1957–58 St. Louis Hawks season

The 1957–58 St. Louis Hawks season was the third for the franchise in St. Louis and the 12th season overall in the National Basketball Association (NBA). 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 @ 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 St. Louis 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
Roster listing
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

West Division Semifinals

The Hawks had a division semifinal bye.

West Division Finals

(1) St. Louis Hawks vs. (2) Detroit Pistons: Hawks win series 4–1

  • Game 1 @ St. Louis: St. Louis 114, Detroit 111
  • Game 2 @ Detroit: St. Louis 99, Detroit 96
  • Game 3 @ St. Louis: Detroit 109, St. Louis 89
  • Game 4 @ Detroit: St. Louis 145, Detroit 101
  • Game 5 @ St. Louis: St. Louis 120, Detroit 96

Last Playoffs meeting: 1956 Western Division Finals (Pistons won 3–2, while still in Fort Wayne)

NBA Finals
GameDateHome TeamResultRoad Team
Game 1March 29Boston102–104St. Louis
Game 2March 30Boston136–112St. Louis
Game 3April 2St. Louis111–108Boston
Game 4April 5St. Louis98–109Boston
Game 5April 9Boston100–102St. Louis
Game 6April 12St. Louis110–109Boston

Hawks win series 4–2

Awards and honors

References
  1. http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/stlhawks/stlhawks.html
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