<P> The team 's origins can be traced to the establishment of the Buffalo Bisons in 1946 in Buffalo , New York , a member of the National Basketball League ( NBL ) owned by Ben Kerner and Leo Ferris . After 38 days in Buffalo , the team moved to Moline , Illinois , where they were renamed the Tri-Cities Blackhawks . In 1949 , they joined the NBA as part of the merger between the NBL and the Basketball Association of America ( BAA ) , and briefly had Red Auerbach as coach . In 1951 , Kerner moved the team to Milwaukee , where they changed their name to the Hawks . Kerner and the team moved again in 1955 to St. Louis , where they won their only NBA championship in 1958 and qualified to play in the NBA Finals in 1957 , 1960 and 1961 . The Hawks played the Boston Celtics in all four of their trips to the NBA Finals . The St. Louis Hawks moved to Atlanta in 1968 , when Kerner sold the franchise to Thomas Cousins and former Georgia Governor Carl Sanders . </P>
<P> The team 's origins can be traced to the establishment of the Buffalo Bisons in 1946 in Buffalo , New York , a member of the National Basketball League ( NBL ) owned by Ben Kerner and Leo Ferris . After 38 days in Buffalo , the team moved to Moline , Illinois , where they were renamed the Tri-Cities Blackhawks . In 1949 , they joined the NBA as part of the merger between the NBL and the Basketball Association of America ( BAA ) , and briefly had Red Auerbach as coach . In 1951 , Kerner moved the team to Milwaukee , where they changed their name to the Hawks . Kerner and the team moved again in 1955 to St. Louis , where they won their only NBA championship in 1958 and qualified to play in the NBA Finals in 1957 , 1960 and 1961 . The Hawks played the Boston Celtics in all four of their trips to the NBA Finals . The St. Louis Hawks moved to Atlanta in 1968 , when Kerner sold the franchise to Thomas Cousins and former Georgia Governor Carl Sanders . </P>
when did the hawks win the nba championship
when did the hawks win the nba championship
1958
1958