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00:00It's 1973, and doors are opening in America, to new people, and new leadership roles.
00:21The NBA is not responding, but the ABA, the new league, is listening.
00:30The league is welcoming those who have not had a chance to shine, including the 22-year-old,
00:37who before the ABA would have had to wait to turn professional.
00:41But thanks to the ABA, the young man has proven himself one of the most valuable commodities
00:47in all of professional sports.
00:50And unbelievable, Julian Garvin with a new yard catch.
00:53The American Basketball Association played with a bright-colored ball that made you want
01:02to salute.
01:03He appealed his case to the United States Supreme Court.
01:19If they don't merge, a lot of these players are going to be out of a job.
01:25There's no tomorrow.
01:26So it's in the early 70s, when Dr. J starts to do...
01:56Incredible things, and a lot of it had the quality of legend.
02:02Man, I braced up for the doc.
02:04You know, I'm going to take the choice.
02:06When he came in, I braced.
02:08I looked to the right.
02:09All I could see was his size 17 white Converse.
02:16And doc was like this.
02:19Ugh!
02:19Boom!
02:20Man, look.
02:24This dude here, unbelievable.
02:28I don't ever think there'll be another Dr. J.
02:31I think there'll be another Michael Jordan.
02:35The doctor thinks that this is just incredible.
02:38You know, it defies human nature.
02:41Once you get up in the air and you explode, then comes the time when you relax.
02:48You know, and I guess this is where the gracefulness is shown.
02:55I like the bass line.
02:56I like to be creative.
02:59Yeah, if you give me the bass line, you're in trouble.
03:01I remember him going down on the bass line on the right side, and you had seven-foot
03:14artist Gilmore.
03:15And artist goes up to block his shot, and it's literally like Doc was up in the air, and
03:22he rose even higher.
03:24I don't know how he did that, but you thought he was at his full height, and he wasn't.
03:30He rose higher.
03:32Artist goes up.
03:34Julius goes up.
03:35Artist goes up higher.
03:37Julius goes up higher.
03:39Artist starts to come down.
03:40Julius is still going up.
03:42He slammed that ball through on a dunk.
03:45Folks came running all out of the stand.
03:49That's the style of play that they wanted to see, and they had a lot of that in the ABA.
03:57When he went to the NBA, Julius was great.
04:00Everybody recognized him as being one of the great players ever.
04:06They didn't really see the true Julius when he was in the ABA.
04:13They were probably the best three years that I had as a professional basketball player.
04:18These three years, 1974, 75, and 76, that saw Dr. J showcased as the ABA's biggest superstar,
04:31almost never happened.
04:33So most people don't know I played for the Atlanta Hawks.
04:41And every year, it comes up in a newspaper article as a what if.
04:48That lasted about 10 days, maybe two weeks, and then the Virginia Squires and the ABA obviously sued the Atlanta Hawks and said,
05:00hey, we have him under contract.
05:02What are you doing?
05:02And it went to a judge, and the judge ruled quickly, because he had to, because they're playing already,
05:08that Julius had to go back to the Squires.
05:11The difference this time, where Dr. J was, the little brother league of the ABA had grown up.
05:24It took a couple of punches when they lost Connie Hawkins and when they lost Spencer Haywood and Lew Alcindor.
05:31But this time, they would have been around long enough to understand the game.
05:36And they knew that the court that they needed to play in was the legal court.
05:42And that's how they were able to keep Dr. J in the league.
05:47This marks the first time that the NBA tries to steal an ABA superstar, and the ABA stops them.
05:54Julius Irving returns to the ABA.
06:01He went back to Virginia for a second season.
06:06He started a little bit late in his second season, finished up with the Squires,
06:10won the scoring title for the league, and then after that season, then he went on to the net.
06:15We made a side agreement with Virginia to rescind their contract,
06:20and we have now entered into an eight-year contract with Julius.
06:24New York has always been my home, and I'm very pleased and happy that, you know,
06:30I've signed with the Nets, and, you know, I'll be able to play out my career here.
06:40New York City.
06:43The ABA set a team in the nation's largest media market
06:47with the expectation they would be perennial championship contenders.
06:54Six seasons in, and the New York Nets had failed to hang a banner.
06:59They tried to sign Kareem, but failed.
07:03Rick Barry attempted to win the title there, but couldn't get it done.
07:08Now, their native son had returned home.
07:12Well, uh, I didn't go up too far from here.
07:17In 1974, thought by many to be the best basketball player on the planet,
07:24for Dr. J in New York, only one result was to fight the championship.
07:3373-74 season in the ABA was really the changing of the guard.
07:38It was the end of the Utah-Indiana dominance.
07:54In 1974, the Nets were really the first modern team in pro basketball.
08:00They were extremely young.
08:03They were high-flying.
08:05They ran the fast break as often as they could.
08:09And now they have Dr. J.
08:141974's league MVP is Julius Irving.
08:17Dr. J's magical moves perform major surgery on the opposition all year long.
08:22And the playoffs are serving as yet another personal showcase
08:25for basketball's most exciting superstar.
08:27First game, Doc went crazy.
08:30I think he had 47.
08:31Really set the tone for the series.
08:33And Utah, I think, knew they were up against it.
08:36The good doctor fought in 47 points
08:38as the Nets won the series opener against Utah.
08:43Then tailed off with a mere 32 in a second game run.
08:49Brian Taylor was the third-game hero in Utah with a three-point bomb.
08:52And the Nets are now just one victory away from the ABA crowd.
08:58New York continues to look for Irving,
09:00but Willie Wise anticipates the pass and makes the steal.
09:05Willie Wise defended me.
09:06I say Willie Wise did the best job defending me in all my ABA years.
09:12Eventually, they did put Willie Wise on Julius.
09:15Willie Wise was known as the best defensive forward in the league.
09:20Me and Doc had some good battles.
09:23In fact, I remember Doc starts jumping about 8 or 10 feet from the basket.
09:28I thought, oh, this guy, he's jumping too soon.
09:31What's he going to do?
09:33So I nudged him behind the glass.
09:35He reaches back in, torques his body, and somehow dunks it.
09:40I couldn't believe it.
09:42I had him behind the glass, and he did something like this.
09:47We were able to do two things.
09:51Surprise them, and also surprise ourselves.
09:56MVP Irving adds the finishing touches,
09:59and the New York Nets have their first American Basketball Association championship all wrapped up.
10:05We won the first time we went to the finals,
10:07and most teams don't win the first time they go to the finals.
10:10It's one of my greatest thrills in my whole career.
10:20For Julius to be in New York and to go all the way the first year,
10:26dominate the finals, and win it all,
10:29very similar to what LeBron James did going back to Cleveland.
10:32A lot of pressure.
10:33Everybody's looking at you.
10:34You're the guy.
10:35I love my James!
10:37Can you do this?
10:38Are you that guy?
10:40Time to celebrate a title.
10:44When I heard something being done for the first time,
10:46I could think back and say,
10:50well, I did that.
10:52I did that in the NBA.
10:54So it's not the first time it's being done,
10:56but it's the first time being done in the NBA.
10:58He was black cool for the 1970s in every way that we could imagine.
11:06I mean, you know, Gordon Park's Shaft comes out in 1971 starring Richard Roundtree.
11:12I mean, this is the look for the era.
11:14And so even thinking about, like, what it meant to have this incredible athlete embodied what people were coming to see as a fictional character but in real life.
11:27When I saw Shaft on 42nd Street walking the same streets that I walked as my friends when we went to the movies,
11:33that was impactful because that was black superhero.
11:37And Dr. J is a black superhero.
11:38Dr. J is part of soul power, right?
11:40When you talk about soul power and you talk about that era,
11:50the Dr. J particularly and the ABA style seemed to be analogous to that on Sun Lowe.
11:56Even though it wasn't black empowerment, it was soul power, right?
12:00The fact that he was so good and he had such a style about him
12:05and he was also gracious and eloquent and just a great ambassador.
12:11That was very easy for the ABA to get.
12:14The ABA, he really kept the league alive for quite a few years.
12:18When Doc rolled in, he'd bring that $15,000 out there.
12:22I mean, the star quality he had was unbelievable.
12:24I mean, it was just amazing to just watch him.
12:29Just the grace that he had on the court, even just like in the layup line, was unbelievable.
12:33And in some cases, even arriving to the game, he had a style.
12:37He had, he just, he was like the whole, the whole deal, you know, on and off the court.
12:43Others had gained mainstream acceptance before him.
12:47But Julius Ervin was the first black athlete to do it while maintaining a distinctly black style.
12:55When he hit, it shifted from suits and ties to this other aesthetic.
12:59If you look at the trailblazer, like Dr. J, who does appeal to everyone, but it is quintessentially, unapologetically himself.
13:09The thing I knew about the ABA is Dr. J, my uncle, oh, Dr. J, they dress like that.
13:14They talk, you know, so you, you see, you know, they idolized him.
13:17There's something about respecting who you are and not being afraid of that.
13:23Standing on that and not feeling like you need to be something that you're not is a courageous position to take when you're, when you're in the public eye.
13:31What's the first thing that hits you when you say ABA, fashion, specific fashion?
13:37Oh, yes!
13:40The decade was glorious for fashion.
13:43The 70s were fantastic.
13:44Like, I know we watch these kids today.
13:47We watch Westbrook, we watch Hardin, we watch Kuzma.
13:49And we're thinking, man, they're doing their own thing.
13:51No, they are not the first to do that.
13:54They just happen to be the ones to do it right now.
13:57Look at Freddie.
13:58Oh, my God.
14:01They're the best ever.
14:02That fashion is still the best ever.
14:04It was a magic time.
14:07Bibb overhauls.
14:09That's what Larry would have on.
14:11He wore bibb overhauls to one game, I remember.
14:17You know, it's funny.
14:18For women, all of this fashion from the 70s has come back in cycles.
14:24And I noticed, though, for the guys, it does not come back around.
14:28I would love to see it.
14:32Oh, wow.
14:33Dr. Jaden at the bow tie.
14:35Listen, it's all about owning it.
14:38We had the flare collars, we had the bell bottoms, we had the platform shoes, and we had the hats to match.
14:44We had the fro's.
14:44They couldn't grow fro's in the NBA.
14:48You didn't see big afros in the NBA, but you saw it in the NBA.
14:53The best afro.
14:55Oh, Darnell Hillman.
14:57Darnell had the best, right?
14:58Darnell Hillman.
14:59Boy, that used to be something.
15:01Oh, my gosh.
15:02Darnell's hair.
15:04There was a contest between he and Julius Erwin to see who he had the biggest afro.
15:10Darnell Hillman taught me how to shape it, because it was wild and woolly for a while.
15:15Um, Julius came into town one season, and I brought him over to the house, and everyone at that time were using the afro forks and picks.
15:26We didn't use any of that.
15:28You ladies will know what this is, an angel food cake cutter.
15:31You can use, like, a cake knife, pick it away from you, pick it away, pick it away, front, middle, back.
15:40And that's where you pull that hair out, and once he got it out and saw just how big his afro was, I said, go to the barber and just have him trim all the ends and clip off the ends, and your hair will get the kind of shape you want.
15:56And after you got it cut the way you want it, it starts growing out.
16:00Get in front of that mirror, man.
16:02You got to put the time in it.
16:04I remember even white kids, including my brother, teased their hair up into afros.
16:09And I just remember it was all about style, and that was new.
16:13That was completely new.
16:17Dr. J is somebody who's projecting a particular brand of unapologetic blackness.
16:26But the average white viewer, because he didn't really say much to actually rock the boat, could embrace that performance on the court.
16:37Julius Erwin was an ad agency's dream, because he checks off all the boxes that makes a suburban white family comfortable.
16:48He's attractive.
16:49He's regal.
16:50He has a great, great presence.
16:52He's well-spoken.
16:53He doesn't say anything controversial.
16:55And he's a great basketball player.
16:58I think my Converse deal, Spaulding deal, those were door openers, you know, where there were white parents saying to their kid,
17:09I want you to grow up and be like Julius Erwin.
17:12Julius Erwin walked so Michael Jordan could fly.
17:15Doc kind of held our league together, man, with his notoriety, man.
17:23Doc was nationwide.
17:25You know, people knew about Dr. J.
17:28Doc was the ABA back then.
17:30Julius Erwin!
17:32In the ABA, let me tell you, when an individual got publicity, the league got publicity.
17:38And all the fellow players, it was like, all right, we're all in this together, one for all and all for one.
17:47We all applauded.
17:48You know, we all celebrated.
17:49The ABA opened the door, not only for one of basketball's all-time great performers, but also for one of the sport's all-time great voices.
18:04The jumper, bang, and we're even up at 14.
18:06In 1974, the ABA and the St. Louis Spirits made a young man.
18:14Only weeks out of college, the youngest pro sports broadcaster in the country.
18:19I was 22 years old, right out of Syracuse University.
18:32The Spirit fans, the future guarantees money of action and excitement.
18:36So the first game, at home, at the arena in St. Louis, against Memphis.
18:43And the Spirits lead by five with like a minute to go.
18:46And somehow they blow the game and lose it in regulation.
18:51Two nights later, on a Sunday night, and they're up by like seven with two minutes to go.
18:57Bob McKinnon's the coach.
18:58He calls timeout.
19:00And I'm cruising along on the broadcast.
19:03Things seem to be going really well.
19:04After the first broadcast, there's lots of good feedback.
19:07People are patting the kid on the back.
19:09And I'm doing the games with a guy named Bill Wilkerson.
19:12And I turn to him at this timeout.
19:14And I say, Bill, Spirits appear to have this game well in hand.
19:19But Coach Bob McKinnon taking no chances.
19:21The last thing he wants to see is a repeat of Friday night's blowjob.
19:27And Wilkerson looked at me.
19:29And he was like, his eyes were wide as saucers.
19:33But he didn't say anything to help me out.
19:35And the engineer looks around him and goes like this.
19:39The universal signal in broadcasting would just keep going.
19:42Now my heart is in my throat.
19:43I think, geez, this is a dream job.
19:46And it's done after two games.
19:48I'm going to get fired.
19:49And I finish.
19:51And nobody said a damn thing.
19:54Nobody.
19:55So I got away with it.
19:59Perhaps Costas' work environment was so lenient because the boss was only 30 years old.
20:07The ABA's Spirit of St. Louis opened the door.
20:11Not only for the youngest broadcaster in pro sports, but also the youngest owner.
20:16Dan Silner convinced his brother, Ozzie, in 1974 to buy a basketball team less as an investment
20:26and more as an extension of their love for the game.
20:31Spirits of St. Louis, that would be you.
20:34That is me.
20:35I guess you'd call me a basketball junkie.
20:40I love the game of basketball.
20:41I always have.
20:43I started to talk about buying a professional basketball team while I was in college.
20:47We went into the fabric business.
20:48My father was in the embroidered business.
20:50And we were successful.
20:52General Mills bought us out in 71.
20:56That gave us the financial wherewithal.
20:58I started to push the point that we should buy a team, buy a team, buy a team.
21:02And after a while, my brother said, OK, let's see if we can make it happen.
21:10The Silner brothers' first attempt to buy a basketball franchise began in the NBA.
21:18Their bid to own the Detroit Pistons ended in defeat when their increasing offering price
21:23never met the increasing asking price of the team owner.
21:28Mr. Zollner wanted $5.1 million for the Pistons.
21:31And we offered him $4,850,000, as I recall it.
21:39And Mr. Zollner turned it down, and that was the end of that.
21:43The ABA league commissioner said, listen, we could use you and the ABA.
21:49Why don't you consider it?
21:50And after a period of negotiation, we bought the team.
21:54I remember standing up on a desk in my office in Munaki, New Jersey, yelling that we did it,
22:00we put the deal together, and it was great.
22:04It was a childhood dream that had come true.
22:07Ah, they'd be 30 years old again.
22:1130 years old and owning a team.
22:13Yeah.
22:14And I felt more part of it because of my age.
22:18I thought I knew at least as much as everybody else seemed to,
22:22and maybe my ego was that I thought maybe I knew a little bit more.
22:26But I will tell you, one of the things I learned after my two years,
22:29we had a lot of talented ballplayers, and talent is overrated.
22:35The Spirits of St. Louis were a sub-500 team who struggled against the ABA elite.
22:42In 11 matchups against defending champion Dr. J and the Nets,
22:48the Spirits lost 11 straight.
22:50Their poor performance on the court did not inspire the fans of St. Louis.
22:56I was proud of our talent.
22:58I was disappointed in the town's response to the team.
23:02We have what is known as a sparse crowd.
23:05We had Marvin Barnes, we had Freddie Lewis, who's right there.
23:09And look at the stands.
23:11Nobody.
23:15We were like 20 games under 500.
23:17We were like 30 and 50 for the season with all that talent,
23:20and barely made the playoffs.
23:22And we had lost every game against the Nets.
23:2511 in a row.
23:26Yeah, we were 0-11 against the Nets, the defending champions with Dr. J.
23:30Very strong team.
23:32When the Spirits of St. Louis made the playoffs,
23:36they were less than hopeful to find waiting for them.
23:39In the first round, Dr. J and the Nets.
23:42As usual, the Nets' Julius Erving was giving the Spirits fits.
23:48After losing the opener at the York,
23:50the Spirits beat the Nets for the first time ever in Game 2,
23:53tying the series.
23:55And it's an offer that Dr. J out of one of his shot blocks
23:57right back in the Kid Doctor's space.
23:59The charged-up Spirits fans saw a classic in Game 3.
24:06This game is the series' turning point.
24:08The Spirits taking control as the breaks began to go their way.
24:12The Spirits refused to hold,
24:14and Nets coach Kevin Lockery was more than a little bit concerned.
24:17As they returned to New York for Game 5,
24:24St. Louis held an astonishing 3-1 advantage.
24:28Erving, as usual, was astonishing himself,
24:32battling for their lives in the frantic last minute.
24:35Dan Ston Adams doing his thing.
24:37The Nets seemed to wrap it up as the doctors scored
24:40following an exchange of skills.
24:44But the Spirits got back to within one,
24:46and with 18 seconds left,
24:48it was Nets' ball out of bounds.
24:50Erving mishandled it.
24:51That's where he falls down.
24:52That's the...
24:53Right, that's the...
24:53He loses the ball.
24:54That loses the ball.
24:55And the Spirits had one last chance.
24:58Time ticked away as Freddie looked for an opening.
25:01Freddie never gives the ball up.
25:02There's 16 seconds to go.
25:04Spilling away from Brian Taylor,
25:06Freddie popped the do-or-die jumper.
25:10Bingo.
25:11They didn't have any timeouts.
25:14No.
25:14It's Bill Melchione.
25:16Melchione heaving a ball,
25:18and he didn't even reach the basket.
25:21There's nothing better than winning.
25:24That day, we put the nail in the coffin
25:26of the then-league champions.
25:28The Spirits' victory completed
25:30one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
25:33The first-year club has shocked the basketball world.
25:35I'm in the stands behind the Spirits' bench.
25:38I remember vividly celebrating.
25:42The owners were young.
25:44Ozzie and Dan and Harry Weltman,
25:46the present thing, they were young.
25:48And they wound up in the shower with the players.
25:51You know, they were celebrating like kids.
25:53I remember the euphoria.
25:56Couldn't believe we had pulled it out.
25:57We won four in a row and eliminated the Nets.
25:59The Spirits won four straight games
26:02against Dr. J and the Nets.
26:05And everybody thought
26:07that this was the start of something big.
26:10That was the high point.
26:11That was it.
26:12You know?
26:12That was worth it.
26:14Whatever it cost us,
26:15was it worth it for that day?
26:16Yes.
26:17Now, I'm not talking about what happened subsequently.
26:19That day, it was worth it.
26:20Yeah.
26:21That day, it was worth it.
26:22Exactly.
26:23The victory over Dr. J and the Nets
26:27was as good as it would ever get
26:29for the Spirits of St. Louis.
26:31They would not win another playoff series
26:33in their franchise history.
26:35The two young men
26:37for whom the franchise had opened the door
26:39could not have known at the time
26:42the greater triumphs that lay in front of them.
26:45One stood on the doorstep
26:46of a legendary broadcast career.
26:50The other, 12 months away
26:52for making the greatest deal
26:53in sports business history.
26:58The ABA wasn't only breaking new ground
27:00in St. Louis
27:01with the youthful leadership
27:03of the Silver Brothers.
27:04In Kentucky,
27:06the ABA would smash stereotypes.
27:08As an unconventional source
27:10of leadership would prove,
27:12she could not only run a franchise,
27:14but could help them realize previously
27:16unmet levels of success.
27:18One of the faces of the ABA ownership
27:23was John Y. Brown in Kentucky,
27:25the magnet of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
27:28John Y. Brown and Ellie Brown
27:30are the people that took over
27:33Kentucky Fried Chicken
27:35and franchised that to the world.
27:37I'd call all the players.
27:40I'd run in,
27:41I'd have 15 meals,
27:43Kentucky Fried Chicken loaded up.
27:45In the early 70s,
27:46the Colonels,
27:47like many other ABA franchises,
27:50had been losing money.
27:52Under the financial strain,
27:54the Brown family prepared to sell the team.
27:56They were going to sell the team
27:58to a couple of guys in Cincinnati.
28:01And supposedly John Y.'s little boy,
28:04John,
28:04came down to the breakfast table one morning
28:07and said,
28:08Dad, it isn't true
28:09that the Colonels are leaving town, is it?
28:14Well, I remember it.
28:15My dad came to the door
28:17and I rushed out
28:18and just said,
28:19you know,
28:19it's not true that you sold the Colonels.
28:22You know, tell me it's not true.
28:23And I was kind of teared up
28:28and he said later,
28:31that was the moment he realized
28:33how devastating a loss it would be
28:35to the whole community.
28:40It was more than just a business transaction.
28:42It was a huge loss,
28:44emotional loss,
28:45to the city and the state.
28:46And I just, you know,
28:47I begged with him to please,
28:49you can't sell the Colonels.
28:51And I think he realized
28:52it was a mistake.
28:54The Colonels were staying put.
28:57But in 1972,
28:59John Y. Brown,
29:00who was now the team's majority owner,
29:03committed to helping run
29:04the Democratic Party's
29:05national convention.
29:08Without the bandwidth to run the team,
29:10he turned to an unconventional successor.
29:14One owner that was indicative
29:15of this ability to pivot
29:17and think outside the box
29:18was John Y. Brown.
29:20When faced with running
29:21a presidential campaign
29:22and running
29:23the Kentucky Colonels,
29:25he had to pick the campaign,
29:27of course.
29:28What did he do
29:29to sort of maintain
29:31the day-to-day operations?
29:33He said,
29:33eh, I'll put my wife in charge.
29:34A lot of wonderful memories.
29:55Press was very skeptical
29:57in the beginning.
29:59We had regular, almost daily interviews
30:03with sports writers
30:06from all over the country.
30:08When John bought the Kentucky Colonels
30:10with four other businessmen,
30:12he asked them how they felt
30:13about my being chairman of the board
30:15and maybe getting out into the community
30:17and being an active owner.
30:20And the men at that time
30:21didn't like the idea.
30:22The first day
30:26that I went to my office,
30:28I found out
30:29that the general manager
30:32resigned.
30:36He's a great gentleman,
30:38very accomplished man.
30:40He's an ex-Marine.
30:41And he built, you know,
30:43a lot of what was the organization.
30:46He said,
30:47I just don't want to work for a woman.
30:49And so when he left,
30:52the coach said,
30:53I'm leaving too.
30:55But that's just kind of
30:56the way it was,
30:571973.
31:03Now you've got to think
31:05this was the early 70s.
31:07Women had not assumed
31:09this type of leadership role.
31:11And this was an indication
31:13of the ABA doing
31:14whatever it had to do
31:16to maintain and to survive.
31:18Women went to work
31:19in this country
31:20shortly before
31:21the turn of the century.
31:22Today, most women
31:23are still at the same
31:25tedious job.
31:26And the executive ranks
31:27are still virtually
31:28close to them.
31:31A woman can be a success
31:32in the business world,
31:33but it takes
31:34an exceptional woman.
31:35Women are definitely
31:37the biggest wasted talent
31:38and energy
31:39in this country.
31:41As you can imagine
31:42in the testosterone-driven
31:44world of sports,
31:46a woman running the team
31:49was not looked at
31:51very kindly,
31:52and she was killed
31:52in the press.
31:53The first day,
31:55very first day,
31:56I stand up in front
31:57and they start in
31:58with their questions.
32:00What do you know
32:01about basketball?
32:02I said,
32:03I know as much
32:04about basketball
32:05as my husband
32:06knew about
32:07frying chicken
32:08when he bought
32:09Kentucky Fried Chicken.
32:10When they say
32:11pretty Ellie Brown,
32:14it's discouraging,
32:16you know,
32:16because they're not
32:17taking you seriously.
32:19But I had the confidence
32:20that I could do
32:21what I had planned.
32:24Step one
32:25of Ellie Brown's plan,
32:27appoint the first
32:28all-female board of directors
32:30in pro sports history.
32:33Each one of the members
32:34of the board of directors
32:36was a woman,
32:37and they were all
32:38community leaders.
32:39Each one of these girls,
32:41eight of them,
32:41all have college educations.
32:43Every one of them
32:43has work.
32:45Their children are now
32:45in school,
32:46and they're back
32:47at that point,
32:48you know,
32:48before they started
32:48their families
32:49where they had the time
32:50to get involved
32:50in something.
32:51We were looking for women
32:53who knew their way
32:54around the community.
32:56Well, they called me
32:57because I was president
32:58of the Younger Women's Club.
33:00I thought it would be fun,
33:01so I said, sure.
33:03Ellie, she was in the office
33:05all the time working.
33:07She loved that team.
33:09And she made us love it, too.
33:12Step two of Ellie Brown's plan
33:15solved the problem
33:16the franchise had been having
33:18with low-fan attendance.
33:20We already had a winning team.
33:23We didn't have to worry
33:24about that.
33:25All we needed was
33:26to promote the team,
33:27help sell tickets,
33:29and help gain an audience.
33:32To build an outstanding team,
33:34you have to pay a lot of money.
33:35And to offset that,
33:36you have to sell
33:37a lot of season tickets.
33:38How we started was
33:40we sat down as a group,
33:41the board of directors,
33:42and we decided
33:43we had to go
33:44to the locally-owned businesses first.
33:48We said,
33:49you've got to buy these tickets
33:51because we need this team.
33:53You know,
33:53we need the team to perform,
33:55and we need you all
33:56to be there.
33:57There have been
33:58ladies' nights
33:59as a gimmick of things.
34:01Have you planned
34:01as a group of women
34:02to have a men's night
34:03where you can bring
34:04your husband for half price?
34:06No, but I think
34:06that's a great idea.
34:07We might do that.
34:09Ellie has always
34:10been very charming.
34:12They'd have rallies,
34:13and they'd sell tickets,
34:14and all those parties
34:15and all that television coverage.
34:17Ticket sales were good,
34:18and it got the community
34:19involved in the team.
34:21In that first year,
34:26she doubled ticket sales
34:28and tripled season ticket sales.
34:31Under her leadership,
34:33the Kentucky Colonels
34:34filled Freedom Hall
34:35for the first time.
34:38Her board and members,
34:40which was all women,
34:42was able to develop
34:43something really special
34:44in bringing about the fans.
34:48We showed them.
34:50that we could do it,
34:52and we sold a lot of tickets.
34:56I can tell you
34:57I was a little bit skeptic
34:59about this whole thing
35:00in the very beginning,
35:01but I certainly am not now,
35:03and I don't know
35:05six more harder-working ladies
35:07than these seated
35:08right here in front of you.
35:10There was skepticism
35:11in the beginning,
35:13and then front page of the paper,
35:15the lady is for real.
35:17I liked it.
35:18You know,
35:19they were ready,
35:20I think,
35:21to take on the challenge
35:23that the men had tried
35:26and come up a little short.
35:28We were hopeful
35:29that we actually could do
35:31what we had set out to do,
35:34fill the house
35:35and win a championship.
35:36The Colonels have been championship
35:40contenders for years.
35:42Kentucky had just fallen short
35:44of the ABA title
35:45in 1971,
35:4772,
35:4973,
35:49and 74,
35:52twice losing in the finals.
35:54We knew we had great players,
35:56but we had some tough breaks,
35:58lost some close games,
36:00and it was disappointing.
36:03We were devastated,
36:04and the organization was, too,
36:07because they had their hopes
36:09pin high that, you know,
36:11some really extraordinary things
36:13are preparing to start happening now
36:15with this nucleus,
36:17this group of players
36:18that we have.
36:19But for whatever reason,
36:22we were not able to get it done.
36:27After one year in charge,
36:30Ellie Brown,
36:31in the summer of 1974,
36:34put in place
36:34the final piece
36:35in her plan.
36:37She re-energized her team
36:39by hiring a new
36:40first-time head coach.
36:43Let's face it,
36:44you must come to camp
36:45with people who are going
36:46to challenge the veterans
36:47so you do not get
36:48complacency.
36:50Ellie hired Hubie Brown,
36:52and that was
36:53the real difference.
36:55Good shot of Hubie Brown,
36:57first-year coach
36:57at the Kentucky Colonels.
36:59I was getting my first opportunity
37:00to be a head coach
37:02in professional sports.
37:04I'll never forget,
37:05I came for my second interview,
37:07and we're sitting
37:08in the dining room
37:09at the hotel
37:10where the offices were.
37:12So we're sitting at the table,
37:13John White Brown's over here,
37:15she's sitting here,
37:15I'm sitting here.
37:16All of a sudden,
37:17she taps me on the knee.
37:18And I look down,
37:20and she has a paper
37:22with three years
37:24with the salary
37:25for each year.
37:27She's doing it
37:28while John White Brown's
37:30over here talking up the storm,
37:32and he doesn't even know
37:32this is happening.
37:33Okay.
37:35He came in
37:36with his plan.
37:38He sat there
37:39with a yellow pad
37:40and just wrote down
37:42every play we ran
37:43and how successful it was.
37:45He showed it to us
37:46and showed it to us
37:49and showed it to us.
37:53Help, help, wait.
37:54Come on, go, go.
37:55Hubie was one of the first
37:57who really worked on defense
37:59as much as offense.
38:01Basketball is a game
38:02of defense,
38:04and I take a lot of pride
38:05in my defense,
38:06and I enjoyed playing defense.
38:08The artist was blocking
38:09jump shots
38:10from the baseline.
38:10Guys are shooting
38:11baseline jumpers,
38:12and he's blocking them.
38:14I mean,
38:14I've never seen anybody
38:15do that.
38:16He was insane,
38:17and the officials
38:18never saw it either
38:19because they kept
38:19calling goaltending on him.
38:21But it wasn't goaltending
38:22because it was just
38:23such an insane thing
38:24for this guy.
38:26He was amazing.
38:27I mean,
38:27he really was.
38:27That two bigs combination
38:32really allows
38:34to be effective.
38:36Dan had the versatility
38:37to go out on the perimeter
38:39and take those shots.
38:42We got pretty comfortable
38:43with knowing
38:45how each other
38:45was going to play,
38:46and it was more of a feel
38:48than really a communication.
38:50I mean,
38:50I didn't tell artists
38:52I'm going to cut
38:52or I'm going to do this.
38:54I just did it,
38:55and artists already
38:56had a feeling
38:56for what I was going to do.
38:58They complimented
38:59each other,
39:00and it was
39:01a great feeling
39:02to be able to pass
39:04to two big guys
39:05like that.
39:06Louis Dampier
39:07with a three-point bomb
39:08for Kentucky.
39:09Louis Dampier
39:10is the all-time leading
39:11three-point shooter
39:12in the history
39:13of the league.
39:15He went back
39:16to the very beginning
39:17of the ABA,
39:19and he could get his shot
39:20off in a telephone booth.
39:22I mean,
39:22he didn't need
39:23any room at all.
39:24Louis Dampier,
39:25seven-time ABA All-Star
39:27never an ABA champion.
39:29We've been a runner-up
39:30two years,
39:31and it's frustrating.
39:32It's something
39:33to think about,
39:34but like I say,
39:35I know that one of these days
39:37I'm going to have
39:37that championship ring.
39:43It is a great feeling.
39:45We've got one more series
39:46to go with Indiana,
39:47and we've got
39:49the home court advantage.
39:50I think we can take them,
39:51and we're going to be
39:53the ABA champs,
39:54I feel certain.
39:59The rivalry here
40:00is intense.
40:01It's just a natural rivalry.
40:03The state of Indiana
40:04is the home
40:05of basketball
40:05in America.
40:07Hopefully,
40:07we can win this series
40:08and prove that Kentucky
40:09really is the basketball
40:10capital of the world.
40:11I'm just so excited
40:20to get to see this.
40:22This is really special.
40:23Yeah, yeah.
40:23The second game,
40:4095-93.
40:43The third game,
40:44109-101,
40:45back at Market Square.
40:48The pin on Monday night,
40:49Indiana pulled off
40:49that 94-86 victory,
40:51so it's three games
40:52to run right now
40:53in Indiana State
40:54right with Kentucky
40:55in this all-important
40:56fifth game
40:56of the ABA championship
40:57series.
40:59Turtles up by a pair.
41:01Three-but-a-couplein!
41:03There's a two-on-one break.
41:05This is Issel down the lane,
41:06and he's stuck it.
41:09Big Dang
41:09getting down the floor.
41:12Now, to take it back,
41:13George needed more than that.
41:14Here is McGinnis,
41:15knock it off.
41:16Oh, no, goaltending!
41:19Issel,
41:19a little fake,
41:20getting in a couple more steps.
41:21He got one.
41:23Fifteen seconds to play
41:25in 110-105.
41:27The Colonels have that lead.
41:29Going back into Philly Knight,
41:31Knight down in front,
41:32missing.
41:32Rebound to Kentucky
41:33in the four seconds.
41:34Three, two,
41:35it's all over in Kentucky,
41:40and the Colonels
41:41are going to hang
41:41their first ABA championship banner
41:44from the Raptors
41:45in Queen of All.
41:46They have won it 110-105.
41:49You see the players
41:50congratulating each other.
41:53Oh, that's terrific.
41:55You can see the pandemonium
41:56in the end of the floor.
41:59We're talking about
41:59going to be a long time for him.
42:01I'm glad to find him here.
42:03Finally, when we won
42:04that championship,
42:05we got the monkey
42:06off of our back.
42:07All I can say is,
42:08right now, I'm stunned.
42:09You saw me about
42:104 o'clock tomorrow afternoon,
42:12and I'll be able
42:12to tell you how I feel.
42:14Finally get that championship.
42:17Finally.
42:18Less than a year ago,
42:19owner Ellie Brown
42:20commissioned the championship.
42:24That's Ellie Brown
42:25being introduced.
42:27Ellie Brown was
42:27climbing high,
42:28favoring the thrill of victory.
42:32It was a wonderful
42:33experience in my life.
42:35When I think back now,
42:37so happy that I had
42:39that experience
42:40and the other women
42:42on the board
42:43feel the same way.
42:45My real excitement
42:45is for the people
42:46here in Louisville.
42:48A lot of these people
42:48have been around
42:49a lot longer than I have,
42:50and they've been waiting
42:51and waiting for this.
42:52And when I looked up
42:53and saw every receipt
42:54in the house
42:54for tonight,
42:55it was red and red.
42:57Ellie Brown.
42:58Ellie Brown.
42:59Wonderful woman.
43:00And I just happened
43:01to have that championship ring
43:02on.
43:04You got it out of it?
43:05Yeah.
43:08Everybody contributed
43:09to the cause.
43:09It was really fantastic.
43:12It was just an experience
43:14to be a champion.
43:16What had taken place
43:18after so many years
43:20and the struggle
43:21to reach that point
43:23and winning that championship,
43:25it was just,
43:26it was just an incredible night.
43:30The people ran down
43:32and they picked up Ellie Brown
43:34and ran her around
43:35and ran her around.
43:35All of a sudden
43:41it seems like yesterday
43:42and still feel it.
43:44Yeah.
43:47A few times in life
43:49you can say
43:49you lived in a magical time.
43:53I'm glad I got two.
43:56And I have the kernels
43:57and my mom
43:57to thank you for that.
43:58Oh, that's a praise.
44:01Yes, baby.
44:08It was a great moment
44:10when we won the championship
44:12for not just us.
44:14We weren't thinking
44:15that I'm a trailblazer,
44:17but if it has any influence
44:20on any young girls
44:21coming up,
44:22trying to find their way
44:23in the world,
44:24I'd just be thrilled.
44:29The idea of Ellie
44:31is the idea
44:31of having women
44:32in positions
44:34to make decisions
44:35is not a bad thing.
44:36It's good for business.
44:37At the end of the day,
44:38if you're worried more
44:40about a woman
44:41being in charge
44:41than you are
44:42about having success,
44:43then I question
44:45your business practices.
44:47So shout out
44:47to what Ellie Brown
44:49was able to do
44:49in the ABA
44:50for having such
44:52an open mind
44:52and a progressive thought.
44:57Ellie Brown
44:57and the ladies
44:58had their happiness
45:00that night.
45:01And the amazing thing
45:02is after the game,
45:03John Y. Brown
45:04came around and said,
45:05I'm challenging
45:06the NBA champions.
45:08I said,
45:08John, you just won
45:09the championship.
45:10Why aren't you celebrating?
45:11He said,
45:12I want to set up
45:12a championship
45:13with the NBA.
45:15The Warriors have done.
45:17The Golden State Warriors
45:18have just won
45:20the NBA championship.
45:22When the Kentucky
45:23girls won
45:24the 1975 championship
45:26and the Golden State Warriors
45:29also won the championship
45:31for the NBA
45:32the same year,
45:33we challenged them
45:34to a big amount of money,
45:36winner take all,
45:37and they wouldn't play us.
45:39And I think
45:40we all knew for sure
45:42there's only one reason
45:43they'd turn that down.
45:44they didn't think
45:46they could win.
45:48The NBA's
45:49Golden State Warriors
45:50may have had reason
45:52to be afraid.
45:53In the past three years,
45:55the ABA
45:56and NBA franchises
45:58have begun
45:58playing each other
45:59in exhibition games.
46:02The results
46:03were not what
46:04many had expected.
46:05I think the NBA
46:10had a superiority
46:11complex,
46:12but they started
46:14playing the interleague games.
46:15I knew by playing
46:17those exhibition games
46:18the way we played
46:20was better
46:21than the way they played.
46:22And that we proved that.
46:25The ABA
46:26had so much more
46:28talent
46:29and athleticism
46:30than the NBA.
46:31trying to swing
46:39down the lane,
46:40does,
46:41misses,
46:41off to a small start.
46:44They rob it inside,
46:45turning,
46:45firing,
46:46scoring.
46:48My come-to-Jesus
46:49moment,
46:49if you will,
46:50was an exhibition game
46:51that the Celtics
46:52played against the Nets.
46:54I was a huge
46:56Dave Cowens fan.
46:58And Dave was,
46:59in his second year,
47:00on his way
47:01to become an MVP
47:01in 1973.
47:03And I assumed
47:05he was going to
47:05kick Billy Pulse's ass.
47:08I thought he was going
47:09to show the Whopper
47:10who's who.
47:11Didn't happen.
47:13That really shocked me
47:15that Billy Pulse
47:16was able to hold his own
47:17against Dave Cowens.
47:18And so that was
47:19the beginning of,
47:20maybe, Bob,
47:20maybe you're not thinking
47:21about this the right way.
47:22The Kentucky Colonel
47:24is competing
47:24against the Milwaukee Bucks.
47:26And I think
47:27it'll be a very
47:28competitive game
47:29that you have
47:30two centers
47:30with his capabilities
47:32and also my capabilities.
47:34It'll be something
47:35very interesting.
47:36Lou Alcindor
47:37blocking my shot.
47:39Come by
47:39with a dunk shot
47:41right in my face
47:42and then
47:43to be able
47:44to block
47:44that hook shot
47:46was just
47:47that kind of
47:49a personal challenge
47:50for me.
47:50That was definitely
47:54a block shot.
47:56He almost ate that.
47:59The ABA started
48:00to win the majority
48:01of the games
48:01and did the last
48:02four years
48:03significantly.
48:08Well, they knew
48:09that we had better players.
48:11They knew we had
48:12a better product.
48:13It was the consensus
48:14of opinion
48:15by people in the NBA
48:18that we had
48:19a much stronger
48:20direction
48:21even though
48:22we were in
48:22A-team league
48:23than they did.
48:24And frankly,
48:25they would like
48:25some of our ownership
48:26because we have been
48:27forceful.
48:29We've been strong.
48:31We seem to have direction.
48:33If we maintain it,
48:34we're going to be held.
48:35We're going to be
48:36something else.
48:37The mindset before
48:43was let's just
48:45be good enough
48:45for them to merge
48:47with us.
48:48Now the mindset
48:49was we got to
48:51be better than them
48:52if we want to survive.
48:55They looked at
48:56every place
48:57that they could
48:58hurt the NBA.
49:00They took notice
49:02when the ABA
49:03was taking
49:04all the best
49:05referees
49:05from the NBA
49:06somehow,
49:07some way,
49:08they were coming up
49:09with the money
49:09to lure
49:11those referees.
49:13They looked
49:14at the officiating
49:15part as,
49:15wait a minute,
49:16this is a group
49:16that's kind of
49:17undervalued
49:18and, you know,
49:19in some cases
49:20underappreciated.
49:22We're going to show
49:22them something
49:23different here.
49:23Anytime they've got
49:24a top young official
49:25who's really getting
49:26their feet to the point
49:27where they're refereeing
49:28in their high-level games,
49:30we're going to
49:30take them away.
49:32So I went to the
49:33NBA office
49:33and I walked in
49:34and we sat down
49:35and I told them,
49:36I said,
49:36I can't refuse this.
49:41I guess the thought
49:42of a Wilt Chamberlain
49:43coming to town
49:43is a pretty good one
49:44for you.
49:45Yeah, we're pleased
49:46with it.
49:46We think the ABA
49:47is shaping up beautifully.
49:48There's going to be
49:49tremendous competition
49:51within the league.
49:55And lo and behold,
49:56the owner of the team
49:57brought in
49:58Wilt Chamberlain
49:59to be the coach
50:00of the San Diego
50:01Conquistadors.
50:02Wilt Chamberlain
50:03has been Mr. Everything
50:04in basketball
50:05as a player,
50:06but he himself
50:07ruled out the possibility
50:08of his ever-taking
50:09a coaching job.
50:10Well, the thought
50:11of the $600,000
50:12a year,
50:13three-year deal
50:13with the ABA
50:14San Diego Conquistadors
50:16made him eat
50:17those words.
50:18He couldn't play
50:19because his contract
50:20the Lakers
50:20had him banned.
50:21If you don't have a break,
50:23don't make a break.
50:24Take it down yourself.
50:25Coaching an inexperienced
50:26expansion club,
50:27Wilt has led the Cues
50:28into the Western Division
50:29Cellar.
50:32Mike, about two weeks ago
50:34there was a so-called
50:35secret draft
50:36held in the ABA.
50:38Is there any purpose
50:39in holding
50:39a secret draft?
50:41A secret draft,
50:42in my opinion,
50:43first of all,
50:44ought to be kept secret.
50:46The practice was
50:47to try to sign
50:47college seniors
50:49or even college
50:49underclassmen
50:50to secret contracts
50:51while they still
50:52were playing
50:53for the NCAA.
50:54They were secret
50:55because, of course,
50:55they didn't want
50:56to have the player
50:58or the school
50:58forfeit that they were.
50:59their eligibility
50:59but they also wanted
51:01to make sure
51:01that they got
51:01their contract
51:02in beforehand.
51:04We felt like
51:05we were undervalued,
51:06not fully respected.
51:09We were also,
51:10to a certain extent,
51:10battling for our lives.
51:12So that was a bond
51:14between us.
51:16I think the owners
51:18of the NBA,
51:20you know,
51:20they felt the threat.
51:22The men of the ABA
51:24were driven to challenge.
51:26and in many ways,
51:27and in many ways,
51:28by 1975,
51:30surpassed their
51:31NBA counterparts.
51:33It was shared faith
51:34that kept the league intact.
51:36But one event
51:37would occur
51:38in the summer
51:39of 1975
51:41that would sever
51:42the bond
51:43that held
51:44the ABA together.
51:45The New York Nets
51:49and the Denver Nuggets
51:51of the American Basketball Association
51:52applied for admission
51:53to the NBA
51:54without notifying
51:55the rest of their league.
51:57The Denver Nuggets
51:58and the New York Nets,
51:59two of the most successful
52:00franchises in the ABA,
52:02petitioned the NBA
52:03to be able to be brought
52:04into the NBA
52:05at that time
52:06and basically would have
52:07abandoned
52:07their ABA brethren.
52:08No franchise
52:09may withdraw
52:10from our league
52:11without obtaining
52:12the consent
52:13of the other trustees.
52:14This has not been done.
52:17You know,
52:17it comes across like
52:18mutiny on the bounty.
52:22I use the word betrayal.
52:24I was betrayed
52:25by my partners.
52:32They are witness
52:33to one of the most
52:34spectacular events
52:35in professional basketball,
52:37the Slam Dunk Contest.
52:38That ABA Slam Dunk Contest
52:43is one of the most
52:44iconic basketball
52:45tournaments
52:45we've ever had.
52:48Amid speculation
52:49that a merger was near,
52:50the two most appealing teams
52:52have mastered the finals
52:53in the ABA playoffs.
52:55Would this be the last hurrah
52:56for the red, white,
52:57and blue basketball?
52:58Do you see a need
52:59for the leagues to merger?
53:01I see a need
53:02for basketball
53:03and all sports
53:04in this country
53:04to progress.
53:06I didn't want to see
53:06the merger come down
53:07like that.
53:08It sort of became
53:09like a shark infested
53:10water every man
53:11for himself.
53:12I don't think
53:13that was fair
53:13to a lot of players.
53:14All of a sudden
53:15things are crumbling
53:16and falling apart.
53:17It was total chaos.
53:19I'm trying to get
53:29like that.
53:29I'm trying to get
53:30like that.
53:39I'm driving on music
53:39to beat
53:39We'll see you next time.
54:09We'll see you then.
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