SWC75
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Endgame
The final year in Syracuse was a surprisingly strong one. Schayes continued to decline at 9.5 ppg but Hannum was beginning to build the team to the peak they would have as the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76’s when they went 68-13 and crushed the Celtics and then the San Francisco Warriors to win the NBA title. Not only was Hal Greer on the team but Chet Walker now joined him. Kerr and Costello were still major players. A kid from North Carolina, not Billy Cunningham but rather Lee Shaffer, put up 18.6 ppg. The team won 48 games, including perhaps the one game you’d most like to see if you had a time machine to see it. Late in the season, (3/10/63), the Warriors, now in San Francisco, came to town with Chamberlain averaging 44 points and 24 rebounds a game. He dwarfed those totals with a remarkable 70 point game only to see his team lose, 163-148 as the Nats put an incredible NINE players in double figures.
“I can’t remember a thing”
The Nats, as they did in every year of their 17 year existence, made it to the playoffs, losing to the Cincinnati Royals, 2 games to 3 in the first round. Dolph Schayes reached back in the first game to score 17 points with 6 assists in the first half. He was scoreless in the second half but blocked a Robertson lay-up in the final seconds leading to a clinching Hal Greer jumper. The final was 116-111, before only 4,335 fans. Robertson dazzled the Nats with 41 points, 18 rebounds and 12 assists in a 115-133 game two blow-out in Cincinnati. The Royals outrebounded the Nationals, 52-83.
Coach Alex Hannum wrote these words from Winston Churchill on the blackboard before game three at the War Memorial: “For when the day comes that we can accept a resounding defeat with indifference, a whole era of our history must be closed.” Hal Greer certainly must have read that. He held Robertson to 16 points and scored 30 of his own. The Syracuse Nationals won the last game they would ever win, 121-117.
Robertson’s 29 points led Cincinnati to a 125-118 win in game four. The home team had won every game so far. The last game was in Syracuse again, with the Nats just one game short of another meeting with the Celtics. But, perhaps sensing it might be the last game, 7,418 fans showed up in the War Memorial on March 26, 1963. In this game Robertson dominated Greer, holding him to 16 points while scoring 32 himself, with 19 rebounds and 13 assists. But Lee Shaffer played his career game, scoring 45 points. The Nats tied it in the final minute with baskets by Shaffer and Kerr to make it 114 all. Robertson started one of his classic drives to the basket but slipped on a wet spot. He kept his dribble but his foot was out of bounds. Hannum called a play for Chet Walker but the rookie’s shot rimmed out.
The Royals moved out to a 119-127 lead in overtime but the Nats were back within 125-127 with 10 seconds left. Reserve guard Al Bianchi wound up with the ball. He drove into Cincy center Wayne Embry and lost control of it. Embry grabbed it and the buzzer sounded. It was over. Years later, David Ramsey asked Oscar Robertson what he remembered about that series. “I can’t remember a thing”, he said.
“All of a sudden, it’s not there”
Tickets went on sale for the 1963-64 season but sales were very slow. There was talk about the franchise moving but there had been talk about that for years. On May 16, 1963, Biasone met with Onondaga County Executive John Mulroy in the basement of the War Memorial. The meeting did not go well. Mulroy wanted an increase in rent for the building. Biasone wanted it cut and a long-term lease signed. They couldn’t agree. Later that night the Nat’s business manager announced the sale of the team to a group from Philadelphia for $500,000, 100 times what Danny paid for it back in 1947. (These days franchises sell for $100 million and up).
Johnny Kerr was relaxing at Three Rivers Inn when he heard the news. He ordered another round of beers for his friends. Then he began to cry. Dolph Schayes was scheduled to make a speech in Scranton, Pa. He could barely speak. He would play one year in Philly, averaging 5.6 points per game before retiring as the NBA’s leading career scorer, (he’d also committed the most fouls, something he was also proud of). He wound up coaching the new Philadelphia 76ers, including Wilt Chamberlain, who would soon devour all his records. He was also supervisor of NBA referees for a time, ironic for the league’s all-time fouler, (at least he had an intimate knowledge of who he was supervising). Larry Costello was resting on a beach in Bermuda and didn’t find out until a week later. He hadn’t just been a player for the team. He’d grown up as a fan. “All those memories. Then all of a sudden, it’s not there”.
Meanwhile, up on Piety Hill, a lean-looking sophomore was eagerly awaiting his first varsity season. His name was Dave Bing.
http://poststandard.newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-post-standard/1955-04-11/
The final year in Syracuse was a surprisingly strong one. Schayes continued to decline at 9.5 ppg but Hannum was beginning to build the team to the peak they would have as the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76’s when they went 68-13 and crushed the Celtics and then the San Francisco Warriors to win the NBA title. Not only was Hal Greer on the team but Chet Walker now joined him. Kerr and Costello were still major players. A kid from North Carolina, not Billy Cunningham but rather Lee Shaffer, put up 18.6 ppg. The team won 48 games, including perhaps the one game you’d most like to see if you had a time machine to see it. Late in the season, (3/10/63), the Warriors, now in San Francisco, came to town with Chamberlain averaging 44 points and 24 rebounds a game. He dwarfed those totals with a remarkable 70 point game only to see his team lose, 163-148 as the Nats put an incredible NINE players in double figures.
“I can’t remember a thing”
The Nats, as they did in every year of their 17 year existence, made it to the playoffs, losing to the Cincinnati Royals, 2 games to 3 in the first round. Dolph Schayes reached back in the first game to score 17 points with 6 assists in the first half. He was scoreless in the second half but blocked a Robertson lay-up in the final seconds leading to a clinching Hal Greer jumper. The final was 116-111, before only 4,335 fans. Robertson dazzled the Nats with 41 points, 18 rebounds and 12 assists in a 115-133 game two blow-out in Cincinnati. The Royals outrebounded the Nationals, 52-83.
Coach Alex Hannum wrote these words from Winston Churchill on the blackboard before game three at the War Memorial: “For when the day comes that we can accept a resounding defeat with indifference, a whole era of our history must be closed.” Hal Greer certainly must have read that. He held Robertson to 16 points and scored 30 of his own. The Syracuse Nationals won the last game they would ever win, 121-117.
Robertson’s 29 points led Cincinnati to a 125-118 win in game four. The home team had won every game so far. The last game was in Syracuse again, with the Nats just one game short of another meeting with the Celtics. But, perhaps sensing it might be the last game, 7,418 fans showed up in the War Memorial on March 26, 1963. In this game Robertson dominated Greer, holding him to 16 points while scoring 32 himself, with 19 rebounds and 13 assists. But Lee Shaffer played his career game, scoring 45 points. The Nats tied it in the final minute with baskets by Shaffer and Kerr to make it 114 all. Robertson started one of his classic drives to the basket but slipped on a wet spot. He kept his dribble but his foot was out of bounds. Hannum called a play for Chet Walker but the rookie’s shot rimmed out.
The Royals moved out to a 119-127 lead in overtime but the Nats were back within 125-127 with 10 seconds left. Reserve guard Al Bianchi wound up with the ball. He drove into Cincy center Wayne Embry and lost control of it. Embry grabbed it and the buzzer sounded. It was over. Years later, David Ramsey asked Oscar Robertson what he remembered about that series. “I can’t remember a thing”, he said.
“All of a sudden, it’s not there”
Tickets went on sale for the 1963-64 season but sales were very slow. There was talk about the franchise moving but there had been talk about that for years. On May 16, 1963, Biasone met with Onondaga County Executive John Mulroy in the basement of the War Memorial. The meeting did not go well. Mulroy wanted an increase in rent for the building. Biasone wanted it cut and a long-term lease signed. They couldn’t agree. Later that night the Nat’s business manager announced the sale of the team to a group from Philadelphia for $500,000, 100 times what Danny paid for it back in 1947. (These days franchises sell for $100 million and up).
Johnny Kerr was relaxing at Three Rivers Inn when he heard the news. He ordered another round of beers for his friends. Then he began to cry. Dolph Schayes was scheduled to make a speech in Scranton, Pa. He could barely speak. He would play one year in Philly, averaging 5.6 points per game before retiring as the NBA’s leading career scorer, (he’d also committed the most fouls, something he was also proud of). He wound up coaching the new Philadelphia 76ers, including Wilt Chamberlain, who would soon devour all his records. He was also supervisor of NBA referees for a time, ironic for the league’s all-time fouler, (at least he had an intimate knowledge of who he was supervising). Larry Costello was resting on a beach in Bermuda and didn’t find out until a week later. He hadn’t just been a player for the team. He’d grown up as a fan. “All those memories. Then all of a sudden, it’s not there”.
Meanwhile, up on Piety Hill, a lean-looking sophomore was eagerly awaiting his first varsity season. His name was Dave Bing.
http://poststandard.newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-post-standard/1955-04-11/
