The NBL champion usually won this tournament, with three exceptions: the New York Rens won the first WPBT in 1939,[2] while the
Harlem Globetrotters—a strongly competitive squad in those days—won the following year.[3] In 1943, the Washington Bears (with many New York Rens players on their roster) won the tournament. The NBL's
Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons won the most titles (three, from 1944 to 1946), while the NBL's
Oshkosh All-Stars made the most finals appearances with five, winning only once (in 1942).
Twenty-seven teams entered the tournament in various years but did not win a game; eight teams had one win.
The
New York Celtics played in the initial tournament in 1939, but lost their only game. Another well-known team, the
Philadelphia Sphas, had a win and a loss in their only appearance, in 1941 .
1st Place: Oshkosh All-Stars 43- Detroit Eagles 41
MVP- Ed Riska (Oshkosh All-Stars)
Leading Championship Game Scorers:
Gene Englund (Oshkosh All-Stars) 17
Buddy Jeanette (Detroit Eagles ) 14
3rd Place: Long Island Grumman Flyers 43- Harlem Globetrotters 41
5th Place: Aberdeen Army Ordnance Training Center, Sheboygan Redskins, Chicago Bruins, New York Rens
9th Place: Detroit A.A.A., Columbus Bobb Chevrolets, Northern Indiana Steelers, Davenport Central Turner Rockets, Toledo White Huts, Hagerstown Conoco Oilers, Indianapolis Kautskys, Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons
Dave Quinn; John Duxbury; Steven Brainerd; William F. Himmelman; Steve Dimitry; Robert Bradley.
"World Professional Basketball Tournament 1939—1948". The Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved 2013-04-22.
Schleppi, John. (2008). Chicago's Showcase of Basketball: The World Tournament of Professional Basketball and the College All-Star Game. Haworth, New Jersey: St. Johann Press.
ISBN978-1878282491.