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Baltimore Claws
The Baltimore Claws were an American basketball team which was supposed to appear in the 1975–76 season in the American Basketball Association (ABA). However, the team played only three exhibition games, all losses, before being expelled from the league due to financial difficulties.
The team that eventually became the Baltimore Claws was a charter member of the ABA, playing as the New Orleans Buccaneers from 1967 through 1970. They then moved to Memphis from 1970 to 1975, playing first as the Pros from 1970 to 1972, the Tams from 1972 to 1974, and the Sounds during the 1974–75 season. The Memphis franchise had struggled through the years and in its last season there it had relied on the league itself to handle some of its bills. The Sounds began the 1974–75 season with a win followed by several losses; fan interest waned but the team rallied to finish in fourth place in the ABA's Eastern Division. In the playoffs they lost in the Eastern Division semifinals to the eventual league champion Kentucky Colonels, 4 games to 1. Of the Sounds' draft picks that season, two of them (Lonnie Shelton and Terry Furlow) remained in college, while the third (Rich Kelley) signed with the New Orleans Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA) instead. At the close of the 1974–75 season, league commissioner Tedd Munchak issued an ultimatum to the Sounds that if they wanted to stay in Memphis: sell 4,000 season tickets, line up new investors for the team, and get a better lease at the Mid-South Coliseum. When none of the conditions were met, the league effectively took control of the franchise and put it on the open market.
Prior to the 1975–76 season, a consortium of seven Maryland businessmen led by David Cohan bought the troubled Sounds for $1 million and relocated it to Baltimore. In August 1975, new ABA Commissioner Dave DeBusschere suddenly awarded the franchise to another group in Memphis due to apparent financial problems involving the Baltimore owners. However, the Memphis group in question backed out on buying the Sounds franchise the very next day, and the franchise reverted to Baltimore once again after the Cohan-led group made a $250,000 down payment.
The team was initially named the Baltimore Hustlers, but both league and public pressure forced them to rename it to the Claws instead.
In September the Claws gained attention early by gaining the rights to superstar Dan Issel of the reigning ABA champion Kentucky Colonels. The Colonels were supposed to receive center Tom Owens and $500,000 in cash for Issel, but the $500,000 never arrived. When Colonels owner John Y. Brown Jr. found out the money hadn't arrived, he stormed into a Claws' board meeting and announced he was selling Issel to the Denver Nuggets instead. To make the move look like a trade between Denver and Baltimore, the Nuggets sent forward Dave Robisch to the Claws. The Claws' owners protested, claiming that three more players should have come to Baltimore with Robisch. They threatened to shut down if the other players didn't arrive, claiming that they would not be able to field a competitive team without them. However, the league sided with Denver. The Claws then sent another good player, Rick Mount, to the Utah Stars in another trade.
The Claws entered the preseason under head coach Joe Mullaney with a roster that included Mel Daniels and Stew Johnson as key players. The Claws also suited up guard Skip Wise, who in the previous year was the first freshman to make the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Conference First Team after the NCAA changed its rules to allow for freshmen players to play college basketball. But Wise (a native of Baltimore) chose not to return to Clemson for his sophomore year, instead signing a five-year, $700,000 no-cut contract with the Claws.
On September 7, 1975, the Claws announced a deal to broadcast all their games on radio on WFBR. Howard Mash, an announcer better known for commercials done for his father's low salt ham, was to be play-by-play man with Hall of Fame referee and coach Charley Eckman doing color commentary on home games. The deal died when the team did.
The Claws played only three games in their history, all preseason exhibitions. The first was on October 9, 1975, in the nearby city of Salisbury, Maryland, against the Virginia Squires. The Squires won their first match against the Claws 131–121; attendance was reported to be at 1,150 people.
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Baltimore Claws
The Baltimore Claws were an American basketball team which was supposed to appear in the 1975–76 season in the American Basketball Association (ABA). However, the team played only three exhibition games, all losses, before being expelled from the league due to financial difficulties.
The team that eventually became the Baltimore Claws was a charter member of the ABA, playing as the New Orleans Buccaneers from 1967 through 1970. They then moved to Memphis from 1970 to 1975, playing first as the Pros from 1970 to 1972, the Tams from 1972 to 1974, and the Sounds during the 1974–75 season. The Memphis franchise had struggled through the years and in its last season there it had relied on the league itself to handle some of its bills. The Sounds began the 1974–75 season with a win followed by several losses; fan interest waned but the team rallied to finish in fourth place in the ABA's Eastern Division. In the playoffs they lost in the Eastern Division semifinals to the eventual league champion Kentucky Colonels, 4 games to 1. Of the Sounds' draft picks that season, two of them (Lonnie Shelton and Terry Furlow) remained in college, while the third (Rich Kelley) signed with the New Orleans Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA) instead. At the close of the 1974–75 season, league commissioner Tedd Munchak issued an ultimatum to the Sounds that if they wanted to stay in Memphis: sell 4,000 season tickets, line up new investors for the team, and get a better lease at the Mid-South Coliseum. When none of the conditions were met, the league effectively took control of the franchise and put it on the open market.
Prior to the 1975–76 season, a consortium of seven Maryland businessmen led by David Cohan bought the troubled Sounds for $1 million and relocated it to Baltimore. In August 1975, new ABA Commissioner Dave DeBusschere suddenly awarded the franchise to another group in Memphis due to apparent financial problems involving the Baltimore owners. However, the Memphis group in question backed out on buying the Sounds franchise the very next day, and the franchise reverted to Baltimore once again after the Cohan-led group made a $250,000 down payment.
The team was initially named the Baltimore Hustlers, but both league and public pressure forced them to rename it to the Claws instead.
In September the Claws gained attention early by gaining the rights to superstar Dan Issel of the reigning ABA champion Kentucky Colonels. The Colonels were supposed to receive center Tom Owens and $500,000 in cash for Issel, but the $500,000 never arrived. When Colonels owner John Y. Brown Jr. found out the money hadn't arrived, he stormed into a Claws' board meeting and announced he was selling Issel to the Denver Nuggets instead. To make the move look like a trade between Denver and Baltimore, the Nuggets sent forward Dave Robisch to the Claws. The Claws' owners protested, claiming that three more players should have come to Baltimore with Robisch. They threatened to shut down if the other players didn't arrive, claiming that they would not be able to field a competitive team without them. However, the league sided with Denver. The Claws then sent another good player, Rick Mount, to the Utah Stars in another trade.
The Claws entered the preseason under head coach Joe Mullaney with a roster that included Mel Daniels and Stew Johnson as key players. The Claws also suited up guard Skip Wise, who in the previous year was the first freshman to make the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Conference First Team after the NCAA changed its rules to allow for freshmen players to play college basketball. But Wise (a native of Baltimore) chose not to return to Clemson for his sophomore year, instead signing a five-year, $700,000 no-cut contract with the Claws.
On September 7, 1975, the Claws announced a deal to broadcast all their games on radio on WFBR. Howard Mash, an announcer better known for commercials done for his father's low salt ham, was to be play-by-play man with Hall of Fame referee and coach Charley Eckman doing color commentary on home games. The deal died when the team did.
The Claws played only three games in their history, all preseason exhibitions. The first was on October 9, 1975, in the nearby city of Salisbury, Maryland, against the Virginia Squires. The Squires won their first match against the Claws 131–121; attendance was reported to be at 1,150 people.