Charter Member of The NBA
On August 3, 1949, Sheboygan and six other NBL teams merged with the 10-team BAA to become the National Basketball Association. The Red Skins, who played in the NBA's all-time smallest arena and market, competed in the 1949–50 season under coach Suesens and finished with a 22–40 record, good for fourth place in the six-team Western Division. When Oshkosh folded soon after the merger, Sheboygan laid claim to being the oldest professional basketball franchise in the nation. The Red Skins marched to a 7–2 start on the strength of home wins over the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Rochester Royals and Indianapolis Olympians.
The most spectacular win of the 1949–50 season came on Jan. 5, 1950, when they defeated George Mikan and the Minneapolis Lakers 85–82 in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 3,800 fans at the Sheboygan Municipal Auditorium and Armory. Four future Hall of Famers were on the floor for Minneapolis that Thursday night: Mikan (who scored 42 points), Jim Pollard, Vern Mikkelsen and Slater Martin. The Lakers coach was Hall of Famer John Kundla. The stunning victory over that season's eventual NBA champion gave the Red Skins a 13–13 record, after which injuries took their toll and the team faded. But they qualified for the playoffs, where they nearly upset the Western Division champion Indianapolis Olympians.
The Red Skins withdrew from the NBA on April 24, 1950, and then joined the new National Professional Basketball League. Sheboygan posted the NPBL's best record (29–16) in 1950–51, after which the league dissolved.
In 13 seasons of professional organized basketball, Sheboygan compiled a 250–238 regular-season record.
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