Mike Pettine details working relationship with Kyle Shanahan
October 17, 2014Alex Mack to IR, Seymour signed to active roster
October 17, 2014You know the NBA planted its flag in Cleveland in 1970, with the inaugural season of the Cavaliers. Unlike me, you may also have known that Cleveland was this close to joining the NBA less than ten years earlier.
By the end of the 1950s, the National Industrial Basketball League had been in operation for over ten seasons. Originally formed as a league for mill workers, the teams of the NIBL were largely corporately sponsored (a la the old baseball sandlot leagues). There were the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots. The Seattle Buchan Bakers. The dominant team among the six- to eight- team semi-pro league was the Bartlesville Phillips 66ers. Ohio was represented by the Cleveland Sweeny Pipers, headed by local plumbing company owner Ed Sweeny.
By 1961, Mr. Sweeny was struggling financially. Abe Saperstein was rounding up a group of investors who would run a league that would rival the National Basketball Association. Saperstein had supported the NBA with doubleheader games against his Harlem Globetrotters—only to be snubbed by the league when it began operations in Los Angeles.
The Globetrotters were actually from Chicago, and were given the name “Harlem” to indicate that the players were black. The original name of the Globetrotters was the Savoy Big Five.
On the first day of the 1961-62 season, Steinbrenner sold a player to the Hawaiian Chiefs. During the game. At halftime.
On the first day of the 1961-62 season, Steinbrenner sold a player to the Hawaiian Chiefs. During the game. At halftime. He told the player to turn in his uniform and suit up for the Chiefs- he figured making the move in this manner made sense, as it saved on travel expenses. Mercifully, Pipers coach John McLendon took the player aside and asked him to go have a seat in the stands.
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You think George was a walking time bomb? By all accounts, the elder Steinbrenner was every bit the bombastic, dominating patriarch that sports fans would eventually come to know in his son. In fact, Henry’s short fuse applied particularly to his relationship with George. Office visitors were expected to wait until after 5:00pm before they were allowed to visit with George to discuss his basketball endeavors. George also had a dedicated telephone installed in his office, equipped without a bell. It flashed a red light for incoming calls—lest Henry become alerted to his son conducting personal business on company time (the phone could be stowed in a drawer when George was away). And Henry refused to help George fund his sports initiatives.
The ABL would only last a year and a half, but it was noteworthy for several reasons:
- The current U.S. ‘widened’ free-throw lane was first instituted there.
- The three-point shot originated in the ABL. The brainchild of Saperstein, it was originally termed the ‘home run shot’ and was roughly two feet further out than the current NBA arc. It soon was moved to roughly where the NBA arc is today.
- McLendon was the first black professional sports coach in the United States. (Steinbrenner was not enamored with the coach, and wanted a bigger name.)
- McLendon’s philosophy was of the up-tempo, fast-break variety. He was in the process of helping to revolutionize the sport, and his short time with the Pipers was just part of his 25-plus year coaching career (which included stints with Cleveland State University and the ABA’s Denver Rockets).
Steinbrenner’s Pipers were the top team of the ABL in 1961-62. The most prominent player on that team was future New York Knick star—and former NBA Syracuse National standout—Dick Barnett. Not surprisingly, the owner was known to vocalize his opinions and objections to the way the team was run. He sat behind the Pipers’ bench and second-guessed his coach (Steinbrenner had acquired players of some renown—but they didn’t fit McLendon’s running style and George would boil as they sat during games). The owner also had no qualms about running to the court and arguing with officials.
McLendon grew tired of Steinbrenner’s heavy hand and either quit, or was fired, right in the middle of their successful season. What seems to ring true is that the owner was fine with him remaining with the team, but felt he had to be removed as coach. A huge factor was the sudden availability of former Boston Celtic Bill Sharman—Sharman had been coach of Abe Saperstein’s Los Angeles Jets, which had folded. Steinbrenner signed Sharman as his new coach.
Undeniably, Bill Sharman was very effective as the Pipers’ coach in 1962. Perhaps coincidentally, he occasionally locked the doors at their practice gym to keep the owner out. A staple of Sharman’s was the shootaround, which had not previously been an accepted form of practice. Routine with present-day teams at all levels, some of Sharman’s players fifty years ago were concerned that the unstructured shooting and rebounding among several players at one time would result in their being tired or stiff come game time.
The Pipers played most of their home games at the Cleveland Arena, although research shows at least one game was held at Public Hall. After losing the first two games of the league championship series, the 1961-62 team won the league title over the Kansas City Steers, 3 games to 2.
To the shock of nobody who is aware of George Steinbrenner’s later ownership of baseball’s New York Yankees, he was just getting started.
To the shock of nobody who is aware of George Steinbrenner’s later ownership of baseball’s New York Yankees, he was just getting started. His intention was to join the NBA. Dick Barnett decided to jump back over to the senior league due to the ABL’s subpar salaries, living conditions, and overall stability. And Bill Sharman was going to be tough to continue to afford. But the owner had a plan: to sign Ohio State University star, Jerry Lucas.
Lucas was the standout who had led OSU to consecutive college basketball title games. He had already been previously drafted by the NBA’s Cincinnati Royals, who were waiting for him to graduate.
The Royals featured University of Cincinnati star Oscar Robertson, considered by some the best basketball player ever until Michael Jordan came along. Their center was future Cleveland Cavalier GM Wayne Embry.
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In the 1950s, Lucas had already drawn 10,000 to Cleveland Arena as a high school star. By 1962, he had completed his undergraduate studies in three years. He felt certain he did not wish to play professional basketball. The NBA could offer him money, but he had other goals and interests as well. He remained a serious student who intended to enroll in graduate school. He was also married, and did not wish to travel.
Steinbrenner blew Lucas away with a carefully prepared offer. He opened the Pipers’ books to the player, and shared expectations of attendance and revenue should he decide to come to Cleveland. He disclosed that his ownership group had originally purchased the team because they hoped to sign Lucas. The ABL draft had territorial picks, and he had insisted each team receive two Ohio picks—it began to be accepted at the time that fellow Ohio State star John Havlicek would eventually join the Pipers as well.
Lucas disclosed in an open letter in Sports Illustrated that Steinbrenner carefully studied his objections to playing professional basketball. The owner copied the process that Ohio State had employed to win over Lucas four years earlier. Steinbrenner had gotten the ABL season shortened to about 70 games—beginning the season in December in order to accommodate Lucas’ fall school schedule. He only asked the player for a two year commitment. And instead of simply the high salary offered by the Royals, he had assembled a package of investments that would net a comparably low level of pay—but would remain after Lucas’ playing commitment was completed (additionally, the investments were placed with particular firms that interested Lucas as possible future career opportunities).
Lucas was impressed. The Pipers had concerned themselves with his personal priorities. The travel concerns remained, but this was allayed by Lucas’ realization that he could only remain a role model to children if he continued to play basketball. He took his solid public image seriously, and used it among various public charities and other organizations.1
With Jerry Lucas on board, George Steinbrenner received a verbal agreement to have the Pipers join the NBA for the 1962-63 season. The season’s schedule featured an opening game against the Knicks. Cincinnati protested, since they had expected to eventually sign Lucas. Haggling commenced over the Pipers’ entry fee into the Association; accounts differ over the exact amount. But it was large, with much of the total going to the Royals. The Kansas City Steers’ roster would to assimilate into the Cleveland roster- the Pipers were going to hit the ground running in the NBA. However, Steers owner and new Pipers partner George McKean fell behind in his payments to the NBA. George Steinbrenner approached his father for funding and was turned down. The Pipers folded, as did the ABL that following season.
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Some accounts hold that Steinbrenner folded the team in a fit of spite in response to the ABL suing him for jumping to the NBA. I do not believe this to be true.2 He ended up deeply in the hole. He worked his other business interests toward the payment of his debts until they were paid off. It was a matter of principle.
In 1972, Steinbrenner had a verbal agreement with Vernon Stouffer to purchase baseball’s Cleveland Indians. Stouffer, the frozen-food magnate, backed out of that deal, selling instead to new Cavaliers owner Nick Mileti. Soon after, George Steinbrenner would put together another ownership group and acquire the New York Yankees. They would win several World Series titles under his ownership.
Jerry Lucas agreed to terms with the Cincinnati Royals. He joined forces with the young Oscar Robertson for a few seasons. By 1972, the Royals were sold and moved to Kansas City.
Lucas and John Havlicek starred for several years with the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics, respectively. Between them, they won nine NBA titles and performed in 20 All-Star games.
The Indians, rumored to have been close to moving to Toronto, New Orleans or Seattle, remained in Cleveland through a couple more lean decades featuring a scarcity of revenue, attendance, and win totals.
- I found a published account of the New York Knicks considering offering the Royals a player and a large amount of cash in return for the rights to sign Lucas. They assumed they could offer him an amount of money that he could not refuse. Huh. How out of character of New York. [↩]
- I just think he ran out of money. [↩]
8 Comments
great article. very interesting to read the workings of cleveland’s former teams. ive been curious about the stokers as well.
Wow, that’s a great article. I had no idea that Steinbrenner owned a basketball team in Cleveland and that he planned to have that team join the NBA. Good stuff!
Good stuff, Greg. I never realized we were so close to the NBA back then. Lucas, Sigfried, and Embry would have been a pretty decent core to build around.
We often regret that Steinbrenner was not able to buy the Indians. But who knows? Attendance might still have been lousy, and being the impatient hot-head that he was, he very well could have moved the team, despite his business interests here.
The Royals have had an interesting history. They started out as the Rochester (N.Y.) Royals, moved to Cincinnati, then moved again and became first the Kansas City Kings and then the Kansas City-Omaha Kings, and finally the Sacramento Kings. I don’t think any other major franchise has had so many homes. And what’s more, the Sacramento Kings came pretty close to moving to Seattle after the Sonics bolted. A last-ditch drive by Sacramento’s mayor, former Cav guard Kevin Johnson, kept the Kings there.
Greg, allow me to offer a suggestion for a future column, one you might run in December. At the end of the 1958 Browns season, we faced the Giants twice in two weeks in what turned out to be the first big heartbreak, the predecessor to the Drive, the Fumble, etc.
Great article. I knew none of this, including how much more interesting team names were back then! I’d like to see a Sweeny Pipers throwback night.
absolutely amazing stuff and story.
also, if I didn’t know any better, I would have thought this part of the story was more about George Costanza instead of Steinbrenner
George also had a dedicated telephone installed in his office, equipped without a bell. It flashed a red light for incoming calls—lest Henry become alerted to his son conducting personal business on company time (the phone could be stowed in a drawer when George was away).
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I remember the team but not all the details. The already had Larry Siegfried. Havlicek tried out for the Browns as a tight end and was the last cut, and would have joined the Pipers had they not folded, so they would have had three members of the glorious Buckeye team.
so long as it doesnt tick.