Memphis Tams

Louisiana Buccaneers 1970 Memphis Pros 1970-72 Memphis Tams 1972-74 Memphis sounds 1974-75 Baltimore Hustlers 1975 Baltimore Claws 1975

The Memphis Tams were an American basketball franchise that played in the American Basketball Association from 1972 to 1974. The team for three seasons, the New Orleans Buccaneers (1967-1970), before it was relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, and from 1970-1972 as Memphis continued to play Pros. 1974/75, it was renamed in Memphis Sounds. Then it moved to Baltimore to play as Baltimore Claws, but was then dissolved before it could deliver a regular game.

Origins

The New Orleans Buccaneers were a founding member of the ABA and played from 1967 to 1970 in the league, where they could win the 1969 Division championship in the Western Division. After the 1969/70 season the team was as Louisiana Buccaneers planned with home games in various cities within the state. Nevertheless, the team was sold to a new owner in August 1970 and moved to Memphis, Tennessee to continue playing there as Memphis Pros, since they had already purchased Bucs jerseys at low cost in Pros - shirts could be converted.

In their first season, the league took over the management of the team after the owner went in December. Nevertheless, they could be obtained through the sale of shares in their fans alive. This proved to be only a short-term solution and the ABA had to take over the team again midway through the second season.

At the end of the 1971/72 season it was almost certain that the pros would have to settle elsewhere. Nevertheless, bought on 13 June 1972 Charles O. Finley, the owner of the Oakland A's from the MLB and the California Golden Seals of the NHL, the team and promised to keep them in Memphis. Finley recruited the former coach of the University of Kentucky Adolph Rupp as President. He took over as the liabilities of the team.

Prior to the 1972/73 season Finley held a naming competition, from which the nickname " Tams " was born. The name was formed from the three states that were near Memphis: Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi. The team changed its colors to green, golden and polar white, the color scheme of the other teams of the owner. Similarly, a green, white and gold cap (English Tam O'Shanter ) was incorporated into the logo.

1972-1973

The former coach Babe McCarthy was replaced by Bob Bass. The Tams were George Thompson from the Draft of the Pittsburgh Condors players. Gerald Govan was delivered to the Utah Stars in exchange for Merv Jackson. George Thompson took part in the All Star Game. The regular season is finished with only 20 victories in 64 defeats. This meant the worst value in the ABA and the last place in the Eastern Division. The Tams did not make it into the playoffs, which was partly due to their many team changes; they made in just the first two months of 28 transfers. Despite the poor market average 3476 fans came to the games.

Finley left the team all the possibilities of green, white and golden bear. Yet he cared little or not the franchise stores. Contrary to his earlier promises, he was already negotiating with St. Paul, Minnesota, to settle the team there. When this became public, Finley was almost overnight from savior to pariah. Through several cost-saving transfers he did not improve his reputation also. As an example, he dismissed an experienced player before Christmas and another New Year's Day.

1973-1974

The Tams selected in the Draft Larry Kenon and Larry Finch, also David Thompson, but remained at the College. Finley complaining at the ABA a conflict of interest of the ABA President Bill Daniels, since this would require Finley a reward if he this was helping to find potential buyers for the team. The ABA did not go to these allegations.

Finley tried to sell the team to a group of investors from Providence, Rhode Iceland, but the purchase did not go ahead. The largest part of the summer was the status of Tams unclear. Bass announced, to take up a position in the league, and from mid- June, the office was closed. It was not until the end of August gave Finley his word that the Tams would play. In the process, he upheld almost all contracts of the League for the transmission of radio and television. When training camp began in September, the team had no coach and no management. Two days before the first preseason game Butch van Breda Kolff was hired as general manager and head coach.

The Tams committed Charlie Edge, Larry Kenon exchanged with the New York Nets for Jim Ard and John Tree and Johny Neumann with the Utah Stars for Glen Combs, Ronnie Robinson, Mike Jackson and money. George Thompson played in the All Star Game. The team again had a weak regular season with 21 wins and 63 defeats, the worst result of the league.

Due to the poor performance of the number of spectators fell by a third compared to the previous season and was 2331 spectators per game. This happened mostly because Finley seemed to lose interest in the Tams. It took weeks without van Breda Kolff he talked with about the team or business transfers. He also stopped the printing of programs and replaced it with free typed mimeograph Lineups. Van Breda Kolff was visibly frustrated about this situation and told the basketball news that the Tams a solid club would be if they had a solid backing.

Result

After this season, Finley gave the team back to the league for 1.1 million U.S. dollars. Later ABA Commissioner Mike Storen found a local group of investors, led by Isaac Hayes, Avron Fogelman and Kemmons Wilson, as a buyer for the team. He then resigned from his position to take control in Memphis. Storen was previously successful in the Indiana Pacers and the Kentucky Colonels. Bill van Breda Kolff was fired as coach and general manager. New General Manager was the former coach Bob Bass, the new coach Joe Mullaney. The team undertook Wil Jones of the Kentucky Colonels. On July 17, 1974, the team was taken over and renamed the Memphis Sounds.

The sounds remained another year in Memphis, finished fourth in the Eastern Division and lost in the first round of the playoffs against the next champion Kentucky Colonels with 1:4. 3879 fans came to the home games, an increase by two-thirds over the previous year. Despite the substantial improvement in the team on August 17, 1975, sold to a group that took it to Baltimore, Maryland, where it was first to the Baltimore Hustlers and then the Baltimore Claws. The Claws acquired shortly superstar Dan Issel of the Kentucky Colonels and played three warm-up matches, but they lost Issel, all three games and eventually the franchise due to financial problems. The team was disbanded on 20 October 1975 their players distributed in a Draft.