division Finals: 4–1 (home: 2–1; road: 2–0)
Game Date Team Score High points Location
Attendance		 Series
1 March 19 Detroit W 114–111 Cliff Hagan (38) Kiel Auditorium
7,328 		1–0
2 March 22 @ Detroit W 99–96 Cliff Hagan (27) University of Detroit Fieldhouse 2–0
3 March 23 Detroit L 89–109 Cliff Hagan (29) Kiel Auditorium
9,321 		2–1
4 March 25 @ Detroit W 145–101 Cliff Hagan (28) Detroit Olympia 3–1
5 March 27 Detroit W 120–96 Cliff Hagan (32) Kiel Auditorium
7,661 		4–1
NBA Finals: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds Location
Attendance		 Series
1 March 29 @ Boston W 104–102 Cliff Hagan (33) Bob Pettit (19) Boston Garden
3,652 		1–0
2 March 30 @ Boston L 112–136 Cliff Hagan (37) Cliff Hagan (12) Boston Garden
10,249 		1–1
3 April 2 Boston W 111–108 Bob Pettit (32) Bob Pettit (19) Kiel Auditorium
10,148 		2–1
4 April 5 Boston L 98–109 Cliff Hagan (27) Bob Pettit (17) Kiel Auditorium
10,216 		2–2
5 April 9 @ Boston W 102–100 Bob Pettit (33) Bob Pettit (21) Boston Garden
13,909 		3–2
6 April 12 Boston W 110–109 Bob Pettit (50) Bob Pettit (19) Kiel Auditorium
10,216 		4–2
1958 schedule

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ a b c "St. Louis Hawks – Sports Ecyclopedia".
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