The Ciesar All Americans

Anthony Borgo March 2023

The game of basketball was invented by James Naismith in 1892 as a wintertime activity at the YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, which is now known as the Springfield College. The sport quickly grew in popularity, by the 1890s some colleges began to adopt the sport. By 1898 the first professional basketball league was formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

By the 1920s almost every major college and university in American had basketball teams. These programs competed against other colleges, professional organizations, athletic clubs, YMCAs and even some high schools.

The demographics of professional basketball fans in the early 1930s were lower to lower middle class individuals. These fans were interested in the bragging rights that successful teams brought to their hometowns. The game, at this time, was much more physical, which appealed to the working class. The rugged play of these early professional athletes could translate to the socio-economic struggle that the fans experienced on a daily basis.

The players, many who were first generation Americans, viewed basketball as a vehicle to move from the working class to middle class. By 1935, the Great Depression was already in the midst of its 6th year. Although not a very lucrative career, professional basketball provided athletes and fans an escape from the day-to-day toils.

During the 1930s, the game of basketball had grown in popularity among sports fans in the Calumet region. Rex Williams, owner of the Hoosier Theater, would often book traveling basketball acts to perform at the 119th Street location. Todd Gould in his book titled Pioneers of the Hardwood recalls one of Williams’ advertisements from this time, “See the ‘Ball Tossers’ featuring the Oklahoma Oilers world champion professional exhibition of fast and furious playing that will put you on the edge of your seat breathless with excitement. Their entire bag of trick plays, lightning speed and dazzling brilliance is shown in a style that emphasizes the stellar caliber of the championship team. Whether you are a dyed-in-the-wood basketball enthusiast or not, you will get a slant on this popular sport that will surprise you.”

In the Midwest a number of teams operated on a semi-professional basis. During this time, squads were either connected industries or owned by local businessmen who were infatuated by the games. These private business owners supported teams as a way to market their individual products and/or advertise their store.

Ed Ciesar, a dapper young automobile dealer in Whiting, decided to capitalize on this popular new phenomenon. Ciesar sold Chryslers and Plymouths, as well as, running an auto repair shop located on Indianapolis Boulevard. He was known as quite the promoter in the area. Even during the Depression, Ciesar had record sales averaging 300 to 400 cars per year. According to Gould’s book, “Anywhere you went in the Region it seemed like every car had a ‘Ciesar’ name on the back of it mused longtime friend Joe Sotak.”

The Whiting Ciesar All Americans started its basketball career playing in Whiting, Indiana’s industrial league. At this time, many of the area’s factories and plants had their own sports teams. Standard Oil and Amaizo would often field not only basketball teams but also baseball. The action quickly generated excitement throughout the city, where the games were generally held at the Community Center.

Most teams, at this time, were independent, playing other local teams and travelling to games within a couple hundred miles. In 1935 Paul Sheeks, head coach and manager of the Akron Goodyears, and Frank Kautsky, head coach and owner of the Indianapolis Kautskys, formed the Midwest Basketball Conference. Each team in the conference agreed to schedule their own games, with the only caveat being that each squad had to play at least 12 games against league opponents in order to qualify for the Midwest conference title.

The first season of the Midwest Basketball Conference had the following teams: Akron Firestone Non-Skids, Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A.s, Buffalo Bisons, and the Dayton Metropolitans (Eastern Division); Indianapolis Kautskys, Chicago Duffy Florals, Detroit Hed-Aids, Indianapolis U.S. Tires, and the Windsor Cooper Buses (Western Division).

For most Midwest Conference teams, the season began in late November or early December. It would then continue through the end of February, with a conference tournament commencing in March. The majority of the games were played on Sundays, due to the fact that most players had regular 9 to 5 jobs.

At the start of the 1936-1937 season, six of the original nine squads of the Midwest Conference began their second basketball campaign. In the Western Division, a new team joined the ranks, the Whiting Ciesar All Americans. The All Americans were such a great promotional tool for Ciesar that he decided it only made sense to enter them in the Midwest Conference.

The following teams joined the Ciesars: Akron Firestone Non-Skids, Akron Goodyear Wingfoots, Warren Hyvis Oilers, Columbus Athletic Supplies, Detroit Altes Lagers, and the Pittsburgh Y.M.H.A.s (Eastern Division); Dayton London Bobbies, Fort Wayne General Electrics, Indianapolis Kautskys, Chicago Duffy Florals, and the Indianapolis U.S. Tires (Western Division).

For Whiting’s inaugural Midwest Conference season, Ciesar recruited two top talents in Bill Harlow and Joe Rieff. The Hammond Times dubbed Ciesar’s new players the “Field Goal Twins.” Ciesar also nabbed another Chicago product in 6 foot 6 inch center Vince McGowan. At one guard position was “Stocky” Joe Stack. Stack was a veteran of the Chicago Bruins, a product of the defunct American Basketball League. Rounding out the lineup was Ciesar’s longtime friend Joe Sotak.

In the book Pioneers of the Hardwood, Sotak recalls his entrance onto the team, “They paid me $50 a game, and I loved it. I might have been the lowest-paid player on the team, but i didn’t care. I did it for the love of the game. You have to understand that literally every night I would come home from my job at the oil refinery, eat a quick supper, and then run down to the community center a block away to play ball. Ol’ Whitey (Micky Wickhorst, Athletic Director of the Whiting Community Center) would let me in early, and I’d play with the other guys until about nine o’clock every night. That’s what i did for entertainment. It was such a big part of my life. And now Eddie was offering to pay me to play and travel with the team. It was great.”

The All Americans schedule took them all over the Midwest from Akron, Ohio to Fon Du Lac, Wisconsin. However, the Whiting squad travelled in style that first season. Ciesar employed a chauffeur driver limousine to serve as team bus. Across the side of the limousine was a sign that read, “Whiting Ciesars Professional Basketball Team.” According to Sotak, “The limo driver, Fred, was one of Ed’s (Ciesar) mechanics at the garage. Whenever we had car problems on the road, Fred was on hand to take care of the problem.”

In the fall of 1937 Midwest Conference officials met to determine which teams would continue as members of the newly organized National Basketball League. The Whiting Ciesar All Americans were a part of the mix. The National Basketball League would go on to become the National Basketball Association. The teams for the inaugural NBL season were: Akron Firestone Non-Skids, Akron Goodyear Wingfoots, Pittsburgh Pirates, Buffalo Bisons, Warren Penns, and the Columbus Athletic Supply (Eastern Division); and Oshkosh All Stars, Whiting Ciesar All Americans, Fort Wayne General electrics, Indianapolis Kautskys, Richmond King Clothiers / Cincinnati Comellos, Kankakee Gallagher Trojans, and the Dayton Metropolitans (Western Division).

Whiting hit a skid toward the end of the 1936-1937 basketball season, with a record 3 wins and 5 Loses.  They ended up finishing third in the Western Division behind the Dayton London Bobbies (8-6) and the Fort Wayne General Electrics (6-6).  Although the All Americans missed making the playoffs, Ciesar booked an engagement with the mighty New York Celtics.  The Whiting promoter invited coaches and players from across the Region to attend the contest held in Whiting.  Before the game the audience was treated to a clinic of offensive and defensive techniques. 

During the game, the Celtics put on a stunning exhibition of basketball prowess in front of a sellout crowd.  Ciesar brought in John Wooden for the exhibition game but his 15 points was not enough.  The Celtics pummeled the All Americans 62-42.  The Hammond Times announced after the game that Ciesar had signed Wooden to a one-year contract.  The Times predicted that  the Ciesars, “will be back stronger than ever next year.”

As was reported at the end of the 1936-1937 season, John Wooden agreed to the terms of Ed Ciesar’s contract. Joe Sotak recalled in Gould’s book that the Wooden signing was big news. “Attendance at our games went up, because Johnny was playing. When we’d go out of town, people made a big deal of our coming. He was one of the biggest drawing cards.”

The signing of Wooden brought the Ciesar All Americans to the forefront of professional basketball notoriety. Fans and prospective players could see that Ciesar was putting together a team built on success allowing him to recruit next level players. Ed Ciesar knew that by signing big name talent this would also attract a larger number of fans.

The fans continued to flock to National Basketball League games just as they had when it was the Midwest Basketball Conference. According to Murry Nelson’s book titled The National Basketball League, “So for cities like Oshkosh, Akron and Whiting of the National Basketball League brought not only big league status, but many fringe benefits that served the entire community, something very much appreciated in a country entering nearly 10 years of the Depression.” New teams across the midwest began to sprout up growing larger fan bases and stronger competition amongst the teams.

In February 1938 Hammond, Indiana celebrated the opening of its $60,000 Hammond Civic Center. The newly built facility had a basketball arena that could hold a crowd of 6,000. The arena was a crowning jewel, which featured a spanking new basketball court surrounded by a spacious balcony. The day after the opening ceremonies of the Hammond Civic Center, city officials approached Ed Ciesar to bring the All Americans to Hammond to play out the remaining 1937-1938 season. With the possibility of doubling gate receipts, Ciesar gladly accepted.

Pat Malska was amazed by the talent that was in the newly formed National Basketball League. According to the Pioneers of the Hardwood, “It certainly was a big change. In college we played against maybe two or three (good players). But when we got to the pros, they were all good. They even had good players coming off the bench.”

The Ciesar All Americans ended the regular season with a 12-3 record.  The success of throughout the season earned the program its first entrance into the postseason.  Ed Ciesar’s team would face the Oshkosh All Stars. Oshkosh ended the All Americans’ season and with the All Stars sweeping the Western Division series in the process. This marked the first and last appearance that they All Americans made in the playoffs.

The National Basketball League standings for the 1938-39 season looked as follows: Akron Firestone Non-Skids, Akron Goodyear Wingfoots, Warren Penns / Cleveland White Horses, and the Pittsburgh Pirates (Eastern Division); and Oshkosh All Stars, Indianapolis Kautskys, Sheboygan Red Skins, and the Hammond Ciesar All Americans (Western Division). The Ciesar All Americans changed their name to the Hammond Ciesar All Americans, since they would be playing all of their home games at the Hammond Civic Center.

Fans were beginning to grow restless with the Ciesar All Americans’ play in February 1939. In a letter written to sports writer, Johnny Zitko stated, “Mr. Whitey Wickhorst has failed most simply to organize a winning combination and he has not even tried to correct his mistakes. With the stars Eddie Ciesar gave him, he should have had the greatest team in the country.”

John Whitaker, in his column Speculating on Sports, stated that Eddie Ciesar had no sense of humor. Upon learning that All American coach Wickhorst was quitting, Whitaker suggested allowing the fans a chance to coach. “Give the guys in the stands a chance. Let them help lose a few games.” At this point the Hammond squad were losers of 20 of their last 23 contests.

The conclusion of the 1938-1939 season brought with it some changes. As the season came to an end there were several teams dealing with a variety of challenges including Hammond. Recruiting and retaining players was just one of the problems Ed Ciesar was facing. According to the book the National Basketball League, “Cleveland and Pittsburgh were still striving for a better fan base and Hammond and Indianapolis were losing medic interest, which could only result in declining fan interest.”

Right when the NBL began to find stability the world pretty much fell apart. World War II would find its way to America during the 1941-42 season and completely change the NBL forever. Indiana had added a new team to the NBL, the most successful of any of the Indiana franchises, the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons. The Fort Wayne squad, who would eventually evolve into the Detroit Pistons, were really an exception to the rule for the NBL during the war years. Between 1942 and 1945 the NBL lost nearly half of its teams and dropped down to just six teams in the league.

Hammond did not survive the war years. After going 6-18 during the 1940-41 campaign and unable to fill a complete roster due to the draft, Ed Ciesar decided to leave the National Basketball League in October 1941. The All Americans never did recapture the success that they had with John Wooden at the helm. However, the city of Whiting can still claim that the town for a short while had a professional basketball team.

From 1937 until 1948 the National Basketball League was the undisputed premier professional basketball organization in the United States and Whiting played a part in this. Owners of the NBL pursued ownership, for the most part, because of a love of the game. And in the process these teams helped promote not only the owners’ businesses but also the communities at large. Athletes joined teams as a way to supplement their meager wages during the Depression, and in many instances gained steady employment if they joined the company/factory team.