Dallas Chaparrals

The Dallas Chaparrals were a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA).[4] The team moved to San Antonio, Texas, for the 1973–74 season and were renamed the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs joined the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the 1976–77 NBA season as a result of being one of four chosen ABA teams to be absorbed by the elder league following the completion of the ABA–NBA merger.

Dallas Chaparrals
Dallas Chaparrals logo
DivisionWestern Division
Founded1967
HistoryDallas Chaparrals (ABA)
1967–1970, 1971–1973
Texas Chaparrals (ABA)
1970–1971
San Antonio Spurs
1973–present[1][2][3]
ArenaMoody Coliseum
Dallas Memorial Auditorium
Tarrant County Coliseum
Lubbock Municipal Coliseum
LocationDallas, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Lubbock, Texas
Team colorsRed, white, blue
     

Origin

The team's founding owners, unable to agree on a name for the franchise during an early organizational meeting at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel, named it for the Chaparral Club in which they were meeting at.[5] The team drew poor attendance and general disinterest in Dallas.[6] They were lucky to attract crowds in the hundreds. During the 1970–71 season, the team became the Texas Chaparrals and an attempt was made to make the team a regional one, playing games in Fort Worth, at the Tarrant County Coliseum, as well as Lubbock, at the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum, but this proved a failure and the team returned full-time to Dallas in time for the 1971–72 season, splitting their games at Moody Coliseum and Dallas Convention Center Arena.

Decline and the move

After missing the playoffs for the first time in their existence in the 1972–73 season, the team was put up for sale. After no credible offers surfaced, the team's original owners leased it to a group of 35 San Antonio businessmen, led by Angelo Drossos and Red McCombs. The deal included a three-year option to buy the team outright, after which it would revert to the Dallas group.[7] The Drossos-McCombs group moved the team to San Antonio for the 1973–74 season and renamed them the San Antonio Spurs. San Antonio embraced its new team with open arms; the Spurs surpassed the Chaparrals' entire 1972–73 attendance in only 16 games. Realizing they had a runaway hit on their hands, Drossos and McCombs tore up the lease and completed the purchase after only one year, and the franchise has stayed in San Antonio to this day.

However, Dallas would get its own NBA franchise in the form of the expansion Mavericks, who began play in the 1980-81 season.[8]

Legacy

The Chaparrals' road uniform was featured in NBA Live 2004 as a hidden jersey. The Spurs wore the Chaparrals uniform in selected games in the 2011–12 NBA season prior to the 45th Anniversary of the ABA.

Basketball Hall of Famers
Dallas/Texas Chaparrals Hall of Famers
Players
No.NamePositionTenureInducted
16Cliff Hagan 1SF1967–19691978

Notes:

  • 1 Also served as head coach (1967–1970).

Season-by-season

Note: W = wins, L = losses, % = win–loss %

SeasonWL %PlayoffsResults
Dallas Chaparrals
1967–684632.590Won Division Semifinals
Lost Semifinals		Dallas 3, Houston 0
New Orleans 4, Dallas 1
1968–694137.526Lost Division SemifinalsNew Orleans 4, Dallas 3
1969–704539.536Lost Division SemifinalsUtah 4, Dallas 2
Texas Chaparrals
1970–713054.357Lost Division SemifinalsUtah 4, Texas 0
Dallas Chaparrals
1971–724242.500Lost Division SemifinalsUtah 4, Dallas 0
1972–732856.333Did not qualify

See also

References
  1. "San Antonio Spurs History". Spurs.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  2. "NBA History: Teams". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. February 25, 2013. Archived from the original on May 8, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  3. "NBA.com/Stats–San Antonio Spurs seasons". National Basketball Association. Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  4. Brody, Tom (October 23, 1967). "The ABA: Playing The Game Called Survival". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  5. Cazeneuve, Brian (June 29, 2005). "A League Of Their Own". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  6. Cowlishaw, Tim (May 28, 2013). "No disrespect to the Mavericks, but Dallas blew it when city let Chaparrals (now Spurs) bolt for San Antonio". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  7. Putnam, Pat (February 10, 1975). "Cagey Loan To San Antone; All the moribund Dallas Chaparrals needed was a lend-lease move down to San Antonio, a new name, smart deals and live fans". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  8. Wilonsky, Robert (April 30, 2008). "To Hell with the Mavericks. How 'Bout them Chaparrals?". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 2022-10-31.
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