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Leo F. Ferris (May 31, 1917 – June 1, 1993)[1] was an American sports executive and businessman from Elmira, New York. He played a critical role in the birth of the National Basketball Association.
Ferris founded the National Basketball League's Buffalo Bisons, which after a series of moves survives today as the National Basketball Association's Atlanta Hawks. In 1946, as the Bisons' general manager, he signed the first African American player in the NBL, Pop Gates, several months before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
In 1948, at age 31, he became president of the NBL; a year later, he negotiated the league's merger with the Basketball Association of America, which created the modern NBA. But he is perhaps best known as the primary inventor of the NBA's 24-second shot clock.[2]
- ^ "Leo Ferris, a Founder Of N.B.A., Dies at 76". The New York Times. Associated Press. June 5, 1993. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
- ^ Markazi, Arash (October 30, 2015). "Long-forgotten Leo Ferris helped devise NBA's 24-second clock, first used 61 years ago today". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 21, 2024.