Final Standings

Place	Country	P	W	L
1	United States of America	8	8	0
2	France	7	5	2
3	Brazil	8	7	1
4	Mexico	7	5	2
5	Uruguay	8	5	3
6	Chile	8	4	4
7	Czechoslovakia	8	5	3
8	Korea	8	3	5
9	Canada	8	6	2
10	Peru	8	4	4
11	Belgium	8	5	3
12	Philippines	8	4	4
13	Cuba	7	4	3
14	Iran	7	2	5
15	Argentina	8	4	4
16	Hungary	8	3	5
17	Italy	8	4	4
18	China	8	5	3
19	Egypt	7	2	5
20	Great Britain	8	1	7
21	Switzerland	8	2	6
22	Iraq	7	0	7
23	Ireland	6	0	6

Final Round

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	21st-22nd Place
12.08.1948	Switzerland	2	Iraq	0 #
	19th-20th Place
12.08.1948	Great Britain	18	Egypt	50
	13th-14th Place
12.08.1948	Cuba	70	Iran	36
	11th-12th Place
12.08.1948	Belgium	38	Philippines	34
	9th-10th Place
12.08.1948	Canada	49	Peru	43
	Final
13.08.1948	United States of America	65	France	21
	15th-16th Place
13.08.1948	Argentina	2	Hungary	0 #
	17th-18th Place
13.08.1948	China	38	Italy	54
	7th-8th Place
13.08.1948	Czechoslovakia	39	Korea	38
	5th-6th Place
13.08.1948	Uruguay	50	Chile	32
	3rd-4th Place
13.08.1948	Brazil	52	Mexico	47

Semi-Final Round

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	17th-20th Semi-Finals
10.08.1948	Italy	35	Egypt	33
11.08.1948	China	54	Great Britain	25
	9th-12th Semi-Finals
10.08.1948	Peru	40	Philippines	29
10.08.1948	Canada	45	Belgium	40
	1st-4th Semi-Finals
11.08.1948	United States of America	71	Mexico	40
11.08.1948	Brazil	33	France	43

Classification

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	21st-23rd Classification
10.08.1948	Ireland	12	Switzerland	51
	13th-16th Classification
10.08.1948	Cuba	35	Argentina	34
12.08.1948	Iran	2	Hungary	0 #
	5th-8th Classification
11.08.1948	Czechoslovakia	36	Chile	38
11.08.1948	Uruguay	45	Korea	36

Quarter-Final Round

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	17th-23rd Quarter-Finals
07.08.1948	Italy	77	Iraq	28
09.08.1948	China	42	Switzerland	34
11.08.1948	Belgium	2	Hungary	0 #
	9th-16th Quater-Finals
07.08.1948	Cuba	40	Peru	45
07.08.1948	Canada	81	Iran	25
07.08.1948	Great Britain	46	Ireland	21
07.08.1948	Argentina	43	Philippines	45
	1st-8th Quarter-Finals
09.08.1948	Brazil	28	Czechoslovakia	23
09.08.1948	Chile	52	France	53
09.08.1948	Mexico	43	Korea	32
09.08.1948	Uruguay	28	United States of America	63

Group Standings

	P	W	L	Pts
Group A
Brazil	5	5	0	10
Uruguay	5	3	2	6
Canada	5	3	2	6
Hungary	5	3	2	6
Italy	5	1	4	2
Great Britain	5	0	5	0
Group B
Chile	5	3	2	6
Korea	5	3	2	6
Belgium	5	3	2	6
Philippines	5	3	2	6
China	5	3	2	6
Iraq	5	0	5	0
Group C
Unites States of America	5	5	0	10
Czechoslovakia	5	4	1	8
Argentina	5	3	2	6
Peru	5	2	3	4
Egypt	5	1	4	2
Switzerland	5	0	5	0
Group D
Mexico	4	4	0	8
France	4	3	1	6
Cuba	4	2	2	4
Iran	4	1	3	2
Ireland	4	0	4	0

Group Results

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	Group A
30.07.1948	Brazil	45	Hungary	41
30.07.1948	Uruguay	69	Great Britain	17
30.07.1948	Canada	55	Italy	37
31.07.1948	Uruguay	32	Brazil	36
31.07.1948	Canada	44	Great Britain	24
31.07.1948	Italy	19	Hungary	32
02.08.1948	Great Britain	11	Brazil	76
02.08.1948	Canada	36	Hungary	37
03.08.1948	Italy	34	Uruguay	46
04.08.1948	Great Britain	28	Italy	49
04.08.1948	Hungary	31	Uruguay	49
04.08.1948	Canada	35	Brazil	57
05.08.1948	Hungary	60	Great Britain	23
05.08.1948	Brazil	47	Italy	31
05.08.1948	Canada	52	Uruguay	50
	Group B
30.07.1948	Philippines	102	Iraq	30
30.07.1948	Belgium	27	Korea	29
30.07.1948	China	39	Chile	44
31.07.1948	Iraq	18	Chile	100
31.07.1948	Korea	33	Philippines	35
02.08.1948	Belgium	34	China	36
03.08.1948	Philippines	39	Chile	68
03.08.1948	Iraq	20	Belgium	98
03.08.1948	Korea	48	China	49
04.08.1948	Chile	36	Belgium	38
04.08.1948	Korea	120	Iraq	20
04.08.1948	Philippines	51	China	32
05.08.1948	Philippines	34	Belgium	35
06.08.1948	China	125	Iraq	25
06.08.1948	Korea	28	Chile	21
	Group C
30.07.1948	United States of America	86	Switzerland	21
30.07.1948	Czechoslovakia	38	Peru	30
31.07.1948	Argentina	57	Egypt	38
02.08.1948	Peru	52	Egypt	27
02.08.1948	Switzerland	23	Argentina	49
02.08.1948	United States of America	53	Czechoslovakia	28
03.08.1948	Switzerland	19	Peru	49
03.08.1948	United States of America	59	Argentina	57
03.08.1948	Czechoslovakia	52	Egypt	38
04.08.1948	United States of America	66	Egypt	28
05.08.1948	Czechoslovakia	54	Switzerland	28
05.08.1948	Argentina	32	Peru	34
06.08.1948	Egypt	31	Switzerland	29
06.08.1948	United States of America	61	Peru	33
06.08.1948	Argentina	41	Czechoslovakia	45
	Group D
31.07.1948	Iran	30	France	62
31.07.1948	Mexico	39	Cuba	31
02.08.1948	Mexico	71	Ireland	9
02.08.1948	Cuba	31	France	37
03.08.1948	Mexico	50	France	42
04.08.1948	Ireland	22	Iran	49
05.08.1948	Mexico	68	Iran	27
05.08.1948	Ireland	25	Cuba	88
06.08.1948	Iran	30	Cuba	63
06.08.1948	France	73	Ireland	14

Report

Ireland finished in 23rd and last place in the 1948 Olympic Games Basketball Tournament, losing all six games, although they were drawn in a tough group that included eventual Semi-Finalists France and Mexico (France went on to meet the mighty United States of America in the Final).

It was the only time an Ireland team represented the country at the Olympic Games in a team sport until the 21st Century when the Hockey team did so. Although the Amateir Basketball Association had only just been founded in 1945, the authorities decided to take advantage of the Olympic Games being held in London.

Most of the players came from the Army, who were most prominent in Irish Basketball at the time, having played the sport since the 1920s (the army was the only place that had gyms at the time). While the resulting report given to the Army authorities said it was a valuable learning experience and Ireland could do quite well at the next Olympics, it was not until a couple of decades later that Ireland entered the International arena again.

The Irish team had been using a ball that was more like a cross between a medicine ball and a Gaelic football than a basketball, and were using an outdated version of the rules, having self-isolated during the 1930s and 1940s due to World War II. Although outclassed by superior opponents in Mexico and France, Irish players were picking up moves they learnt during the tournament and executing them well during play towards the end.

Ireland Team: 3. Donald O’Donovan 4. Frank O’Connor 5. Tommy Mallon 6. Patrick Crehan 7. Jimmy McGee 8. Bill Jackson 9. Harry Boland 10. Tommy Keenan 12. Donald Sheriff 13. Daniel Reddin 14. Paddy Sheriff 15. Jim Flynn 16. Christy Walsh

References

Websites

[1] FIBA (2016) Schedule & Results | 1948 Olympic Games [Internet] Available from: http://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/sid/2932/tid/305/schedule.html [Accessed 25 July 2016]

[2] FIBA (2016) Group Standings [Internet] Available from: http://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/sid/2932/tid/305/group-standing.html [Accessed 25 July 2016]

[3] FIBA (2016) Ireland [Internet] Available from: http://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/team/p/sid/2932/tid/305/_/1948_Olympic_Games_Tournament_for_Men/index.html [Accessed 25 July 2016]

[4] History Ireland (2012) Ireland ‘slam-dunked’: basketball at the 1948 games [Internet] Available from: https://www.historyireland.com/20th-century-contemporary-history/ireland-slam-dunked-basketball-at-the-1948-games/ [Accessed 30 April 2020]

Images

[5] 1st Dibs (2020) Olympic Games 1948 Poster [Internet] Available from: https://a.1stdibscdn.com/archivesE/upload/a_436/1508595396776/PS0745_org.jpg [Accessed 30 April 2020]

[6] History Ireland (2012) Ireland ‘slam-dunked’: basketball at the 1948 games [Internet] Available from: https://www.historyireland.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Ireland-%E2%80%98slam-dunked%E2%80%99-basketball-at-the-1948-games-1.jpg [Accessed 30 April 2020]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Mike Tully and Rob Gihbu

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 30 April 2020

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2020

You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved.