Minnesota Muskies
| Minnesota Muskies | ||
|---|---|---|
| founding | 1967 | |
| resolution | 1968 | |
| history |
Minnesota Muskies 1967–1968 Miami Floridians 1968–1970 The Floridians 1970–1972 |
|
| Stadion | Met Center | |
| Location | Bloomington , Minnesota | |
| Club colors | blue and gold | |
| league | ABA | |
| division | Eastern Division | |
| Head coach | Jim Pollard | |
| General manager | Dennis Murphy | |
| owner | LP Shields & Fred Jefferson | |
|
|
||
The Minnesota Muskies were an American basketball franchise from Bloomington , Minnesota and a founding member of the American Basketball Association , which was founded at the same time on February 2, 1967. LP Shields and Fred Jefferson bought the rights to it for $ 30,000. They played one season in Minnesota and then became The Floridians .
The club colors of the Muskies were blue and gold, and they hosted their home games at the Metropolitan Sports Center. The future of the Muskies looked bright when they were founded, as the team was in the same metropolitan area as the league itself. They started with a decent squad. Her first draft pick was the talented center Mel Daniels, who would become an acclaimed player for the ABA. Daniels was also drafted from the NBA by the Cincinnati Royals , but decided to try the newly formed league. Daniels, Donnie Freeman and Les Hunter represented the Muskies in the first ABA All Star Game. Brian Kirchberg, Ron Perry and Luke Witkowski were also in the team. Head coach was Jim Pollard , a former teammate of ABA Commissioner George Mikan with the Minneapolis Lakers in the NBA.
Early in the first season, the Muskies and Indiana Pacers battled for first place in the Eastern Division. The Muskies overtook the Pacers in the table, but the Pittsburgh Pipers managed to intercept them in the end and win the division title. The Muskies were four games back in second place with 50 wins and 28 losses. The average attendance was 2473 people, but the figure could be exaggerated as the Muskies only had 100 season ticket holders.
In the division semi-finals, the Muskies won the decisive fifth game against the Kentucky Colonels at home with 114: 108. Then they met the Pipers in the division finals, which they won 4: 1. The Pipers then also won the championship.
Despite their success on the pitch, the Muskies were a disappointment. They lost $ 400,000 in their first season, which was also due to audience response. The team's management was looking for changes for the coming 1968/69 season. There were plans that they would play nine of their home games elsewhere in Minnesota, and they also got a lucrative television deal. Instead, it was later decided to relocate the team to Miami , Florida . Before the start of the season, the team did what many considered the worst hiring decision in ABA history: they sold Mel Daniels, Rookie of the Year, to the Indiana Pacers for money to pay off the accumulated debt in Minnesota. On May 24, 1968, the team moved to Miami and played there as The Floridians up to and including the 1971/72 season.
Minnesota was not without the ABA team, as the champions Pittsburgh Pipers moved to Minneapolis and played there in the 1968/69 season as Minnesota Pipers .