Editing Atlanta Hawks (section)

===1946–1953: Buffalo, Tri-Cities and Milwaukee===
[[File:Wharton Field House - Moline, Illinois.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Wharton Field House]] in Moline, Illinois]]
The origins of the Atlanta Hawks can be traced back to the '''Buffalo Bisons''' franchise, which was founded in 1946. The Bisons were a member of the [[National Basketball League (United States)|National Basketball League]], and played their games at the [[Buffalo Memorial Auditorium]]. The club was organized by Leo Ferris and the Erie County [[American Legion]] and was coached by [[Nat Hickey]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://s3.amazonaws.com/bncore/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Ferris32z.jpg|title=Buffalo Joins the Major Leagues|date=November 10, 1946|work=[[Buffalo Courier-Express]]|access-date=December 29, 2016|archive-date=February 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226214916/http://s3.amazonaws.com/bncore/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Ferris32z.jpg|url-status=live}}</ref> Their first game – a 50–39 victory over the [[Syracuse Nationals]] – was played on November 8, 1946. On the team was [[Pop Gates|William "Pop" Gates]], who, along with [[Dolly King|William "Dolly" King]], was one of the first two African-American players in the NBL.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/pop-gates/|title=Pop Gates Naismith Hall of Fame entry|access-date=January 25, 2017|archive-date=March 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329051836/http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/pop-gates/|url-status=live}}</ref> The team, which needed to draw 3,600 fans per game to break even, struggled to draw 1,000 fans per game to the Auditorium. The franchise lasted only 38 days (13 games) in Buffalo when, on December 25, 1946, [[Leo Ferris]], the team's general manager and co-owner, announced that the team would be moving to [[Moline, Illinois]], which at that time was part of an area then known as the "[[Quad Cities|Tri-Cities]]": [[Moline, Illinois]], [[Rock Island, Illinois]], and [[Davenport, Iowa]].<ref name="WagnerForbes"/>

Upon relocation to Moline, the team was renamed the '''Tri-Cities Blackhawks''', and played their home games at [[Wharton Field House]], a 6,000-seat arena in Moline.<ref>{{cite web|title=Franchise History|url=http://www.nba.com/hawks/history/season-by-season-recaps.html|publisher=NBA Media Ventures, LLC|website=Hawks.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023232607/https://www.nba.com/hawks/history/season-by-season-recaps.html|archive-date=October 23, 2013|access-date=November 26, 2022|url-status=dead}}</ref> The team featured [[Basketball positions#Guards|guard]]/[[Basketball positions#Forwards|forward]] and coach Deanglo King, and was owned by Leo Ferris and [[Ben Kerner]].<ref name=":0"/> Pop Gates remained on the Blackhawks roster, and finished second on the team in scoring behind future 1949 [[NBL Most Valuable Player Award|NBL MVP]] [[Don Otten]]. A [[Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame]] member, Gates helped to integrate the league and later became the first African-American coach in a major sports league, coaching Dayton in 1948.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tag/william-p-gates |title=The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame – Hall of Famers |access-date=February 4, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912061724/http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tag/william-p-gates |archive-date=September 12, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.todaysfastbreak.com/from-the-courts/have-you-ever-heard-of-william-pop-gates/|title=Have You Ever Heard of – William 'Pop' Gates – TFB|author=Kelly Scaletta|work=Today's FastBreak|access-date=February 4, 2016|archive-date=April 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422133206/http://www.todaysfastbreak.com/from-the-courts/have-you-ever-heard-of-william-pop-gates/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1949, the Blackhawks became one of the [[National Basketball Association]]'s 17 original teams after a merger of the 12-year-old NBL and the three-year-old [[Basketball Association of America]] (BAA). They reached the [[NBA playoffs|playoffs]] in the NBA's inaugural year under the leadership of coach [[Red Auerbach]]. The following season, they drafted three-time All-American [[Bob Cousy]], but they were unable to reach a deal and traded him to the [[Chicago Stags]] (who would later surrender him in a dispersal draft to the [[Boston Celtics]] when the Stags folded). The Blackhawks finished last in the Western Division and missed the playoffs. By then, it was obvious that the Tri-Cities area was too small to support an NBA team. After the season, the franchise relocated to [[Milwaukee]], and became the '''Milwaukee Hawks'''.