Operated for two years on the West Coast before folding. Comprised primarily of players who’d once toiled the then-Pacific Coast Conference. The Vancouver Hornets were represented in both seasons.
–YR—–NO—–REGULAR SEASON—————POSTSEASON——————————————COACH
| 46-47 | 7 | Portland (33-10) | Bellingham Fircrests (9-3) | Gale Bishop |
| 47-48 | 1st-6 | Seattle (22-10) | ————————– | ———- |
| 2nd-5 | Bellingham (14-7) | Portland d’d Seattle 3g-1 | Player coaches John Bianco, Roy Pflugard, Harry Roos at various times during the season | |
1946-47
Final regular season standings: Portland Indians (33-10); Bellingham Fircrests (26-12); Vancouver Hornets (24-14); Seattle Blue Devils (18-19); Salem Trailblazers (8-21); Yakima Ramblers (8-25); Spokane Orphans (1-17).
Salem, Yakima and Spokane were turfed from the league during the regular season.
In the postseason round-robin playoffs, the final standings were: Bellingham Fircrests (9-3); Portland Indians (7-5); Vancouver Hornets (6-6); Seattle Blue Devils (2-10)
The champion Fircrests declined an invitation to the World Pro Tournament in Chicago following the season. The Portland Indians, picking up Norm Baker and George Andrews from the Vancouver Hornets to replace Mike Hafenecker and Bill Taitt, who were unable to make the trip, participated instead as regular-season champions and playoff runnerups. The Indians were dusted 62-48 by the Sheboygan Redskins in the first round.
Scoring leader
Canadian roster:
Vancouver Hornets: Norm Baker, Doug Peden, Ritchie Nicol, Arthur Chapman, Ken Lawn, Reg Clarkson, Sykes, playing coach George ‘Porky’ Andrews,
1947-48
Final first half standings (6): Seattle Athletics (22-10); Bellingham Fricrests (21-10); Tacoma Mountaineers (16-13); Vancouver Hornets (16-15); Astoria Royal Chinooks (11-19); Portland Indians (7-26)
Second half standings (5): Bellingham Fircrests (14-7); Vancouver Hornets (13-7); Seattle Athletics (8-10); Portland Indians (9-14); Tacoma Mountaineers (5-11)
The Astoria (Lower Columbia River) Royal Chinooks suspended operations in early February, 1948, because of lack of attendance. Star Ken Hays was reassigned to Bellingham.
As for the postseason, as outlined by the Association for Professional Basketball Research, “the top four teams then engaged in a round-robin playoff series to see if another team would join first-half champion Seattle and second-half champion Bellingham in the playoffs. Seattle and Portland finished with 4-2 playoff records, necessitating a March 29 playoff in Portland, won by the Indians, 79-76. President [Ray] Clark — remember, he was majority owner of the Portland team — then announced that Seattle would play a best-of-three series with Bellingham, with the winner facing Portland in a best-of-five series for the playoff championship. Bellingham, for reasons not yet understood by this researcher, picked up Norm Baker from the Vancouver roster for the opening playoff game at home against Seattle. The Fircrests won, 84-77, but a protest by Seattle owner Don Adams to league president Clark over Baker’s status resulted in Clark forfeiting the game to Seattle. Upon learning of this, Bellingham player-coach Gale Bishop declared his team would withdraw from the playoffs if the decision was not reversed. It wasn’t and the Fircrests withdrew, leaving Seattle to host the first two games of a best-of-five playoff for the title. Portland won those two games and went home with a chance to close out the series, but Seattle continued the visiting team success rate by winning the first game in the Rose City. Then came the fourth game of the series, and more excitement. On Friday night, 9 Apr48, in the Portland armory, the home team led by 81 to 80 with 20 seconds remaining when Al Brightman, the Athletics’ player-coach and star, came out of a rebound struggle with the ball and only ten, unmolested feet between him and his basket. As he took the first step, though, Portland timekeeper M.L. Wingate – ‘accidentally,’ he said tripped the game-ending buzzer. Referee Frank Mandic (who had played for Portland the season before, along with his brother John) responded by blowing his whistle. Brightman, in mid-step to the hoop, hesitated slightly and then laid the ball up and in. After much heated discussion, league president (and Portland owner) Ray Clark declared the game ‘no contest’ and said Game 4 would take place the following day. Portland prevailed in that game by a count of 76 to 74 and thus won the series, three games to one.”
Canadian roster:
Vancouver Hornets: Norm Baker, Ken Lawn, Bill Osterhaus, Ritchie Nicol, Doug Peden, Arthur Chapman, Jack Vaughn, Dave Teyema, Dean White, playing coach George Andrews
———–SCORING————————————————
| 46-47 | Gale Bishop (Bellingham) 19.8 | |
| 47-48 | Norm Baker (Vancouver) 585/51 |
———–ALL-LEAGUE 1ST——————————————2ND—–
| 46-47 | ||
| 47-48 | Gale Bishop – Bellingham Al Maul – Bellingham Noble Jorgensen – Portland Norm Baker – Vancouver Al Brightman – Seattle | Tom Smith – Portland John Katica – Tacoma Key Hays – Astoria/Bellingham Ray Wark – Bellingham Boody Gilbertson – Seattle |