A History of the First Cities with Basketball
Professional basketball began in 1946 with eleven teams. They were the:
* Boston Celtics,
* Chicago Stags,
* Cleveland Rebels,
* Detroit Falcons,
* New York Knickerbockers,
* Philadelphia Warriors,
* Pittsburgh Ironmen,
* Providence Steamrollers,
* St. Louis Bombers,
* Toronto Huskies, and the
* Washington Capitols.
Three of the original teams are still in existence. They are the:
* Boston Celtics,
* New York Knicks, and the
* Golden State Warriors (originally the Philadelphia Warriors).
The Boston Celtics and the New York Knickerbockers are the only two original teams that still play in their original cities. The other teams have either gone out of business or moved to different cities and/or changed names. This article provides a brief introduction to the changes in locales and names of these teams.
Philadelphia to San Francisco to Oakland
The Warriors were one of the original NBA teams. They began their career in Philadelphia.
* 1946, Philadelphia Warriors
* 1962, San Francisco Warriors
* 1971, Golden State Warriors (Oakland)
The move from the east cost to the west coast was very popular in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. Baseball began this process when in the late 1950’s the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles and the New York Giants moved to San Francisco.
The Philadelphia Warriors won the first NBA championship beating the Chicago Stags four games to two.
Ft. Wayne, Minneapolis, and Rochester
In 1948, Ft. Wayne, Indiana, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Rochester, New York became home to basketball teams. They were the Ft. Wayne Pistons, the Minneapolis Lakers, and the Rochester Royals.
Pistons
The Pistons began their legacy in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The team was started by an automobile executive named Fred Zollner. The name reflects the team’s automobile heritage.
* 1948, Ft. Wayne Pistons
* 1957, Detroit Pistons
Lakers
When you think of Los Angeles, lakes are not the first thing that come to mind. However, Minnesota is known as the “land of lakes”. The Lakers organization began in Minneapolis. They were the NBA’s first dynasty.
* 1948, Minneapolis Lakers
* 1960, Los Angeles Lakers
Rochester to Cincinnati to Kansas City/Omaha to Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings have a multi-city history that began in Rochester, New York as the Rochester Royals. The cities have changed but the theme of royalty remains constant from Royals to Kings.
* 1948, Rochester Royals
* 1957, Cincinnati Royals
* 1972, Kansas City/Omaha Kings
* 1975, Kansas City Kings
* 1985, Sacramento Kings
It is interesting to note that sports teams sharing a home in more than one city eventually move or take the name of one of the multiple cities. The team may play poorly, but they are still the pride of one community.
Moline to Milwaukee to St. Louis to Atlanta
Hawks
This team that would eventually become the Atlanta Hawks began in 1949 with three home cities. They started as the Tri-City Blackhawks playing home games in Moline, Illinois, Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa.
* 1949, Tri-City Blackhawks
* 1951, Milwaukee Hawks
* 1955, St. Louis Hawks
* 1968, Atlanta Hawks
Syracuse to Philadelphia
76ers
The 76ers began playing basketball in 1949. The city was Syracuse, New York. The team’s name has always reflected a patriotic theme.
* 1949, Syracuse Nationals
* 1963, Philadelphia 76ers
Chicago to Baltimore to Washington D.C.
Wizards
The Bulls were not Chicago’s first basketball team. The Chicago Stags were. While this team folded after three seasons (1947-49) they played an important part of basketball history. In 1947, the Stags beat the Washington Capitals four games to one in the NBA semifinals to play in the NBA’s first championship series. They lost the championship four games to two to the Philadelphia Warriors. By the way, the Washington Capitols were coached by a man who would become quite famous in basketball – Red Auerbach.
The Chicago Packers were the city’s second team. Both names, the stags and packers pay homage to Chicago’s meat processing history. The Packers became the Chicago Zephyrs (a windy city reference). The Zephyrs still play basketball but under a different name. They are now the Washington Wizards. However, this franchise had a variety of home cities and names.
* 1962, Chicago Zephyrs
* 1963, Baltimore Bullets
* 1973, Capitol Bullets
* 1974, Washington Bullets
* 1997, Washington Wizards
The Washington Bullets changed their name to the Wizards in 1997. There was criticism that in an age of gangs and violence the name of the basketball team should not reflect an instrument of violence.
Dallas to San Antonio
Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs were the first ABA team to win an NBA championship. This team began in Dallas as the Chaparrals and eventually became the San Antonio Spurs.
* 1967, Dallas Chaparrals
* 1970, Texas Chaparrals (still played in Dallas)
* 1971, Dallas Chaparrals
* 1973, San Antonio Spurs
San Diego to Houston
Rockets
The Rockets began playing basketball in 1967.
* 1967, San Diego Rockets
* 1971, Houston Rockets
Buffalo to San Diego to Los Angeles
Clippers
The Clippers organization began in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves. When they moved to San Diego, they took the name Clippers to reflect the “water lifestyle” that is so popular in San Diego. In 1984 they moved to Los Angeles.
Los Angeles is the only city to have two professional basketball teams: the Lakers and the Clippers. Football may not be popular in L.A., but basketball is!
* 1970, Buffalo Braves
* 1978, San Diego Clippers
* 1984, Los Angeles Clippers
New Orleans to Salt Lake City
Jazz
New Orleans is the home of jazz, where this basketball organization began.
* 1974, New Orleans Jazz
* 1979, Utah Jazz (Salt Lake City)
New York to East Rutherford
Nets
The Nets were one of the teams that came from the ABA (American Basketball Association) when that league folded.
* 1976 New York Nets
* 1977 New Jersey Nets (East Rutherford)
Vancouver to Memphis
Grizzlies
The Grizzlies began operation in 1995.
* 1995, Vancouver Grizzlies
* 2001, Memphis Grizzlies
Charlotte to New Orleans
Hornets
The Hornets first home was Charlotte, North Carolina. Their home is now New Orleans.
* 1988, Charlotte
* 2002, New Orleans
The Remaining NBA Teams
* 2004, Charlotte Bobcats
* 1966, Chicago Bulls
* 1970, Cleveland Cavaliers
* 1979, Dallas Mavericks
* Denver Nuggets
* 1967, Denver Rockets
* 1974, Denver Nuggets
* 1967, Indiana Pacers
* 1986, Miami Heat
* 1968, Milwaukee Bucks
* 1995, Minnesota Timberwolves
* 1997, Orlando Magic
* 1968, Phoenix Suns
* 1970, Portland Trail Blazers
* 1967, Seattle Supersonics
* 1995, Toronto Raptors
What happened to some of the original teams that folded?
The Pittsburgh Ironmen played but one season. Their name is a reference to the city’s iron mills. While the team failed (fifteen wins and forty-five losses), the Primanti Brothers were and still are very successful. The same family owns the Primanti Brothers Restaurant and the Primanti Brothers Blues Cafe.
The Cleveland Rebels also played but one season. They finished with thirty wins and thirty losses. While the Rebels didn’t succeed their team reflected an interesting aspect shared by many of the initial teams – the players were the children of first generation immigrants. This is reflected by the original name of the Cleveland Rebels – the Cleveland Rosenblums.
The Toronto Huskies are another team that played but one season. They played the Basketball Association of America’s (BAA) first game against the New York Knickerbockers. The BAA was the forerunner of the NBA.
The Providence Steamrollers relied on college basketball players. Apparently they weren’t that good. The teams historical record was forty-six wins and one hundred and twenty-two losses.
The names steamrollers, steam roller, and steamroller is quite popular in Providence sports history. There were a variety of minor league baseball teams using one of those names. The Providence Steam Roller were a professional NFL team from 1925 to 1931. In 1928 they won the NFL title.
Many cities still have a basketball or sports relationship. Many of the teams are minor league but still are champions in the hearts of their fans.
