The Akron Goodyear Wingfoots are one of the oldest basketball teams in the United States. They were founded in 1918, by the workers at the Goodyear Tire Company, in Akron, Ohio. The teams, while giving workers recreation, also helped to promote one of the first canvas/rubber based shoes made specifically for athletics, the wingfoot.
In the late 1930s, Goodyear, Firestone, General Electric, and other companies with similar Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Elite teams, decided to form the National Basketball League (NBL) to showcase their teams (it was actually that the MBC changed its name to the NBL).[2]
The Wingfoots won the first NBL title in 1938. During the 1938–1939 season, the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots finished second in the National Basketball League's Eastern Division. The team finished behind the Akron Firestone Non-Skids, another team from Akron, each season. However, the Wingfoots did capture the league's first championship, after an impressive playoff run. During the 1939–1940 season, the Wingfoots finished third in the Eastern Division, winning exactly fifty percent of the team's games. During the next season, the squad finished next to last in the National Basketball League.
During the 1941–1942 season, the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots experienced a turnaround, finishing third in the National Basketball League. The team, however, lost in the first round of the playoffs. While the Goodyear franchise did try to compete for the 1942–1943 season (even if they ultimately opted out on playing in the NBL that season), a poor performance on the court and a declining number of men available to play due to World War II caused the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots to suspend operations as a franchise before the season's end, with them ultimately not returning to operations until a year after World War II concluded.
1946–61: NIBL
The Akron Goodyear Wingfoots joined the National Industrial Basketball League in 1946, and became an integrated part of the league. They never met any success, as the Bartlesville Phillips 66ers dominated in winning the titles. In 15 seasons, their record was 126 wins and 139 losses.
1961–73: NABL and FIBA Intercontinental Cups
The team was not a part of the BAA and NBL merger that created the NBA. Instead, they reconstituted those NBL teams left over into the National Industrial Basketball League. The Wingfoots regained national power in the NIBL, which in 1960, was changed to the National Alliance of Basketball Leagues. They joined the NABL in the 1960s, and continued to play there until the late 1970s. They also represented USA basketball at the FIBA Intercontinental Cup, which is organized by FIBA World. In 1964, they won their first AAU tournament, after beating their bitter rivals, the Phillips 66ers, in the final. They won the AAU championship again, in 1967.
1973–present
Always a stepping stone for new leagues such as the NBA, the American Basketball League (ABL), and the American Basketball Association (ABA), the Wingfoots stopped playing a national schedule in the mid-1970s, and after the NABL was dropped in favor of touring teams, Goodyear Tire stopped sponsoring the team. In the 1980s, team sponsorship was picked up by Tom Ficara and Reach Entertainment, and the team today plays year-round all over the world. The Wingfoots are the only AAU Elite team that still plays a full college schedule. Although the team has not yet returned to its previous glory, it has again started playing in the historic AAU National Tournament.
Akron Goodyear Wingfoots (Henry "Hank" Vaughn): Vern Benson 3, Jim Rayl 20, Jay Miller 22, Jim King 2, Mike McCoy 13 – Calvin Fowler 4, Ed Corell 6, Dan Anderson 6, Mike Dabich 2
Akron Goodyear Wingfoots (Henry "Hank" Vaughn): Calvin Fowler 22, Jerry Curless 8, Jim King 12, Tom Duff 10, Tom Black 14 – Dennis Berholtz 6, Randy Berentz 20, Gary Williams 2, John Schroeder 4, Mike Patterson 5, Ed McKae 2
Akron Goodyear Wingfoots (Henry "Hank" Vaughn): Pete Cunningham 12, Jerry Curless 8, Randy Berentz 16, Mike Patterson 9, Grady Norman 14 – John Schroeder 2, Stewart 9, Worstell 8, Gallagher 2, Fonts 4
Several Wingfoots' players represented the Team USA at the Summer Olympics, the Pan American Games, and the FIBA World Cup. Here is a list of those players, and the number of games they played for the USA national team are in brackets.
Calvin B. Fowler was the captain of the United States gold medal basketball team at the 1967 Pan American Games. He played for the Wingfoots for 10 years (1960–1970), and he was an active international player between 1967 and 1968.
