Indianapolis Jets

The Indianapolis Jets were a Basketball Association of America (BAA) team based in Indianapolis. They were founded as the Indianapolis Kautskys and used that name until the team joined the BAA. They played for one year in the BAA and then ceased operations due to the formation of the Indianapolis Olympians.

Indianapolis Jets
Leagues	NPBL: 1932–1933 MBC: 1935–1937 NBL: 1937–1948 BAA: 1948–1949
Founded	1931
Folded	1949
History	Indianapolis Kautskys 1931–1948 Indianapolis Jets 1948–1949
Arena	Butler Fieldhouse (15,000)
Location	Indianapolis, Indiana
Team colors	Red, navy blue, white
Home Away Third

Franchise history

In 1931, Frank Kautsky, an Indianapolis grocer, formed a professional basketball team and named it the Indianapolis Kautskys. Their first game they ever played was on November 24, 1931, which they won 37–18 against the Kokomo 66ers in Kokomo, Indiana. Their first home game would be on December 11, where they'd win 31–17 over the Fort Wayne Firemen.^[1] After playing in the National Professional Basketball League (NPBL) in 1932–33^[2] and the Midwest Basketball Conference (MBC) in the 1935–36 and 1936–37) seasons,^[3] the Kautskys became one of the original members of the newly formed National Basketball League (NBL) in 1937.^[4]

The franchise's best season was in 1946–47; led by Arnie Risen, they set the franchise mark for most wins (27) and won the World Professional Basketball Tournament.

With the Minneapolis Lakers, Rochester Royals, and Fort Wayne Pistons, the team moved to the Basketball Association of America (BAA) for the 1948–49 season. At that time the team's name was changed to the Indianapolis Jets because the BAA prevented its teams from having commercial sponsors, similar to how the Fort Wayne Pistons removed the Zollner sponsor from their original name.^[4]

Following the 1948–49 season, the Jets folded. This coincided with the BAA and the NBL merging to form the National Basketball Association (NBA).^[5] For the 1949–50 season, a new Indianapolis franchise, the Indianapolis Olympians, was created.^[4]

Season-by-season records

Note: W = wins, L = losses, % = win–loss %

Season	W	L	%	Playoffs	Results
Indianapolis Kautskys (NPBL)
1932–33	7	4	0.636	Did not qualify
Indianapolis Kautskys (MBC)
1935–36	9	3	0.750	Round Robin Tourney
1936–37	2	5	0.286	Did not qualify
Indianapolis Kautskys (NBL)
1937–38	4	9	0.308	Did not qualify
1938–39	13	13	0.500	Did not qualify
1939–40	9	19	0.321	Did not qualify
1941–42	12	11	0.522	0–2
1945–46	10	22	0.312	Did not qualify
1946–47	27	17	0.614	2–3
1947–48	24	35	0.407	1–3
Indianapolis Jets (BAA)
1948–49	18	42	0.300	Did not qualify

Players

• Ernie Andres
• George Chestnut
• Norman Cottom
• Gene Cramer
• Gus Doerner
• Glynn Downey
• Hal Gensichen
• Bruce Hale
• Bob Kessler
• Branch McCracken
• Charles "Stretch" Murphy
• William Perigo
• Cy Proffitt
• Arnie Risen
• Herm Schaefer
• Jim Springer
• Dave Strack
• Earl Thomas
• John Wooden
• Jewell Young
• Ash Resnick

Basketball Hall of Famers

Indianapolis Jets Hall of Famers
Players
No.	Name	Position	Tenure	Inducted
—	Arnie Risen	C	1945–1948	1998
—	John Wooden	G	1932–1937 1938–1939	1960
—	Charles "Stretch" Murphy	C	1932–1934	1960
—	Branch McCracken	C/F/G	—	1960

References

1. Indianapolis Kautskys/Indianapolis Jets History
2. "National Basketball League 1932-33". The Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
3. "Midwest Basketball Conference [1935-36 to 1936-37]". The Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
4. Biesel, David B. (1991). Can You Name that Team?: A Guide to Professional Baseball, Football, Soccer, Hockey, and Basketball Teams and Leagues. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. pp. 33–34. ISBN 0-8108-2458-2.
5. Curtis Harris (21 January 2022). "How the NBA's 75th anniversary sweeps away its early history". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 June 2024.