Spirits of St. Louis
| Spirits of St. Louis | ||
|---|---|---|
| founding | 1974 | |
| resolution | 1976 | |
| history |
Houston Mavericks 1967–1969 Carolina Cougars 1969–1974 Spirits of St. Louis (1974–1976) Utah Rockies (planned) |
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| Stadion | St. Louis Arena | |
| Location | St. Louis, Missouri | |
| Club colors | burnt orange, silver and black | |
| league | American Basketball Association | |
| Conference | Eastern Conference | |
| division | East Division | |
| Head coach |
Bob MacKinnon (1974–1975) Rod Thorn (1975) Joe Mullaney (1976) |
|
| General manager | Harry Weltman | |
| owner | Ozzie Silna and Daniel Silna | |
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The Spirits of St. Louis were an American Basketball - franchise from St. Louis , Missouri , and one of two teams that at the end of the American Basketball Association , but did not yet exist (ABA), the Association of ABA and NBA survived. They were members of the ABA in their last two seasons, 1974–1975 and 1975–1976, and played their home games at the St. Louis Arena.
history
The Spirits , whose name was taken from Charles Lindbergh's plane on which he crossed the Atlantic , were the third version of a franchise previously known as the Houston Mavericks and Carolina Cougars . Regardless of their history, they were an expansion team despite being a remnant of the Cougars.
It was a mixed bag and included many players on and off the pitch who were quite successful in their basketball careers. Among them was Moses Malone , who was acquired during the second season. He subsequently had a long and successful career in the NBA, culminating in his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame . Maurice Lucas spent most of the ABA with the Spirits and later became an All-Star in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers. Other well-known players were the former sixth man of the Boston Celtics Don Chaney, the future head coach of the Boston Celtics ML Carr and Ron Boone, who long held the record for most games in a row. One of the greatest birds of paradise was the forward Marvin "Bad News" Barnes, who was famous for his off-field behavior and lack of understanding of time zones.
A few personalities on the team who did not play themselves also gained notoriety. One of the 1975 coaches was former NBA player Rod Thorn , who became the NBA's vice president of basketball affairs (or, more simply, number two behind Commissioner David Stern ) for many years. Bob Costas acted as radio announcer for the team. Costas subsequently had a very successful career at NBC , both on television and radio.
Playing times
After a slow start to their debut season 1974-1975, the Spirits reached the playoffs after a final spurt and could annoy the defending champion New York Nets in the first round of the playoffs. But the team could not continue the good start in the following year and missed the playoffs by far, so that finally the audience numbers in St. Louis dwindled. At the end of the season it was negotiated to relocate the team to Salt Lake City , Utah , and continue playing there under the name Utah Rockies .
The end
In the summer of 1976, when the ABA was facing financial collapse after nine years, the six surviving franchises (the Virginia Squires went bankrupt right after last season) began to negotiate a merger with the NBA. But it was decided to include only four teams from the competing league: New York Nets (the last ABA champion), Denver Nuggets , Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs .
The NBA appeased John Y. Brown, owner of the Kentucky Colonels , by paying him $ 3.3 million in severance pay to disband the team. Brown later used part of that severance pay to buy the Bufalo Braves. But the Spirits' owners, brothers Ozzie and Dan Silna, negotiated a foreknowledge contract that guaranteed them future television money from the teams that joined the NBA, one-seventh of each team. As the television contracts became more and more lucrative, the Silnas became wealthy. They received $ 168 million by July 2006 , according to a Los Angeles Times report . The NBA nearly bought the Silnas out of their 1982 deal when it offered them $ 5 million for eight years. Negotiations came to a standstill when the twins demanded $ 8 million for 5 years. The current contract guarantees the Silnas $ 14.57 million per season. In June 2007, it was extended for another eight years, which means at least another $ 100 million to the previous owners of the Spirits.
Web links
- The story of the Spirits of St. Louis on RememberTheABA.com
- Official program of the Spirits of St. Louis 1975–76
- Los Angeles Times article about the contract between the NBA and the Silna Brothers