Minnesota Muskies
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 with this on February 2, 1967. L.P. Shields and Fred Jefferson bought the rights to it for 30,000 U.S. dollars. They played one season in Minnesota and were then to The Floridians.
The club colors of Muskies were blue and gold, they set up their home games at the Metropolitan Sports Center. The future of Muskies looked at its foundation still rosy, the team was still in the same metropolitan area as the league itself They started with a decent squad. Your first draft pick was the talented center Mel Daniels, who was to become a celebrated player of the ABA. Daniels was also drafted by the Cincinnati Royals of the NBA, but decided to try it in the newly formed league. Daniels, Donnie Freeman and Les Hunter represented the Muskies in the first ABA All Star Game. Also in the team squad were Brian Kirchberg, Ron Perry and Luke Witkowksi. Head Coach was Jim Pollard, a former teammate of the ABA Commissioner George Mikan Minneapolis Lakers in the NBA.
Early in the first season the Muskies fought and the Indiana Pacers for first place in the Eastern Division. The Muskies moved to the table the Pacers it, but the Pittsburgh Pipers they could end up able to catch and win the division title. The Muskies were four games back in second place with 50 wins and 28 defeats. The average attendance was 2473 people, but the value may be exaggerated, as the Muskies had only 100 season ticket holders.
In the Division semifinals the Muskies won the decisive fifth game against the Kentucky Colonels at home with 114:108. Then they met in the Division Finals to the Pipers, which could decide this 4-1 for itself. The Pipers then also won the championship.
Despite their success on the court, the Muskies were a disappointment. They lost 400,000 U.S. dollars in its first season, which was also due to the audience response. The management of the team looked for changes for the upcoming 1968 season / 69th There were plans that they wanted to deliver nine of their home games at other places in Minnesota, and they also received a lucrative television contract. Instead, they later decided to relocate the team to Miami, Florida. Before the start of the season the team did what many saw as the worst personnel decision in ABA history: She sold Mel Daniels, the rookie of the year, to the Indiana Pacers for money to pay off the accumulated debt in Minnesota. On 24 May 1968, the team moved to Miami, where he played as The Floridians up to and including the 1971 season / 72nd
Minnesota was not without ABA team as the champion Pittsburgh Pipers moved to Minneapolis, where he played in the 1968/69 season as Minnesota Pipers.