Golden Basketball Magazine
NBA Finals - Game 7
1951: New York Knicks @ Rochester Royals

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The league we know today as the National Basketball Association (NBA) began in 1947 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA).
  • From the beginning, the league imitated baseball and the NFL with two conferences, Eastern and Western, which each determined a champion through playoffs following the regular season.
  • The conference winners met in a best-of-seven championship series.
  • None of the first four finals went the full seven games.
  • Finally, the 1951 title series went the distance.

The 1951 NBA season ended with these results.

Eastern Division
Team W L % GB
Philadelphia Warriors 40 26 .606 --
Boston Celtics 39 30 .565 2.5
New York Knicks 36 30 .545 4
Syracuse Nationals 32 34 .485 8
Baltimore Bullets 24 42 .364 16
Washington Capitols 10 25 .286 14.5
Western Division
Team W L % GB
Minneapolis Lakers 44 24 .647 --
Rochester Royals 41 27 .603 3
Fort Wayne Pistons 32 36 .471 12
Indianapolis Olympians 31 37 .456 13
Tri-Cities Blackhawks 25 43 .368 19
         
  • The league shed six teams following the 1949-50 season, losing three to the National Professional Basketball League, which lasted only one year, and another three folding.
  • But the Washington Capitols didn't survive the season either, shutting down after 35 games.
  • The lowest score in NBA history occurred November 22, 1950, when the Fort Wayne Pistons defeated the Minneapolis Lakers 19-18. The travesty accelerated the push to implement a shot clock a few seasons later.
  • The first NBA All-Star Game was held in 1951. The East beat the West 111-94 in the Boston Garden.

The top four in each division met in the playoffs, and neither regular season winner survived to the finals. In fact, the East-leading Warriors didn't survive the first round.

  • The first round consisted of four best-of-three series.
    Knicks over Celtics 2-0
    Nationals over Warriors 2-0
    Lakers over Olympians 2-1
    Royals over Pistons 2-1
  • The conference finals were best-of-five.
    Knicks over Nationals 3-2
    Royals over Lakers 3-1
The Royals had balanced scoring.
  • 6'9" C Arnie Risen led the team with 16.3 points/game.
  • G Bob Davies was not far behind at 15.2 ppg.
    Davies has been credited with inventing the behind-the-back pass.
  • Two others averaged in double figures: F Jack Coleman 11.4 and G Bobby Wanzer 10.8.
  • In the first season the NBA kept track of rebounds, Risen led the club in that category as well, with 12.0 per game. Next came Coleman at 8.7.
  • Davies topped the club in assists - 4.6 per game.
  • Rochester reached the finals by upsetting the Lakers in the West finals. The Royals' task was made easier by the fact that Minneapolis's star C George Mikan was hobbled by an injured ankle.

After finishing third in the East, the Knicks had to pull two upsets to reach the finals.

  • First, they eliminated the second-place Celtics.
  • The Knicks got a break when the Syracuse Nationals bounced the East leading Warriors out of the playoffs. That gave New York home court advantage that proved crucial in the five-game victory over the Nats in the East final.
  • F Vince Boryla led the Knicks in scoring with 14.9 ppg. F Harry Gallatin (12.8) and G Max Zaslofsky (12.7) also averaged in double figures.
  • Gallatin dominated the Knicks' rebounding with 12.1 per game. C Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton was the next closest at 7.6, in part because he shared post time with Connie Simmons (6.5 rpg).
    Clifton was the first African-American player signed to a contract in the NBA.

Both teams were making their first appearance in the finals.

  • The Royals earned home court advantage for the finals because of their better regular season record.
  • Instead of the 2-3-2 format of baseball's World Series, the NBA used a 2-2-1-1-1 scheme.
  • The Knicks would have to win at least one game in Rochester to take the title. But that would be a challenge because they had not won there in three years, having lost nine straight at the Edgerton Park Arena. However, two of that season's three defeats in the Royals' lair had come in overtime.
1951 New York Knicks
# Player Pos. Hgt. Wgt. College Exp.
5 Max Zaslofsky G 6-2 170 St. John's 5
6 Tony Lavelli F 6-3 185 Yale 2
7 Ray Lumpp G 6-1 180 NYU 3
9 Ernie Vandeweghe F-G 6-3 195 Colgate 2
10 Tex Ritter G-F 6-2 185 Eastern Kentucky 3
11 Harry Gallatin F-C 6-6 210 Truman State 3
12 Vince Boryla F 6-5 210 Denver 2
14 Gene James F 6-4 180 Marshall 3
15 Dick McGuire G 6-0 180 St. John's 2
17 George Kaftan F 6-3 190 Holy Cross 3
18 Connie Simmons C-F 6-8 222 None 5
19 Nat Clifton F 6-6 220 Xavier (NO) 1
Head Coach: Joe Lapchick
Assistant Coach: Butch Van Breda Kolff

1951 Rochester Royals
# Player Pos. Hgt. Wgt. College Exp.
3 Pep Saul G 6-2 185 Seton Hall 2
9 Bobby Wanzer G 6-0 170 Seton Hall 3
10 Jack Coleman F 6-7 195 Louisville 2
11 Bob Davies G 6-1 175 Seton Hall 3
12 Arnie Johnson F 6-5 235 Bemidji State 3
14 Arnie Risen C 6-9 200 Ohio State 3
15 Paul Noel F 6-4 185 Kentucky 4
16 Red Holzman G 5-10 175 CCNY 3
18 Ed Mikan C 6-8 230 DePaul 3
19 Bill Calhoun G 6-3 180 City Coll. of San Francisco 3
20 Joe McNamee F 6-6 210 San Francisco 1
Head Coach: Les Harrison
Assistant Coach: Eddie Malanowicz
"Lucky Les" Harrison was not only the coach of the Royals, he was also the owner. Les played on semi-pro teams right out of high school and by 1930 was managing two local teams. He jumped to a higher level when he obtained a franchise in the National Basketball League for the 1945-46 season. Three years later, the Royals became part of the Basketball Association of America, which in 1949 became known as the National Basketball Association.

RESULTS OF FIRST SIX GAMES
# Date Place Winner Loser Winning Team
High Scorer		 Losing Team
High Scorer
1 April 7 Rochester Royals 92 Knicks 65 Arnie Risen 24 Vince Boryla 13
2 April 8 Rochester Royals 99 Knicks 84 Bob Davies 24 Max Zaslofsky 28
3 Apr.11 New York Royals 78 Knicks 71 Risen 27 Boryla 20
4 Apr.13 New York Knicks 78 Royals 73 Harry Gallatin 22 Risen 26
5 Apr.15 Rochester Knicks 92 Royals 89 Connie Simmons 26 Bobby Wanzer 21
6 Apr.18 New York Knicks 80 Royals 73 Zaslofsky 23 Arnie Johnson 27
The streak continued in the first two games of the finals, the first of which resulted in the Knicks' absorbing their worst beating of the entire season 92-65 before a capacity crowd of 4200.
  • The Royals seemed to be on their way to a sweep when they won the third game at the 69th Street Armory in New York.
  • But the Knicks won at home in Game 4 and finally got the best of the Royals in their building in Game 5 to stave off elimination.
  • Then NY won their third in a row back in the Big Apple to force a Game 7.
1951 Finals Action

Vince Boryla drives against Bob Davies as Jack Coleman (10) arrives late.

Arnie Risen grabs a rebound over Harry Gallatin as
Jack Coleman (10) and Vince Boryla (12) look on.


Edgerton Park Arena, Rochester
Could the Knicks win again at Rochester, where the Royals had compiled a 92-16 record in three NBA seasons?
  • "A yelling, jam-packed crowd of 4,206 fans" saw the home team spurt to a 7-1 lead before Harry Gallatin sank the Knicks' first FG with 3:05 left in Q1. The visitors cut a 13-3 lead down to 16-13 before the home team sank six straight FTs to forge a 22-16 lead at the end of the first 12-minute period. The Royals froze the ball for the last 50 seconds of the period.
  • The Royals extended their lead to 32-18 with 3:30 left in the second period, thanks in part to sloppy play by the Knicks, who committed ten turnovers in the first half. But the New Yorkers cut eight points off that deficit to head to the locker room trailing only 40-34.
  • The scoring pace quickened when the second half started. With the Royals leading 54-45, Zaslofsky, Connie Simmons, and Boryla led a Knicks' charge that brought them to within two, 62-60, when the third quarter ended. Max and Vince scored the last five baskets of the period for the Joe Lapchick's quintet while the Royals canned four FTs.
  • New York's chances took a blow when Sweetwater Clifton fouled out with five minutes left. The FTs by Arnie Risen gave the Royals a 70-69 lead, but Gallatin's layup put NY back in front 71-70. That lead increased to 74-72 with two minutes left to play.
  • Matters got worse for the visitors when backup C Simmons was charged with his sixth personal seven seconds later. Both NY postmen fouled out trying to guard Risen, who shot 14 FTs, making 10.
  • The Royals scored the next three points on a Risen hook shot and FT to regain the lead, 75-74. But Vince Boryla's foul shot tied the score with 1:29 remaining.
  • With no shot clock, most fans figured the Royals would play for one shot, but with 44 seconds to go, Davies drove to the basket and drew a blocking fou on Dick McGuire. The former Seton Hall ace sank both shots to give the Royals a two-point lead.
  • The rules of the day called for a jump ball after foul shots in the final two minutes of the game. With the Knicks' best jumpers out with fouls, the Royals controlled the tip.
  • With just two seconds left, Red Holzman zipped a bullet pass to Jack Coleman who laid in an uncontested basket to make the final score 79-75.
    Holzman would coach the New York Knicks to the NBA Championship in both 1970 and 1973.


Bobby Wanzer


George Mikan


Harry Gallatin


Max Zaslofsky


Nat Clifton


Connie Simmons


Arnie Johnson


Joe Lapchick


Les Harrison


Bob Davies in action against Gene James (14)


Dick McGuire


Red Holzman and Arnie Risen


Jack Coleman
ROCHESTER ROYALS
  FG FT Rebounds Assists Fouls Points
Jack Coleman F 3-6 3-6 7 9 4 9
Arnie Johnson F 2-8 7-7 11 3 5 11
Arnie Risen C 7-19 10-14 13 2 4 24
Bob Davies G 7-19 6-7 3 0 0 20
Bobby Wanzer G 5-11 3-3 11 3 3 13
Pep Saul 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0
Joe McNamee 0-1 0-0 2 0 2 0
Bill Calhoun 0-0 0-0 1 1 0 0
Red Holtzman 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2
Total 25-65 29-37 48 19 18 79
NEW YORK KNICKS
  FG FT Rebounds Assists Fouls Points
Vince Boryla F 6-13 4-4 7 2 3 16
Harry Gallatin F 5-8 2-3 10 1 4 12
Nat Clifton C 4-11 3-6 8 2 6 11
Max Zaslofsky G 7-14 2-3 1 2 2 16
Ernie Vandeweghe G 2-6 1-2 3 5 5 5
Connie Simmons 4-15 3-5 8 3 6 11
Dick McGuire 1-1 2-2 4 4 5 4
Ray Lumpp 0-2 0-0 0 0 1 0
Total 29-70 17-25 41 19 32 75

Royals celebrate their championship.
Participants in the 1951 NBA Finals who are in the Basketball Hall of Fame:
Royals: Bob Davies (1970), Coach Les Harrison (1980), Red Holzman (1986), Arnie Risen (1998), Bobby Wanzer (1987)
Knicks: Nat Clifton (2014), Harry Gallatin (1991), Dick McGuire (1993), Coach Joe Lapchick (1966)
1951 NBA Champion Rochester Royals
Postscript
  • The Royals would not win another NBA title. Rochester simply wasn't big enough to support an NBA team over the long haul. Even moving to the larger, brand-new War Memorial Auditorium for the 1955-56 wasn't enough for Harrison to make a profit.
  • The team moved to Cincinnati for the 1957-58 season.
  • In 1972, the Cincinnati Royals became the Kansas City-Omaha Kings for three years, then the Kansas City Kings through the 1984-85 season.
  • Since 1985, the franchise has been known as the Sacramento Kings.