# 1947–48 Providence Steamrollers season

The 1947–48 Providence Steamrollers season was the second season of the Providence Steamrollers. This season is also infamous for the lowest number of wins by a team in BAA/NBA history with only six total wins recorded by the Steamrollers throughout this entire season. The only other NBA teams to end their seasons with single-digit victories as of 2023 are the 1972–73 Philadelphia 76ers, the 1998–99 Vancouver Grizzlies, the 1998–99 Los Angeles Clippers, and the 2011–12 Charlotte Bobcats, who hold the worst win percentage in NBA history. This season is also noteworthy for featuring the oldest player in BAA/NBA history, with head coach Nat Hickey suiting up for two games with the Steamrollers near his 46th birthday, making him the oldest player in league history at 45 years, 363 days old. That record still stands as of 2024.

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 4 | Walt Dropo | – | United States | Connecticut |
| – | – | Joe Barry | – | – | – |
| – | – | Dick Furey | – | United States | St. Thomas |
| 2 | 14 | Bob Hubbard | F/C | United States | Springfield |
| – | – | Bob Joyce | – | United States | Bates |
| – | – | Roy Lipscomb | – | United States | St. Mary's |
| – | – | John Mills | – | United States | Hofstra |
| – | – | Al Nichols | – | United States | Rhode Island |

## Regular season
### Season standings

| # | Eastern Divisionvte | Eastern Divisionvte | Eastern Divisionvte | Eastern Divisionvte | Eastern Divisionvte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | x-Philadelphia Warriors | 27 | 21 | .563 | – |
| 2 | x-New York Knicks | 26 | 22 | .542 | 1 |
| 3 | x-Boston Celtics | 20 | 28 | .417 | 7 |
| 4 | Providence Steamrollers | 6 | 42 | .125 | 21 |

### Record vs. opponents

1947–48 BAA records :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CHI | NYK | PHI | PRO | STL | WAS |
| Baltimore | — | 5–1 | 5–3 | 5–1 | 2–4 | 6–0 | 3–5 | 2–6 |
| Boston | 1–5 | — | 3–3 | 1–7 | 4–4 | 6–2 | 2–4 | 3–3 |
| Chicago | 3–5 | 3–3 | — | 6–0 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 3–5 | 5–3 |
| New York | 1–5 | 7–1 | 0–6 | — | 4–4 | 7–1 | 4–2 | 3–3 |
| Philadelphia | 4–2 | 4–4 | 2-4 | 1–7 | — | 8–0 | 3–3 | 2–4 |
| Providence | 0–6 | 2–6 | 2–4 | 1–7 | 0–8 | — | 0–6 | 1–5 |
| St. Louis | 5–3 | 4–2 | 5–3 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 6–0 | — | 4–4 |
| Washington | 6–2 | 3–3 | 3–5 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 5–1 | 4–4 | — |

### Game log

| # | Date | Opponent | Score | High points | Record |
| 1 | November 13 | @ Philadelphia | 64–79 | Ernie Calverley (13) | 0–1 |
| 2 | November 15 | Philadelphia | 78–80 | Earl Shannon (19) | 0–2 |
| 3 | November 18 | New York | 69–87 | Ernie Calverley (24) | 0–3 |
| 4 | November 20 | @ St. Louis | 67–73 | Calverley, Goodwin (19) | 0–4 |
| 5 | November 22 | Boston | 62–65 | Ernie Calverley (14) | 0–5 |
| 6 | November 27 | Baltimore | 61–76 | Calverley, Martin (12) | 0–6 |
| 7 | November 29 | Washington | 85–78 | Ernie Calverley (21) | 1–6 |
| 8 | December 2 | St. Louis | 66–86 | Ariel Maughan (15) | 1–7 |
| 9 | December 5 | @ Boston | 69–73 | Ernie Calverley (23) | 1–8 |
| 10 | December 6 | New York | 85–114 | Ken Sailors (22) | 1–9 |
| 11 | December 9 | @ Philadelphia | 74–78 | Ken Sailors (22) | 1–10 |
| 12 | December 13 | Washington | 72–88 | Ernie Calverley (18) | 1–11 |
| 13 | December 17 | @ Boston | 66–67 | Ernie Calverley (23) | 1–12 |
| 14 | December 20 | Philadelphia | 74–80 | Ken Sailors (20) | 1–13 |
| 15 | December 23 | New York | 66–58 | Ernie Calverley (17) | 2–13 |
| 16 | December 25 | @ New York | 75–89 | Ken Sailors (19) | 2–14 |
| 17 | December 26 | @ Philadelphia | 61–89 | Earl Shannon (13) | 2–15 |
| 18 | December 27 | Boston | 63–74 | George Nostrand (16) | 2–16 |
| 19 | December 30 | Chicago | 73–85 | Dino Martin (19) | 2–17 |
| 20 | January 3 | Chicago | 76–79 | George Nostrand (28) | 2–18 |
| 21 | January 6 | @ Baltimore | 64–82 | Ernie Calverley (18) | 2–19 |
| 22 | January 10 | Boston | 70–57 | Johnny Ezersky (20) | 3–19 |
| 23 | January 15 | Baltimore | 78–98 | Ken Sailors (20) | 3–20 |
| 24 | January 18 | @ St. Louis | 61–70 | Johnny Ezersky (14) | 3–21 |
| 25 | January 22 | @ Chicago | 56–50 | George Nostrand (16) | 4–21 |
| 26 | January 24 | @ Washington | 60–69 | Bob Hubbard (17) | 4–22 |
| 27 | January 27 | St. Louis | 61–94 | George Nostrand (13) | 4–23 |
| 28 | January 28 | @ New York | 73–75 | George Nostrand (27) | 4–24 |
| 29 | January 30 | @ Boston | 79–69 | Ken Sailors (17) | 5–24 |
| 30 | January 31 | Baltimore | 62–68 | Nostrand, Sailors (16) | 5–25 |
| 31 | February 3 | New York | 62–78 | Lee Robbins (17) | 5–26 |
| 32 | February 4 | @ New York | 69–108 | Johnny Ezersky (18) | 5–27 |
| 33 | February 5 | @ Baltimore | 74–100 | Ken Sailors (21) | 5–28 |
| 34 | February 7 | @ Washington | 64–86 | Johnny Ezersky (16) | 5–29 |
| 35 | February 10 | Washington | 60–79 | George Nostrand (14) | 5–30 |
| 36 | February 11 | @ New York | 63–86 | Bob Hubbard (14) | 5–31 |
| 37 | February 13 | @ Boston | 73–79 | Ernie Calverley (20) | 5–32 |
| 38 | February 15 | @ Chicago | 85–79 | Mel Thurston (21) | 6–32 |
| 39 | February 19 | @ St. Louis | 69–78 | Jack Toomay (14) | 6–33 |
| 40 | February 21 | Chicago | 73–92 | Ernie Calverley (20) | 6–34 |
| 41 | February 28 | Philadelphia | 82–83 | Ken Sailors (19) | 6–35 |
| 42 | March 7 | @ Chicago | 81–89 | Ken Sailors (19) | 6–36 |
| 43 | March 9 | St. Louis | 69–75 | Ernie Calverley (20) | 6–37 |
| 44 | March 13 | Boston | 64–86 | Ken Sailors (16) | 6–38 |
| 45 | March 16 | Philadelphia | 78–100 | Jack Toomay (15) | 6–39 |
| 46 | March 17 | @ Washington | 67–82 | Jack Toomay (18) | 6–40 |
| 47 | March 18 | @ Philadelphia | 57–88 | Jack Toomay (17) | 6–41 |
| 48 | March 20 | @ Baltimore | 58–75 | Jack Toomay (21) | 6–42 |

## Player statistics

| Player | GP | FG% | FT% | APG | PPG |
| Hank Beenders | 21 | .265 | .638 | .3 | 6.8 |
| Ernie Calverley | 47 | .271 | .665 | 2.5 | 11.9 |
| Bill Downey | 3 | .000 | .000 | .0 | .0 |
| Johnny Ezersky | 25 | .253 | .606 | .6 | 10.1 |
| Dick Fitzgerald | 1 | .000 | .000 | .0 | .0 |
| Pop Goodwin | 24 | .232 | .704 | .3 | 3.8 |
| Wyndol Gray | 1 | .000 | .000 | .0 | 0.0 |
| Nat Hickey | 2 | .000 | .667 | .0 | 1.0 |
| Bob Hubbard | 28 | .291 | .692 | .4 | 5.4 |
| John Janisch | 7 | .302 | .571 | .3 | 4.9 |
| Jerry Kelly | 3 | .300 | .000 | .0 | 2.0 |
| Dino Martin | 32 | .238 | .450 | .4 | 3.2 |
| Ariel Maughan | 14 | .242 | .688 | .1 | 3.9 |
| George Mearns | 24 | .200 | .484 | .4 | 2.5 |
| George Nostrand | 45 | .297 | .540 | .7 | 11.6 |
| Lee Robins | 31 | .277 | .548 | .2 | 6.3 |
| Kenny Sailors | 41 | .300 | .692 | 1.4 | 12.7 |
| Earl Shannon | 45 | .262 | .634 | 1.1 | 8.0 |
| Mel Thurston | 14 | .283 | .500 | 0.3 | 5.6 |
| Jack Toomay | 14 | .361 | .690 | 0.4 | 10.9 |
| Ray Wertis | 7 | .181 | .429 | 0.9 | 4.6 |

## Transactions
### Trades

| December 30, 1947 | To Providence SteamrollersWyndol Gray | To St. Louis BombersAriel Maughan |

### Purchases

| Player | Date purchased | Former team |
| Kenny Sailors | December 1, 1947 | Philadelphia Warriors |

### Sales

| Player | Date sold | New team |
| Coulby Gunther | November 9, 1947 | St. Louis Bombers |
| Hank Beenders | January 15, 1948 | Philadelphia Warriors |

### Free agency
#### Subtractions

| Player | Reason left | New team |
| Elmore Morgenthaler | Waived | Birmingham Skyhawks (PBLA) |