The AAU was formed in the late 1800's to codify the sporting world to commonize rules and practices and to promote amateur competition. Basketball became an AAU sport, and a tournament was held annually to determine the national champion. The teams consisted of a corporate sponsor who would employ players at their business. Since they were paid for their work and not their basketball playing, they maintained their amateur status, which was especially critical if they wanted to compete in the Olympics. More and more highly skilled would forego professional basketball leagues to play AAU ball, and many college players could supplement their income by playing in the AAU without jeopardizing their eligibility. (These waters would become murky, but that is for another blog entry another day.)
After World War 2, a group of AAU teams from the Western half of the United States decided to band together to play in a league. They would play a regular balanced schedule with a playoff and championship, all for the purpose of preparing themselves for the AAU tournament each spring. Notable AAU clubs like the Phillips 66ers, Oakland Bittners and the Denver Nuggets would play in this league, which would be called the American Basketball League. (The other basketball league with the same name at the time had nothing to do with this western league)
In December of 1945, nine teams from western states started play in a 16-game season that would see each team play each other twice. The Phillips Petroleum team from Bartlesville, Oklahoma, was already recognized as an amateur powerhouse. They were in the midst of a six-year streak of victorious AAU titles and were the early favorite in the ABL. They jumped out to a 5-0 start before losing two of three to the M&O Smokies of Kansas City and the Ambrose Jellmakers of Denver. They would finish the season 13-3 and in first place, with the Jellymakers and 20th Century Fox (out of Hollywood) tied for second at 10-6. The 66ers would take the league title in the round-robin playoffs in Denver, setting them out for the AAU tournament and subsequent victory there.
The next season saw the league expand to 11 teams, and the 66ers were challenged by the newly-admitted Oakland Bittners. The Bittners and 66ers would both run through the league, meeting on February 26 for a regular season game that would determine the regular season title. the Bittners were 17-1, the Oilers 18-1. The Oilers would prevail, 36-32, to claim the crown, but would falter in the ABL round robin as Oakland swept its way to the ABL Championship.
Financial issues saw the ABL shrink to a mere five teams for the 1947-48 season, and one of those five teams, the J.W. Nicks Contractors out of Phoenix, Arizona, was suspended from the league in February. The Oilers were again the cream of the crop, going 21-3 (including a couple of forfeits from the expelled Phoenix club). However, the ABL cancelled their postseason tournament and no champion was truly crowned.
Apparently the ABL attempted a 1948-49 season. I saw some box scores and references to games with Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco and San Jose. However, the information is so scarce that I cannot find much of anything. The league apparently failed to finish the season. Other teams from the previous season of the ABL had left for greener pastures. The Denver Nuggets joined the NBL, and with NBL's merger with the BAA, played one season in the NBA before folding. The Oilers would move to the National Industrial League, where they competed until 1968.
I will not go into great detail here. I am just going to list rosters and teams. I found a good portion of the box scores, so the rosters should be fairly complete.
