National Basketball League (NBL) Game Programs Collection

Collection

Identifier: BKP_613

Staff Only
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Scope and Contents

This collection contains about 50 programs and scorecards issued for National Basketball League games. Teams, arenas, and other vendors published programs and scorecards for purchase by fans attending the games. The programs and scorecards usually contain at a minimum roster and lineup information and space for attendees to keep score of the game. The programs tend to become larger, longer, and more substantial over the years and sometimes contain additional information about the teams, players, coaches, and other subjects.

In these years, NBL teams would frequently host double-headers that featured a second game either before or after the NBL contest that saw high school, amateur, college, semi-pro, barnstorming, or other types of basketball teams in action. When a program is for a doubleheader the second non-NBL game is noted in the scope and contents note.

In some years, teams issued substantially the same program or scorecard for every game of the season, merely swapping out team rosters and statistics depending on the opponent. In other years, leagues printed magazine-style programs that teams adapted for their games. Some programs do not contain a specific date and only indicate the season of competition.

Other features that may characterize individual programs - autographs, for example, or ephemera like ticket stubs - are present as noted.

Dates

Creation: 1944-1949

Conditions Governing Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Biographical / Historical

Scorecards and programs for athletics events were first printed in the late nineteenth century for fans to keep track of the game and for teams to publicize their games and their players. Scorecards included space for fans to keep score, and many scorecards featured pre-printed lineups. Through the years, scorecards became more substantial and sometimes evolved into the multi-page published game programs that were common in the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century.

The National Basketball League was founded as the Midwest Basketball Conference in 1935, before adopting the name National Basketball League in 1937. Some teams were sponsored by companies in the region, and some independent teams represented mid-sized MIdwestern cities. In 1949, the National Basketball League merged with the Basketball Association of America to form the National Basketball Association.