The Blackhawks finished last in the Western Division and missed the playoff, but by then, it was obvious that the Tri-Cities area was too small to support an NBA team. The following season, they drafted three-time All-American Bob Cousy, but 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). They reached the playoffs in the NBA's inaugural year under the leadership of coach Red Auerbach. In 1949, the Blackhawks became one of the NBA's 17 original teams after a merger of the 12-year-old NBL and the three-year-old Basketball Association of America (BAA). A Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame member, Gates helped to integrate the league and later become the first African-American coach in a major sports league, coaching Dayton in 1948. Pop Gates remained on the Blackhawks roster, and finished second on the team in scoring behind future 1948 NBL MVP Don Otten. The team featured guard/forward and coach Deanglo King, and was owned by Leo Ferris and Ben Kerner. 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, Illinois. On December 25, 1946, general manager Leo Ferris announced that the team would be moving to Moline, Illinois (which at that time was part of an area then known as the "Tri-Cities": Moline, Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa). 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 however, the franchise lasted only 38 days in Buffalo. On the team was William "Pop" Gates, who, along with William "Dolly" King, was one of the first two African-American players in the NBL. Their first game (a 50–39 victory over the Syracuse Nationals) was played on November 8, 1946.
The club was organized by the Erie County American Legion and was coached by Nat Hickey. The Bisons were a member of the National Basketball League and played their games at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. The origins of the Atlanta Hawks can be traced to the Buffalo Bisons franchise, which was founded in 1946. 1.11 The departure of Mike Budenholzer/Rebuilding (2017-current).
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