By: History.com Editors

1946

First NBA game played

History.com Editors

Published: November 08, 2021

Last Updated: January 30, 2025

On November 1, 1946, the New York Knickerbockers beat the Toronto Huskies in the first NBA game, 68-66. The Knickerbockers are led by guard Leo Gottlieb, who scored 14 points in the game played before 7,090 fans at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

Although they lost to the Knickerbockers (now known as the Knicks), the Huskies had the game's highest scorers: big men Ed Sadowski (18 points) and George Nostrand (16 points). The latter was the center of a marketing campaign to draw fans to the game—a newspaper ad offered free admission for any fan who stood taller than the 6-foot-8 Nostrand. The more vertically challenged fans bought tickets that ranged from 75 cents to $2.50.

In 1946, the NBA (National Basketball Association) was known as the BAA (Basketball Association of America). It became the NBA in 1949 after it merged with the NBL (National Basketball League).

In 1946, the league was composed of 11 franchises, only two of which—the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks—remain in the same location today. The Huskies were the only Canadian team in the league, whose players all were white. The first Black player in the league was Earl Lloyd, who debuted on October 31, 1950.

The Knickerbockers finished the season third in the Eastern Division with a 32-27 record. The Huskies finished 22-38, last in the Eastern Division. The Philadelphia Warriors won the league title.

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Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on November 1st

1512

Sistine Chapel ceiling opens to public

The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, one of Italian artist Michelangelo’s finest works, is exhibited to the public for the first time on November 1, 1512.

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1755

Earthquake takes heavy toll on Lisbon

A devastating earthquake hits Lisbon, Portugal, killing as many as 50,000 people, on November 1, 1755. The city was virtually rebuilt from scratch following the widespread destruction.

1765

Stamp Act goes into effect in the American colonies

In the face of widespread opposition in the American colonies, the Stamp Act goes into effect. The taxation measure is designed to raise revenue for British military operations in America.

1777

John Paul Jones sets sail

On November 1, 1777, the USS Ranger, with a crew of 140 men under the command of John Paul Jones, leaves Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for the naval port at Brest, France, where it will stop before heading toward the Irish Sea to begin raids on British warships. This was the first mission of its kind during the Revolutionary War.

1800

John Adams moves into White House

On November 1, 1800, President John Adams, in the last year of his only term as president, moved into the newly constructed President’s House, the original name for what is known today as the White House.

1861

George McClellan replaces Winfield Scott

On November 1, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln names George Brinton McClellan general in chief of the Union army, replacing the aged and infirm Winfield Scott. In just six months, McClellan had gone from commander of the Ohio volunteers to the head of the Union army.

1911

World’s first aerial bomb is dropped over Libya

On November 1, 1911, Italian army lieutenant Giulio Gavotti, while flying over Libya, tosses three grenades out of his plane over a Turkish camp, effectively dropping the world’s first aerial bomb.

1924

Legendary western lawman is murdered

On November 1, 1924, William Tilghman is murdered by a corrupt Prohibition agent who resented Tilghman’s refusal to ignore local bootlegging operations. Tilghman, one of the famous marshals who enacted law and order in the West, was 71 years old.

1935

Palestinian-American public intellectual Edward Said is born

On November 1, 1935, Edward Said, the eminent Palestinian-American public intellectual and the father of postcolonial studies, is born.

1945

The first issue of “Ebony” magazine is published

The first issue of Ebony magazine—featuring profiles of writer Richard Wright and jazz singer Hazel Scott, and stories about African Americans in publishing, the color line in Brazil and a sale of African art in Philadelphia—is published on November 1, 1945. The monthly magazine chronicles Black life in America, including the fight for civil rights and provides a forum for African Americans to reflect on and celebrate their own communities.

1950

An assassination attempt threatens President Harry S. Truman

On November 1, 1950, Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempt to assassinate President Harry S. Truman at the Blair House in Washington, D.C. Truman escaped unscathed.

1952

United States tests first hydrogen bomb

The United States detonates the world’s first thermonuclear weapon, the hydrogen bomb, on Eniwetok atoll in the Pacific. The test gave the United States a short-lived advantage in the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union.

1959

Montreal’s Jacques Plante becomes first NHL goaltender to wear facemask

On November 1, 1959, the day after Halloween, Jacques Plante of the Montreal Canadiens revolutionizes hockey by donning a facemask, the first NHL goaltender to do so in a regular-season game. Plante wears the custom-made fiberglas mask after suffering a badly cut nose and lip on a first-period shot by the New York Rangers' Andy Bathgate. The Canadiens win, 3-1, and Plante decides to use the facemask regularly.

1993

European Union officially established

The Maastricht Treaty comes into effect on November 1, 1993, formally establishing the European Union (EU). The treaty was drafted in 1991 by delegates from the European Community meeting at Maastricht in the Netherlands and signed in 1992. The agreement called for a strengthened European parliament, the creation of a central European bank, and common foreign and security policies. The treaty also laid the groundwork for the establishment of a single European currency, to be known as the “euro.”

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Citation Information

Article title
First NBA game played
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
March 24, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
January 30, 2025
Original Published Date
November 08, 2021

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