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Houston Mavericks
The Houston Mavericks were a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA). They played in the upstart league's first two seasons, from 1967 to 1969. Their home arena was the Sam Houston Coliseum. In 1947–48, there was an unrelated Mavericks franchise based in Houston as part of the Professional Basketball League of America.
The Mavericks were one of the first ABA franchises, announced on February 2, 1967, when the ABA was formed. They were owned by businessman T. C. Morrow after he took over Cloyce Box's majority shares of the team. One of the minority partners was Bud Adams, who owned the Houston Oilers of the American Football League (later the National Football League following the AFL–NFL merger). Houston native and former NBA great Slater Martin was hired as general manager and head coach.
The Mavericks got off to an inauspicious start during the first ABA draft. Martin arrived in Oakland to represent the team, only to find out that Morrow and his group hadn't sent the required $30,000 bond. By the time Martin was able to get the money through other channels, he'd missed the first four rounds and was forced to recruit players from the Eastern Professional Basketball League (later known as the Continental Basketball Association). He picked up some players from nearby colleges to round out the roster.
Not surprisingly, given the rough start, the Mavericks had a somewhat mediocre season, finishing 29–49, good for fourth place in the Western Division. However, this was enough for them to squeak into the playoffs. They went down rather meekly to the Dallas Chaparrals in the Western Division semifinals, losing three games to none.
Willie Somerset and DeWitt Menyard of the Mavericks played in the ABA All-Star Game.
Houstonians viewed the Mavericks largely with indifference. Average attendance was listed as 1,543, easily the worst in the league. It took some effort to even get to that low figure; the team was lucky to attract 500 fans on most nights.
Morrow was one of the wealthier owners in the league, and was initially willing to stick it out. He ran the team rather cheaply in the inaugural season, but made considerable effort in the offseason to improve the team. He pursued Houston Cougars stars Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney, but they both opted for the NBA instead. Morrow gave up in midseason and returned the Mavericks to the league.
ABA commissioner George Mikan was concerned enough about the situation in Houston that he sent the Mavericks several players in hopes of making them more attractive to fans. However, Martin, who had previously teamed up with Mikan on the Minneapolis Lakers during the 1940s and 1950s, didn't appreciate this intervention from the league office and resigned a month into the season. Art Becker served as player-coach for a few games until Jim Weaver took over for the rest of the campaign.
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Houston Mavericks
The Houston Mavericks were a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA). They played in the upstart league's first two seasons, from 1967 to 1969. Their home arena was the Sam Houston Coliseum. In 1947–48, there was an unrelated Mavericks franchise based in Houston as part of the Professional Basketball League of America.
The Mavericks were one of the first ABA franchises, announced on February 2, 1967, when the ABA was formed. They were owned by businessman T. C. Morrow after he took over Cloyce Box's majority shares of the team. One of the minority partners was Bud Adams, who owned the Houston Oilers of the American Football League (later the National Football League following the AFL–NFL merger). Houston native and former NBA great Slater Martin was hired as general manager and head coach.
The Mavericks got off to an inauspicious start during the first ABA draft. Martin arrived in Oakland to represent the team, only to find out that Morrow and his group hadn't sent the required $30,000 bond. By the time Martin was able to get the money through other channels, he'd missed the first four rounds and was forced to recruit players from the Eastern Professional Basketball League (later known as the Continental Basketball Association). He picked up some players from nearby colleges to round out the roster.
Not surprisingly, given the rough start, the Mavericks had a somewhat mediocre season, finishing 29–49, good for fourth place in the Western Division. However, this was enough for them to squeak into the playoffs. They went down rather meekly to the Dallas Chaparrals in the Western Division semifinals, losing three games to none.
Willie Somerset and DeWitt Menyard of the Mavericks played in the ABA All-Star Game.
Houstonians viewed the Mavericks largely with indifference. Average attendance was listed as 1,543, easily the worst in the league. It took some effort to even get to that low figure; the team was lucky to attract 500 fans on most nights.
Morrow was one of the wealthier owners in the league, and was initially willing to stick it out. He ran the team rather cheaply in the inaugural season, but made considerable effort in the offseason to improve the team. He pursued Houston Cougars stars Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney, but they both opted for the NBA instead. Morrow gave up in midseason and returned the Mavericks to the league.
ABA commissioner George Mikan was concerned enough about the situation in Houston that he sent the Mavericks several players in hopes of making them more attractive to fans. However, Martin, who had previously teamed up with Mikan on the Minneapolis Lakers during the 1940s and 1950s, didn't appreciate this intervention from the league office and resigned a month into the season. Art Becker served as player-coach for a few games until Jim Weaver took over for the rest of the campaign.