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The real ‘Sweetwater’ story has a Detroit angle

By Stuart London

Everett Osborne attends the Los Angeles premiere of "Sweetwater" (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images)
Everett Osborne attends the Los Angeles premiere of "Sweetwater" (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Olympia Stadium on Grand River Avenue in Detroit, (Photo by Barbara Alper/Getty Images) /

Aftermath of Sweetwater’s time with Detroit

Without Clifton and Boswell, the Gems spiraled downward even more. They lost their final 22 games to end up with the worst losing percentage of any major pro basketball team (.091) ever.

Having taken a financial bath, as they finished the season drawing about 300 fans a game, Boring and Winston decided to sell the franchise to Minneapolis businessmen Benny Berger and Morris Chaflin for the princely sum of $15,000.

The team was renamed the Lakers and, thanks to the Gems having the worst record in the league, they got center George Mikan the next season when his club disbanded. The team eventually moved to Los Angeles after that, and are currently estimated to be worth $5 billion.

A big ‘What if’

Now, what would have happened if Clifton had stayed with Detroit? He was one of the top basketball players in the country (he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014) and his combination of size and athleticism was extremely rare back then.

What if Clifton had made the Gems respectable? Maybe with the team more competitive, and a star to watch,  attendance would have increased to their games and give Boring and Winston hope for the future.

Maybe they decide to give the Gems another season. Both were not anxious to give up the team (Boring would go on to form the successful Vagabond Kings semi-pro team) but the debts they owed the league made a sale financially prudent.

If the Gems came back, they could have gotten Mikan the next year, and really established themselves as a powerhouse. If the Gems survived, there are no Lakers, and Fred Zollner does not 11 years later move the Pistons to Detroit.

Who would have thought a decision by ‘Sweetwater’ to leave Detroit after one game in 1947 could have so many possible ramifications.

Next. Detroit Pistons: Why the Wiseman trade looks even dumber now. dark

For some reason, the NBA officially recognizes only the BAA as its predecessor, even though it was created by the merger of teams from both leagues, so ‘Sweetwater’ did make his official NBA debut with New York.

But Detroit was the first place he put on a uniform for a team that would be part of the NBA.

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