Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 2273454, member: 289"] [I]Saperstein’s Folly[/I] 1951-62 was not only the greatest year of the NBA. It was the greatest year of the new American Basketball League created by Abe Saperstein. It was their greatest year because it was their only completed season. Abe had been promised an NBA franchise to be based in Los Angeles and when the Lakers moved there instead, he created his own league with a Los Angles franchise. He also withdrew his Globetrotters from playing NBA teams, which was not an insubstantial move as the Globies tended to draw the largest crowds, often providing the opposition for the opening home game of a team’s season or playing in double-headers. Now the Trotters would only be playing the ABL teams. The new teams included the Cleveland Pipers, owned by a group of investors headed by a young George Steinbrenner; the Pittsburgh Renaissance, known as the Rens as an homage to the Trotter’s old rivals from the 40’s; The Washington Tapers (Owned by the Technical Tape Corporation: they played sticky defense), the Kansas City Steers, the San Francisco Saints, the Los Angeles Jets, the Hawaii Chiefs and Saperstein’s own Chicago Majors. None of the NBA’s biggest stars jumped to Abe’s new league but he did get Bill Sharman to become coach of the LA Jets. Former NBA scoring champion George Yardley jumped to try to extend his career. Dick Barnett left the Nats to become a Piper. A young forward just out of Kansas, Bill Bridges, became one of the league’s stars. He went on to a highly productive 13 year NBA career. Saperstein decided to offer employment to blacklisted players and the old Kentucky 7 footer, Bill Spivey showed up to the big chief in Hawaii. Connie Hawkins and Tony Jackson, who had been caught up in a second gambling scandal in 1961, (although their actual involvement is unclear at best), also joined the new league. Both would alter play in the ABA and Hawkins had a successful NBA career after that. This was enough to convince me to include this version of the ABL in the numbers below: the full careers of such players included their brief time in this league. Their time was brief due to the shaky financial structure of the league. The LA Stars folded midway through that first season. The Washington Tapes moved to gum up New York City. In the second season, the deck got shuffled so much the league was unrecognizable. The Tapers moved to Philadelphia. The San Francisco Saints became the Oakland Oaks. The Hawaii Chiefs became the Long beach Chiefs, eliminating travel costs. George Steinbrenner negotiated to get his Pipers into the NBA but when that failed, they simply disbanded. So did the entire league, as of December 31st, 1962. The Pipers had won the only full season championship in a weird playoff set up reminiscent of the early days of the pro game. There was an Eastern and Western division but also a split season. There was a “first half” playoff between the divisional winners in which Kansas City defeated Cleveland 2 games to 1 for the “first half championship”. When the second half ended, they had a “second half” championship. The top two teams in the East and the top team in the West drew byes. The third and fourth teams in the East played the second and third teams in the West, (since LA went out of business), in single games won by won by New York and San Francisco. They then played the top two teams in the East in single games won by Cleveland and New York. Cleveland then beat New York in a single game and won the league championship by beating Kansas City, (who was well-rested, not having to have played a single playoff game to get into the finals), 3 games to 2, (in fact they lost the first two and then won three in a row). The next year Kansas City was imply declared the champion by Saperstein as they had the best record when the league expired on New Year’s Eve. The short-lived league did offer some new innovations. John McClendon of Cleveland was the first African American head coach of a pro team. He’s won three straight NAIA championships at Tennessee State in 1957-59, where Dick Barnett had been one of his players. Unfortunately, he had a run in with “The Boss”- George Steinbrenner and was replaced in mid-season by Bill Sharman, who was without a job because the LA jets had folded. Sharman thus went on to become the only head coach to win championships in three leagues: the Cleveland Pipers in the ABL in 1962; the Los Angeles Stars in the ABA in 1971 and the Lakers in the NBA the next year. The league also adopted an 18 foot wide lane, which was the standard in international play, instead of the 12 foot wide lane the NBA was using. The NBA subsequently adopted the 18 foot wide lane as well. This ABL used a shot clock but a 30 second one. Their last contribution: the three point shot, from a radius of 25 feet. The NBA did not copy that rule- yet. [URL="http://www.apbr.org/ablhist.html"]History of the American Basketball League[/URL] Eddie Gottlieb sold the Philadelphia Warriors to a San Francisco group of investors and they became the San Francisco Warriors for the 1962-63 season, giving the Los Angeles a natural rival on the west coast, but leaving the city of Philadelphia, who had played such a prominent role in the history of the sport, without a professional team. San Francisco thought they were getting a major contender for the title but Paul Arizin decided to retire- from the NBA because he didn’t want to leave the Philadelphia area, (he continued his career in the Eastern League, (something you’d never see today). Tom Gola was traded to the Knicks. Wilt Chamberlain gave it a mighty effort- averaging 44.8 points and 24.3 rebounds per game but with little help, his team aged to 31-49. The Lakers fought off the Hawks to win the west while the Celtics cruised in the East, finishing ten games ahead of the Syracuse Nationals. The Royals, now in Cincinnati, beat the Nationals in 5 games and then gave the Celtics all they could handle, going down in 7 games after winning two of the first three. The Celtics always had home field advantage and it again helped in the wild seventh game that was won 142-131. Oscar Robertson scored 43 points but Sam Jones, who had taken over as the Celtics shooting guard for Bill Sharman, had the game of his life with 47. The Celtics then beat the Lakers again in the final, this time in 6 games for their 5th straight title and 6th in 7 years. And they weren’t done. [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?