Sheboygan's Magnus Brinkman was one of the key founders of the National Basketball Association
SHEBOYGAN — When the National Basketball Association started in 1949, Sheboygan Redskins President Magnus Brinkman was there. The merger would eventually turn out to be the battle between Sheboygan and New York City.
In the 1930s, informal basketball clubs were formed and supported by local businesses, and the Sheboygan club was one of those teams.
In the early years until 1942, the games were played at the 1,500-seat Eagles Auditorium in downtown Sheboygan.
According to information on Wikipedia, "The team was known as the Ballhorns in the early years. As sponsors would change over time, so would the name of the teams. By 1938, the team became known as the Redskins, sponsored by a syndicate of local businesses as they joined the National Basketball League."
Magnus Brinkman, born in 1909, was a busy businessman. By the 1930s, he was president of Deland Cheese Company and a board member of the Phoenix Chair Company. He was also active as an assistant treasurer of the Sheboygan Community Fund, a precursor to the United Way campaign we see today. His grandson, Andrew Blitch, said his grandfather was known as an astute businessman who was very skilled with contracts.
In 1944, Brinkman became president of the Sheboygan basketball club, succeeding John Detling, who was part of the organization that produced winning teams.
The Sheboygan team led the league in defense multiple times, appearing in five championship series and won the 1942-1943 title. In winning the title, they defeated the league-leading Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (later known as the Detroit Pistons) in the final.
During Brinkman's tenure, the team played its home games at the Sheboygan Armory.
In the postwar era, winds of change were happening in professional basketball. The Basketball Association of America merged with the National Basketball League and rebranded as the National Basketball Association following the 1948-1949 season. Brinkman was on the NBA board of governors in 1949-1950.
But there was trouble ahead. With the merger, there were claims of too many teams making the seasons unmanageable.
The Sheboygan club was part of that charter member class, but for only one year.
Ned Irish, president of the New York Knicks, protested small-city Sheboygan and refused to participate with what he called "bush league" teams.
The NBA also stipulated a performance bond of $50,000 needed to be posted by teams wishing to participate. Sheboygan at the time, which was part of the Western Division, was represented by Brinkman, who traveled to New York for the merger meetings and defended Sheboygan.
The April 11, 1950, Sheboygan Press reported Brinkman said Sheboygan would have no problem securing the $50,000 bond. The bond was viewed by many as a means to get rid of the small-town teams in the NBA.
With the bond announcement, teams such as the Anderson Packers, among others, started leaving the NBA.
According to the Press article, Brinkman would define the team's position at a Chicago meeting. He made it clear that if Sheboygan would stay in the league and post the bond of $50,000, it must have protection.
According to the book "Ball Hawks: The Arrival and Departure of the NBA in Iowa," during the formal afternoon session, the NBA’s other members voted not to include Waterloo, Sheboygan and Denver teams when building the following season’s schedule.
The blood had been spilled, and as a result, Sheboygan was kicked out of the NBA.
According to the book, speaking to the press later in the day, NBA President Maurice Podoloff portrayed the separation as voluntary. Sheboygan’s Brinkman responded firmly: “Anyway you look at it, we were kicked out. We did not resign. They simply wouldn’t have us in and they told us so in the morning meetings.”
The Sheboygan Press editorial page headline blared, "Maybe Another League." The editorial said: "If the NBA wants Sheboygan, it can indicate a fairness, otherwise we are through being shoved around. This doesn't mean that if we are out of the league we are out of basketball. We have Waterloo and other teams willing to start a new league and one which will have the support of the fans."
The team would soon join the National Professional Basketball League for the 1950-1951 season.
According to a 1951 Press clipping, a meeting was held at which Brinkman formed a committee and a board of directors panel that would have the ultimate say about continuing operations, as things weren't looking good for the team.
During that meeting, Brinkman described the new Western Basketball Association, which would form a league with at least five other cities in a last gasp to preserve professional basketball in Sheboygan. Sheboygan would see professional basketball leave the city in 1952.
Brinkman, who would die in 1990, moved to Naples, Florida, after his time in Sheboygan. He then later relocated to Gainesville, Florida. Over time, he became more respected for his work within the early NBA.
According to former Sheboygan Press reporter Brian Gaynor, "He's been called one of the most significant sports personalities from Sheboygan on the national stage … if not THE most significant — because he had a role in the founding of the NBA."
Gary C. Klein can be reached at 920-453-5149 or gklein@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @leicaman99.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan was an NBA charter member with Magnus Brinkman, Redskins
