New Exhibit at Indiana Historical Society Showcases Professional Basketball Origins in Indiana

The Indiana Historical Society (IHS)’s newest exhibit, Going Pro: Basketball Origins in Indiana, opens September 23 at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, located at 450 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis.

Visitors to this exhibit will explore Indiana’s game of basketball and its impact on professional sports, including stories of iconic games, teams and players through amazing photographs, one-of-a-kind artifacts and a digital media experience that will bring these stories to life like never before.

The foundations of professional basketball in Indiana were found in humble gyms with players “splitting up the nickels” after a game. It wasn’t long before Indiana and its passion for the game played a foundational role in building national basketball leagues, playing in the nation’s largest fieldhouses, and players flying to games aboard private planes. Dozens of professional teams made their mark on the Hoosier state with teams in several cities including Anderson, Richmond, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and Hammond.

Going Pro: Basketball Origins in Indiana includes some of the following stories:

• During World War II, Fort Wayne manufacturer Fred Zollner started a pro-basketball squad. While other teams were shutting down or suspending operations, Zollner grew his squad from the ground up. They would become one of the best in the nation, eventually joining the NBA. The team continues to play today as the Detroit Pistons.

• In Indianapolis, local sporting goods business Em-Roes started a barnstorming basketball team in the 1910s as one of the first professional teams around. Many players from the team went on to great heights — like Ward “Piggy” Lambert, successful Purdue University coach and National Basketball League (merged to become NBA) commissioner, or Albert Feeney, who went on to win a tight race to become mayor of Indianapolis in 1948.

• In 1930, Dave Dejernett became the first Black player to win a state basketball tournament on an integrated team in the U.S. — as the Washington Hatchets beat the Muncie Central Bearcats 32-21 in the Indiana State Finals at Butler Fieldhouse, the largest basketball venue in the country at the time. After attending school at Indiana Central College (now the University of Indianapolis), he put together an all-star semi-pro team with players from his high school and college. He then went on to play professionally for legendary all-Black teams the New York Renaissance and the Harlem Globetrotters.

• The Indiana Pacers started in 1967 as one of the inaugural teams of the new American Basketball Association. The Pacers were stars of the league with hall-of-famers like Mel Daniels, Roger Brown and George McGinnis. The ABA’s finances led to a merger with the NBA in 1976. The Pacers were offered a spot in the new league but had to pay a $3.2 million entry fee. This, combined with other costs, left the team struggling. But Pacers Assistant General Manager Nancy Leonard had an idea. She proposed a telethon to raise money to keep the team afloat. In the summer of 1977, they did just that, opening the way for the Pacers to be the Hoosier staple they are today.

The Going Pro: Basketball Origins in Indiana exhibit opens September 23, 2023, and runs through February 2024. The exhibit is presented by Pacers Sports & Entertainment.

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