Atlanta acquired Ralph Davis; rights to Bill Bridges from Packers in exchange for Al Ferrari; Shellie McMillon.
On June 14, 1962, St. Louis sent Al Ferrari and Shellie McMillon to the Chicago Packers for Ralph Davis and the rights to Bill Bridges. League and Hawks transaction ledgers preserve the same four-player package. The key long-term asset was Bridges, who had played in the ABL in 1961-62 before beginning his NBA career with St. Louis the following season.
Bridges developed into a durable Hawks forward. After 27 games as an NBA rookie in 1962-63, he played 80, 79, 78, 79 and 82 games over the next five St. Louis seasons and earned All-Star recognition in 1966-67 and 1967-68. The rights acquired in this trade therefore became a multi-year starter-level asset rather than a speculative hold.
Al Ferrari appeared in 18 games for the Chicago Zephyrs in 1962-63 and played only a small role. Shellie McMillon, who had just produced 48 useful games for St. Louis in 1961-62, did not play another NBA season after the trade. Chicago acquired two known players, but the package did not generate anything close to the multi-season value St. Louis received from Bridges.
Ralph Davis was part of the St. Louis return, but Bridges is enough to separate the deal. The Hawks converted a pair of outgoing veterans into a future two-time All-Star who became a major frontcourt piece for years. Chicago received only brief Ferrari production and no post-trade NBA season from McMillon. That difference supports the strong St. Louis grade already attached to the canonical record.
Hawks Win — St. Louis A-, Chicago C. Bill Bridges became a long-term Hawks starter and two-time All-Star, while the outgoing Ferrari-McMillon package produced only limited post-trade NBA value for the Chicago franchise.