The Warfare of Modern Basketball is Warfare of EQUIPMENT! IKE the resisters of the blitzkrieg, lacking the implements L of modern war, visiting basketballers this season playing on courts equipped with the new Fan-Shaped Bank — without benefit of practice with the same type of equipment at home — will be fighting a losing battle. Opinion has it a lot of enterprising new stars will rise this year — new teams whose coaches will seize upon the new bank as an offensive weapon. Alert mentors see in the new banks an opportunity to steal a march on superior teams by befuddling them with this unfamiliar equipment. No argument — a team can not put in its practice hours facing the old-style rectangular banks — then step onto a court hav- ing the different new targets and do its best. And the sugges- tion that, for practice, those areas of the old-style banks which have been eliminated to create the shape of the new banks be painted black so they can not be seen by the players, is not the logical answer. The ball will continue to bounce off the painted portions of the bank. And it's the end space play which the new bank contributes in such important measure to the game. The new banks provide not only smaller targets of a different shape, but demand a radical change in basic game tactics. Yes — the teams that will win from this season on, will be the teams which master the new style of game required by the new Fan-Shaped Banks. What MATERIAL Should the New Bank Be Made Of? Our years of experience in providing banks made of wood, steel and glass to the Nation’s leading schools and clubs — plus ex- haustive experimentations with the manufacture of the new Fan- Shaped Banks — have led us to the definite conclusion that the new banks can not be made successfully of wood. We are so firm in this conviction that we have refused to make a wood type. For years we have made the old-style rectangular bank of plywood, and successfully, because plywood is adaptable to this shape. But plywood does not lend itself to the new fan shape. When sawed to the new fan shape, even the Plywood was suit- able for the old- style bank, but is no good for the new bank. WARPING highest grade plywood will soon check and split (because plywood is bonded on a rectangular basis and leaves an exposed edge after cutting); it will warp, causing a convex, concave or irregular bank- ing surface (because this is characteristic of plywood); it will “erupt” (unless it is the highest grade plywood because it will con- tain pitch pockets and “filled” holes); it will dent (and otherwise scar if it is struck by an athletic shot or similar hard object); its surface can not remain a perfect plane because even the best plywood has “shims” or patches glued over imperfec- tions — and last, there is decay in all wood. Plywood will cause endless trouble and expense when cut to the new fan shape. SOLID STEEL- ine only material for the new bank Put durability out of mind for a moment... . With all non-basket surfaces eliminated, every square inch of the new bank is a vital scoring zone, from which a basket can be made. Therefore it is of su- preme necessity that the entire face of the bank be absolutely free of imperfections. The slightest varia- tion from a true plane can falsely deflect the ball, denying a player a deserved score. That’s why steel is the only material from which the new bank can be made successfully — because only steel can be machined to the close accuracy demanded THE J. E. PORTER and remain true — only steel can take the punish- ment to which a basketball bank is subjected and not misalign, warp, split, crack, splinter, dent, bulge, check and otherwise become unfit for further perfect service. As to durability — once steel banks of the correct and substantial Porter-made type have been installed, your bank problems are ended forever. These banks are indestructible. They can never wear out. And this means economy! Figure it out for yourself. After a few years of repairing and replacing wood banks, you will have spent more than the everlast- ing steel banks cost. FRONT VIEW showing the absolutely smooth and perfectly flat face of the Porter Fan-Shaped Bank. Because all non-basket banking areas have been eliminated, every square inch of the face of the new bank has become a vital scor- ing zone. Because the Porter Fan-Shaped Bank is made of solid steel, it will retain its perfect banking surface forever. No warps, checks, splits, dents or other misalignments or blemishes can ever occur to alter this bank’s permanent perfection. The entire bank is painted non- glare eggshell white. SIDE VIEW showing the continuous one- piece construction of the Porter Fan-Shaped Bank. Formed from a single sheet of heavy steel, the face and the 1!/2.-inch wide flange are one and the same piece of metal. The edge, where the face turns into the flange, is a small quarter-circle, in compliance with the regulation that all sharp edges be eliminated to prevent injury to the ball. Any moulding or bead at this point, pro- jecting over the face, would make the bank unofficial. CORPORATION ¢ OTTAWA « ILLINOIS demanded by a Porter ‘could illegally deflect an out-of-bounds ball back into the court, or even into the basket, ee de- plorable cone REAR VIEW showing the scientific bracing which makes the Porter Fan- Shaped Bank absolutely rigid. Solid steel braces are arc-welded to the rear face of the bank, to the continuous flange, to each other, and to the attachment plates, unifying the assembly. Thus shock is evenly distributed, and vibration is completely eliminated. SOLID steel braces and ARC-welding are most important. This combination alone can pro- duce the EVERLASTING Porter-type of bank. Note the continuous flange all around the bank. Note also the eiuady attachment plates, made of 4/-inch-thick solid steel. THE NEW GOAL FOR THE NEW FAN-SHAPED BANK This goal was developed by Porter engineers after months of study and experiment. It meets all the official requirements of a goal to be used with the new fan-shaped bank. It is all-steel, electric-welded, strong and durable, made to maintain a perfect circle in perfect alignment with the bank. It attaches behind the bank, in compliance with the new Rules, to the lower middle attachment plate shown in the rear view illustration above.