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[QUOTE="SWC75, post: 3160805, member: 289"]
1963 From my series: "Syracuse wins World Series":

“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”.

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Meanwhile, up on Piety Hill, a lean-looking sophomore was eagerly awaiting his first varsity season. His name was Dave Bing.
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