Oakland Oaks 1969 ABA Champions highlights

Описание: Miscellaneous video pertaining to the Oakland Oaks 1968-69 ABA Championship

At 0:08, Oaks coach Alex Hannum offers views on the challenges his team faces in the finals against the Indiana Pacers, including defending MVP center Mel Daniels. He goes on to talk about the further challenge of relying on reserve players in the absence of injured Oakland superstar Rick Barry. The "Warren" he references is Warren Armstrong (later Jabali), who was the 1969 ABA Rookie of the Year, and would go on to be the Finals MVP. Larry Brown (later a well known NCAA and NBA coach) was a first team all-star guard that season; Doug Moe was a second-team selection at forward. Hannum himself was named Coach of the Year, while Barry was also a 1st team selection despite only playing 35 games that year, and not having played since January (34.0 pts/9.4 rebs per game)

(Note: Hannum's reference to "recent failures" in signing college draft picks (0:21) refers to the ABA's recently failing to sign UCLA star Lew Alcindor...now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. See more about that here:    • April 1969 James Kirst interview regarding...  )

1:35 shows brief footage from the deciding 5th game, which was one by the Oaks, 135-131, before a home crowd of 6,340--about twice the usual average. The team then rushes the floor to celebrate the win (2:07), including Barry (#24)(2:21), who was in uniform on the bench despite his knee injury

Coach Hannum then offers some insights about the title (2:25)--the "wire" he references was a telegram challenging the NBA champion Boston Celtics immediately after the game; this is why Hannum says there is no "world champion" until both leagues play each other (note: Hannum had coached an NBA champion two seasons earlier with the Philadelphia 76ers). His "dismal start" references the team's inaugural campaign the year before, which is discussed below

At 3:29, Barry offers some insights

The 1969 title was a remarkable turnaround for the Oaks, who finished a miserable 22-56 the year before under coach Bruce Hale (ranked as the 2nd worst professional season of all time according to the Elo Rating System). Much more had been expected from Oakland, because they had poached Barry from the NBA; however, because of the "option clause" in NBA contracts, he was required to sit out the season. The Oaks--owned by ABA co-founder Dennis Murphy, S. Kenneth Davidson, and singer Pat Boone--struggled financially even with the title. Due to various underhanded moves by Davidson, Boone was saddled with the franchise all on his own--along with about $2.5 million in debt

Thus, when Earl Foreman offered to purchase the defending champions in August 1969 by assuming the debt, Boone was more than happy to sell. Foreman then moved the team to Washington, D.C., playing one year as the Caps before moving the next year to become a "regional franchise"--the Virginia Squires. The Squires would survive to play the ABA's last season (1975-76), but folded before being part of the NBA merger/buyout package

(Footage is courtesy of the KPIX-TV video archives)