1957–58 St. Louis Hawks season

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]

1957–58 St. Louis Hawks season
NBA champions
Division champions
Head coachAlex Hannum
ArenaKiel Auditorium
Results
Record41–31 (.569)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Champions
(Defeated Celtics 4-2)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

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 (now Los Angeles) 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.

Roster
St. Louis Hawks roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)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 Petit, 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

Roster

Regular season

Season standings
Western Division W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-St. Louis Hawks4131.569-23-88-1910-424-12
x-Detroit Pistons3339.458814-1413-176-818-18
x-Cincinnati Royals3339.458817-1210-196-817-19
Minneapolis Lakers1953.2642210-154-215-1713-23

Record vs. opponents
1957-58 NBA Records
Team BOS CIN DET MIN NYK PHI STL SYR
Boston —7–28–19–07–56–65–47–5
Cincinnati 2–7—6–68–44–56–33–94–5
Detroit 1–86–6—6–64–55–46–65–4
Minneapolis 0–94–86–6—1–83–63–92–7
New York 5–75–45–48–1—4–83–65–7
Philadelphia 6–63–64–56–38–4—7–23–9
St. Louis 4–59–36–69–36–32–7—5–4
Syracuse 5–75–44–57–27–59–34–5—

Playoffs
1958 playoff game log
Division Finals: 4–1 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsLocation
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. "St. Louis Hawks – Sports Ecyclopedia".
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