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The Dallas Chaparrals were established in 1967, one of 11 teams to take the floor for the ABA that year. Former St. Louis Hawks star Cliff Hagan was persuaded to end his one-year retirement and join the club as a player-coach. The Chaps' stars included forward Cincinnatus "Cincy" Powell, center John Beasley, and guard Bob Verga. Maurice McHartley was the first player off the bench.
With each team in the new league an unknown quantity, the ABA was wide open, and Dallas found itself in a tight race with the New Orleans Buccaneers and the Denver Rockets for the top spot in the Western Division. The 36-year-old Hagan had a good year, scoring 18.2 points per game. Beasley, the 6-foot-9 rookie, probably had the best season of his seven-year ABA career, averaging 19.7 points while collecting 12.8 rebounds per game. Powell scored 18.3 points per game, Verga averaged 23.7 points in 31 contests before being called to military service, and McHartley tallied another 15.3 points per contest.
Dallas finished its inaugural season with a 46-32 record and in second place, two games behind New Orleans and two games ahead of Denver. The Chaparrals swept the Houston Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs, then lost in the second round to New Orleans, which went on to lose to the Pittsburgh Pipers in the first ABA Finals.
The second-year Dallas Chaparrals slipped a bit in the 1968-69 season despite the addition of rookie guard Ron Boone. Boone averaged 18.9 points in his freshman campaign, and Powell and Beasley each had productive years. But Hagan's contribution slipped, and he appeared in only 35 games.
The Chaps fell to fourth place in the Western Division with a 41-37 record, resulting in a first-round playoff rematch with New Orleans. After falling behind the Buccaneers, three games to one, Dallas bounced back with convincing wins in Games 5 and 6. However, the Chaps fell short by losing Game 7, 101-95.
1969-73: A Change Of Names, A Change Of Cities
After the 1968-69 season Hagan gave up playing and moved to the bench full-time. The 1969-70 team added a new center, Manny Leaks, who had played for the Kentucky Colonels and the New York Nets before joining the Chaparrals. Leaks, who was only 6-foot-8, turned in a stellar performance, averaging 18.8 points and 12.5 rebounds, while Powell chipped in 20.1 points per game.
Hagan's bid to give up playing and concentrate solely on his coaching duties backfired. With the team sporting a 22-21 record, he was fired. His replacement, Max Williams, piloted the team to a 45-39 record and a second-place finish in the Western Division. Dallas lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Los Angeles Stars; however, the final three games of the series were down-to-the-wire barn burners. With the Chaparrals up, two games to one, the Stars claimed Game 4, 144-138, then came back two nights later to win Game 5, 146-139. The Stars then closed out the series in Game 6, winning 124-123.
For the 1970-71 season the Dallas Chaparrals became the Texas Chaparrals, but they continued to play in Dallas. It was not a good year on the court for the Chaps. Powell was gone, and the club cycled through 18 players and two coaches during the campaign. Donnie Freeman, a 6-foot-3 guard who came over from the Utah Stars during the season, provided much of the scoring, averaging 23.6 points. The franchise tumbled to its first losing season, at 30-54, and was then swept out of the playoffs by the Stars.
The Chaps (whose official name was once again the Dallas Chaparrals) hired Tom Nissalke as their head coach for the 1971-72 season, and he somehow managed to bring a team that featured names like Simmie Hill and Goo Kennedy to near respectability. A 41-41 finish was good enough to win Nissalke the league's Coach of the Year Award. For the second straight year the Chaparrals were swept by the Utah Stars in the first round of the playoffs, but it was a much better series. In the previous season Utah had won by an average of more than 18 points per game. In 1972 the margin was only six points per contest.
Nissalke jumped to the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics for the 1972-73 season. The team he left behind was in shambles. Neither his successor, Babe McCarthy, nor McCarthy's late-season replacement, Dave Brown, could do much with the hapless team, which finished out of the playoffs at 28-56. To make matters worse, the franchise was struggling to attract fans, and when it was announced late in the season that a group from New Jersey would purchase the club, the last few shreds of local interest disappeared. To add insult to injury, the New Jersey deal fell through.
The Dallas Chaparrals' swan song came on March 26, 1973. Playing one last time at the Dallas Convention Center, the Chaparrals eked out a 112-110 victory over the Carolina Cougars, the ABA's best team that year. The paid attendance was reported to be 134.
1973: Franchise Relocates To San Antonio
The franchise was rescued from oblivion by a group of San Antonio businessmen led by John Schaefer, B. J. "Red" McCombs, Art Burdick, and Angelo Drossos. The group moved the club to San Antonio and rechristened it the Spurs. They also brought back Nissalke, whose NBA sojourn had been a disaster-he'd lasted barely half a season with Seattle, posting a 13-32 record with the SuperSonics before losing his job.
The franchise played its first game in San Antonio on October 10, 1973, before 5,879 fans at the HemisFair Arena. The Spurs faced the San Diego Conquistadors and came out on the losing end of a 126-101 contest. The team got off to a slow start, posting a 1-6 record. Fan interest was minimal; only 1,799 people showed up for the Spurs' first win, on October 18.
The situation began to change in November. The struggling Virginia Squires franchise was selling off players, and the Spurs purchased 6-foot-11 Swen Nater for $300,000. On November 28 San Antonio played before a sellout crowd of 10,146 and beat the Kentucky Colonels, to improve to 13-12. Nater, who had been Bill Walton's backup at UCLA, played in the ABA All-Star Game, in which he racked up 29 points and 22 rebounds.
1973-76: "The Iceman" Arrives
San Antonio made a second big move at the end of January, buying the rights to 21-year-old George Gervin from Virginia. Gervin joined the team in mid-February and averaged 19.4 points in 26 contests with the Spurs. The club won 12 of its final 18 games to claim third place in the Western Division with a 45-39 record. Paired with the Indiana Pacers in the first round of postseason play, the Spurs lost in seven games.
The 1974-75 Spurs boasted a solid starting five. In addition to Gervin and Nater, the Spurs had third-year guard James "Snake" Silas and sixth-year forward Rich Jones, both of whom averaged 19.3 points. The team also added veteran Donnie Freeman, who had played for the Dallas Chaparrals a few seasons earlier. He contributed 15.5 points per game.
Despite the team's 17-10 start, Nissalke was fired in December, and Bob Bass took over as coach. On January 28 San Antonio hosted the ABA All-Star Game before 10,449 spectators. Three Spurs played for the West-Gervin, Nater, and Silas. Gervin scored 23 points and Silas canned 21 to lead the West, but the East prevailed, 151-124.
San Antonio finished in second place in the Western Division with a 51-33 mark. Gervin, who was following up a solid rookie season with a very productive sophomore campaign, gave San Antonio fans a taste of what they would see in the coming years. On February 5 he collected 51 points against the Memphis Sounds. In the playoffs against Indiana, Coach Bass moved Gervin from forward to the shooting guard position, and he caught fire. In the final three games of the series he averaged 35.0 points. But it wasn't enough for the Spurs, who lost the series, four games to two.
The Spurs made some major changes in the offseason. In June the team traded Nater to the New York Nets for forward Larry Kenon. Three months later San Antonio sent four Spurs to New York in exchange for 6-foot-11 center Billy Paultz.
When the 1975-76 ABA season commenced, the league was down to seven teams playing in a single division. San Antonio's offseason moves paid off. Nater was slowed by a knee injury and was not a big contributor for the Nets. Paultz and Kenon, on the other hand, combined for 35.2 points and 21.5 rebounds per game. San Antonio placed four players-Gervin, Silas, Paultz, and Kenon-in the ABA's midseason All-Star Game. After taking seven of eight games down the stretch, the Spurs wound up in third place with a 50-34 record.
San Antonio faced Julius Erving and the New York Nets in the first round of the playoffs. The Spurs' chances were dealt a serious blow in Game 1 after Silas, the team's leading scorer at 23.8 points per game, broke his ankle. The club still managed to push the Nets to the limit before bowing out in Game 7, 121-114. The Nets went on to claim the ABA's ninth and final championship.
The Silver and Black played their first game in franchise history at the HemisFair Arena on October 10, 1973, dropping a 121-106 decision to the San Diego Conquistadors in front 5,879 fans. Two years later the 1975 ABA All-Star Game took place at the arena. A crowd of 10,449 fans were on hand to watch the East beat the West 151-124. After three seasons in the arena and as Spurs games began regularly selling out, the roof of the HemisFair was literally raised and lifted during the summer of 1977, adding an upper deck and an additional 6,000 seats for a capacity of over 16,000. On January 8, 1980, Spurs fans got to witness George Gervin score 53 points vs. Denver, which were the most points ever scored in the HemisFair Arena’s history. One of the highest scoring games in NBA history took place at the HemisFair on March 3, 1982, when the Spurs posted a 171-166 triple-overtime win over the Milwaukee Bucks. The 171 points scored by the Spurs is a club record for points in a game and the 337 points scored by both teams in the second highest combined point total in NBA history. One of four quadruple-doubles in NBA history occurred at the HemisFair on February 18, 1986, when Alvin Robertson finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals. The Spurs picked up their 1,000th win in franchise history at the arena on February 26, 1991, with a 102-101 overtime victory vs. Portland. The last Spurs game to ever take place at HemisFair took place on May 20, 1993 when the Spurs lost to the Phoenix Suns in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
The Spurs moved to the Alamodome in the fall of 1993. The HemisFair Arena was torn down two years later in 1995. The site is now the location of an expansion to the adjacent Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.
After 20 years at the HemisFair Arena, the Spurs made their move to the Alamodome in 1993. During their nine-year stay at the Alamodome, the Silver and Black enjoyed tremendous success posting a 258-95 record (.717) at home. San Antonio led the league in attendance twice (2000-01 and 2001-02) averaging over 22,000 fans a game both years.
The Spurs played their first game in the Alamodome on November 5, 1993, defeating the Golden Sate Warriors 91-85 in front of 36,523 fans. Later on that season, Spurs fans witnessed history when David Robinson recorded just the fourth quadruple-double in NBA history on February 17, 1994. The Admiral finished with 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 blocks vs. Detroit. In February of 1996, one of the most exciting weekends in San Antonio history was capped off with the 46th annual NBA All-Star Game. A crowd of 36,037 packed the Dome and saw the East defeat the West 129-118 despite solid efforts from All-Stars David Robinson and Sean Elliott. One of the most memorable shots in Spurs history was made on May 31, 1999. With 12 seconds left in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs found themselves trailing the Portland Trail Blazers 85-83 when Sean Elliott caught a pass in the right corner, pirouetted and lofted a high-arching three-pointer over Rasheed Wallace. The shot, now referred to as the “Memorial Day Miracle” gave the Spurs the victory and propelled them to their first NBA title. Other memorable moments in Alamodome history include David Robinson’s 19,384th point, surpassing George Gervin as the Spurs all-time NBA scoring leader and Sean Elliott’s return from a kidney transplant on March 14, 2000.
On November 2, 1999, San Antonio citizens voted to pass a referendum to build the AT&T Center and three years later the Spurs would play their final game in the Alamodome on May 12, 2002, in a loss to the L.A. Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals. The facility continues to host the Alamobowl and various NCAA events, including the 2008 Final Four, as well as high school football games, assemblies and tradeshows.
The facility hosts four anchor tenants: the NBA Spurs, the AHL Rampage, the WNBA Silver Stars and the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. Additionally, the venue attracts a multitude of concerts, family shows and special events. In five years of operation, the AT&T Center has hosted over 750 events entertaining over eight million guests. George Strait, The Rolling Stones, Billy Joel & Elton John, The Police, Luciano Pavarotti, Green Day and Hannah Montana are just a few of the musical acts that have visited the AT&T Center. Other events – including NCAA Basketball, WWE Royal Rumble, The Wiggles, and Professional Mixed Martial Arts Cage Fighting – have also made stops at the venue.
The facility offers diverse events to the San Antonio community and all of South Texas thanks in part to its various seating capabilities, building configurations, curtaining system and technology upgrades. To complement every event held at the venue, AT&T recently enhanced the arena by adding a LED ring and four video/scoring panels to the scoreboard, two lobby LED color matrix displays and over six hundred LCD HDTVs throughout the arena. To leverage its ancillary meeting spaces and exhibition/trade configurations, the AT&T Center offers MSEs – Meetings and Special Events – throughout the year. This additional amenity further illustrates the facility’s full-service approach and has resulted in non-traditional bookings such as Toyota’s 2007 National Dealer Meeting and Product Launch, Ford’s Customer Appreciation Concert with Toby Keith, and AT&T’s 2007 National Leadership Meeting.
Built in a “ranch tech” style, the AT&T Center is designed to present a sense of place, both inside and out. The external view, in addition to its distinctive architecture, features park-like landscaping that’s both visually appealing and environmentally friendly. Inside, the design continues to capture the South Texas ambiance with festive colors and imaginative details. Adding to the interior appeal of the AT&T Center is a collection of fine art commissioned by Spurs owners Peter and Julianna Holt. The diverse collection is valued in excess of one million dollars and features Texas-, modern- and basketball-styled themes.
“We are enormously proud of the AT&T Center and what it brings to the community,” said Holt, chairman of Spurs Sports & Entertainment. “We’re proud to have been part of the effort. Now we can provide South Texas with some of the best sports and entertainment available anywhere in the U.S.”
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