Tag Archives: St. Louis Hawks

57: The Hawks’ Magic Number

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It's a hawk! (wolfpix via Flickr)

It’s a hawk! (wolfpix via Flickr)

Wilkins, last year’s NBA scoring champ, scored a league season-high 57 points, equaling his own career best, as the Atlanta Hawks routed Jordan and the Chicago Bulls 123 – 95 Wednesday…

“They caught me in my rhythm,” Wilkins said. “I feel like I’m on the top of my game.”

-Via the Gadsden Times

Oh, I do believe scoring a career-high 57 points in a 123 – 95 thrashing of the Chicago Bulls counts as being on the top of one’s game. On December TENTH, 1986, in 40 minutes of action the Human Highlight Film simply couldn’t miss. He was 19-28 from the field (68%) and 19-21 from the free throw line (91%). Now, the curious thing about Nique’s offensive explosion isn’t this was the 2nd time he hit exactly 57 points, but it was the fourth time in Hawks franchise history that a player had hit for exactly 57 points.

At the end of the previous season on April TENTH, 1986, Wilkins had eviscerated the New Jersey Nets for 57 points in a late season matchup that the Hawks won 126 – 117. In that game Wilkins was similarly en fuego with 21-37 shooting (57%) and 15-19 free throws (79%).

Nearly 17 years earlier, in just the Hawks second season based in Atlanta, Lou Hudson on November TENTH, 1969, torched the Chicago Bulls for 57 points much like Wilkins would. Hitting 7 of his 8 free throws and netting 25 of his 34 field goals.

Sweet Lou’s down right nasty destruction of the Bulls tied him with his old teammate Bob Pettit who also dropped 57 points. Pettit did his damage as a member of the St. Louis Hawks against the Detroit Pistons. Hitting 25 of his 42 field goal attempts and making seven of nine free throws, Pettit unfortunately hit his franchise-record points in a game on February EIGHTEENTH, 1961.

Although Pettit ruined the streak of all 57 point games being done on the TENTH of a month, he did haul down 28 rebounds that night… and he was the first Hawk to reach 57 points, so maybe it was the other two gentleman who ruined the synergy.

In any case, these three men are the only ones to have their jerseys retired by the Hawks franchise. So, if Josh Smith or even DeShawn Stevenson wants their jersey number retired, all you have to do is go for 57, the Hawks’ magic number.

The Lowdown: Cliff Hagan

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Years Active: 1957 – 1966, 1968-1970
Regular Season Stats: 839 games, 28.7 mpg
17.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3.2 apg, 45.4% FG, 79.9% FT
Postseason Stats: 95 games, 32.4 mpg
19.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 3.5 apg, 45.1% FG, 79.8% FT
Accolades: 2x All-NBA 2nd Team (1958-59), 5x NBA All-Star (1958 – ’62), ABA All-Star (1968), NBA Champion (1958)

Despite those accolades listed above, Cliff Hagan is likely best remembered as the final piece finagled by St. Louis Hawks owner Ben Kerner from the Boston Celtics in exchange for Bill Russell’s draft rights. The Hawks already had pried Hall of Famer Ed Macauley from Boston and now this Kentucky standout would be coming to Missouri. As it turned out, Macauley’s days were coming to end while Hagan emerged not only as a powerful force for the Hawks, he’d turn out to be a Hall of Famer in his own right.

That textbook hook shot of Hagan’s was his most devastating weapon, despite being a 6’4″ forward. He could release it with a staggering rapidity and was also a terror on the offensive boards. Along with Frank Ramsey, Hagan led the Kentucky Wildcats to incredible success capturing the 1951 NCAA title as a sophomore. Although graduating in 1953 and being drafted by the Celtics, Hagan actually decided to play one more year at Kentucky as a graduate student. He led the team to a 25-0 record.

Finally leaving the confines of the Bluegrass State, Hagan didn’t immediately join the NBA. Instead he did two years of military service and upon completion of his duties with Uncle Sam, Hagan was then involved with that fateful Russell trade in the summer of 1956. At the age of 24 in the fall of 1956, Hagan was at last beginning his NBA career.

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The Lowdown: Bob Pettit

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Years Active: 1955 – 1965
Regular Season Stats: 792 games, 38.8 mpg
26.4 ppg, 16.2 rpg, 3.0 apg, 43.6% FG, 76.1% FT
Postseason Stats: 88 games, 40.3 mpg
25.5 ppg, 14.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, 41.8% FG, 77.4% FT
Accolades: 2x MVP (1956, ’59), 10x All-NBA 1st Team (1955-’64), All-NBA 2nd Team (1965), 11x All-Star (1955-’65), 4x All-Star Game MVP (1956, ’58, ’59, ’62), NBA Title (1958), 2x PPG Leader (1956, ’59)

“I never tried to be a team leader in basketball. I wasn’t a guy who did a lot of talking. I just wanted everybody to see that I worked hard, that I’d give my full effort all the time. In business, I try to surround myself with the best people and then let them do their thing.” And if that doesn’t succeed? “Then we all sit down, talk it over, and work things out.”

- Via Dr. Jack Ramsay’s “Transition Game: Bob Pettit”

That’s a fairly accurate description Bob Pettit gave of himself in that interview with Jack Ramsay. Many have worked as hard as Pettit but none harder. You listen to him speak for any length of time and invariably he returns to the ethos of hard work, determination and consistency. These would be hallmarks of his Hall of Fame career.

Bob’s initial forays into basketball were strongly encouraged by his father, a sheriff in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Despite being cut from the high school team twice, the practice ultimately paid off as Pettit eventually made the squad and would subsequently led them to the Louisiana state title. A fairly successful stint at Louisiana State University followed where he averaged ho-hum 27 points and 15 rebounds a game in his time as a Tiger. His play in these years, however, was predicated on him being a back-to-the-basket, low post threat. And at 6’9″ he had the height, but with only a scant 200 lbs to that frame, he didn’t have the weight to succeed in the pros that way.

So, Pettit totally retooled his game upon entering the NBA and would prove to better than ever.

Despite the fears over his frailty, the Milwaukee Hawks selected Pettit 2nd overall in the 1954 Draft. The Hawks were abominably terrible the previous year winning only 21 games. Their leading scorer was Don Sunderlage with a sizzling 11 ppg. Pettit immediately seized the reins of the team and although they improved to only 26 wins his rookie season, Pettit put together a spectacular campaign of 20.4 ppg and 13.8 rpg.

His success was due to virtually abandoning being a back-to-the-basket player and instead becoming a dangerous marauder. He was one of the first big men(not just in position but in actual height) to roam the court and thrive on constant movement. He had a tremendous mid-range jump shot and could score off the dribble with some skill but his biggest money maker was with the incessant attacks he made on the offensive glass and with off-the-ball cuts. Bill Russell, quite the authority on hustle and rebounding, had this to say about Pettit:

“Bob made ‘second effort’ a part of the sport’s vocabulary. He kept coming at you more than any man in the game. He was always battling for position, fighting you off the boards.”

Pettit made the All-NBA 1st Team, which he would do until his final season, and ran away with the Rookie of the Year award in that 1954-55 season. Likewise, the Hawks were ran out of Milwaukee that offseason. Facing dismal attendance, owner Ben Kerner moved the club to St. Louis in hopes that the team (and his pocketbook) would finally succeed. The move turned out better than he could have imagined.

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When Celtics vs. Hawks Meant Excitement

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Editor’s note: this article was originally written during the horrific Celtics-Hawks playoff series of Spring 2012

via St. Louis Sports History

The past two weeks, the cries of basketball fans everywhere have pleaded for the horrendous Boston Celtics – Atlanta Hawks 1st round series to end. Despite these pleas, the basketball gods willed that that contest continue for 6 excruciating games. Mercifully, it ended Thursday but in a typically painful way: mismanaged calls by refs and missed free throws by players.

However, Celtics vs. Hawks wasn’t always cause for concern. In fact, back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it was the best match-up around in the NBA. To be precise, from 1957 to 1961, the St. Louis Hawks and the Boston Celtics met in the NBA Finals 4 times. There was plenty of in-game heroics and pre-game shenanigans to entertain all during this stretch, but that first clash in 1957 was perhaps the best.

There was oodles of back story, intrigue and, most importantly, delightful on-court play.

Seeds of a Rivalry

The antipathy between this New England city and Missouri burgh begins where all great rivalries do… the Tri-Cities of Iowa and Illinois.

Actually, let’s back this train up a bit further. The story begins in Buffalo, New York. It is there where Ben Kerner, a local businessman, established the Buffalo Bisons in the National Basketball League (NBL) in that league’s 1946-47 season, its 11th. Also started that year was the upstart Basketball Association of America (BAA). Unimportant right now, but hold that thought on the BAA.

Kerner’s experiment with pro basketball in Buffalo ended like all previous attempts did: failure. There had been two previous incarnations of “Buffalo Bisons” that went up in smoke. There was one in the American Basketball League of the 1920s and a previous one in the NBL (then known as the Midwest Basketball Conference) during the mid-1930s. Both attempts collapsed after a single season. This newest attempt by Kerner didn’t even last that long. The team suffering from horrendous attendance bolted for Moline, Illinois after 13 games.

Now, I know we’ve all contemplated packing our bags and moving to Moline for a fresh start, however Kerner actually went through with this plan not only because Buffalo was terrible for attendance, but Moline was excellent for it. 3 weeks before the move, a neutral site game between the Chicago Gears (with George Mikan) and Indianapolis Kautskys had drawn over 4,000 fans. That was stellar attendance and Kerner took note and thus the Tri-Cities Blackhawks were born.

Sidenote: Ben Kerner this season employed Hall of Famer William “Pop” Gates as a Blackhawk. Gates was African-American. In fact, the NBL occasionally had been using black players for years, predating Jackie Robinson in MLB.

Over the next couple of seasons, the Blackhawks were an above average team always making the playoffs in the NBL and the times seemed decent. Then along came a merger with the BAA in 1950 that created the NBA. The NBL had primarily been located in modest-sized Midwestern cities, while the BAA was in larger East Coast locales. The merger set in motion economic forces that would move the Blackhawks from the Tri-Cities of Moline, Davenport and Rock Port to Milwaukee, Wisconsin (renamed just “Hawks”) and then finally to St. Louis in order to financially compete with the old BAA teams in New York, Philadelphia and Boston. Not that any of those teams were rolling in dough. No one in professional basketball was then. But these moves were the difference between life and death for Kerner.

Before leaving the Tri-Cities, though, Kerner employed a plucky coach with a loud mouth and an enormous chip on his shoulder: Arnold “Red” Auerbach.

Although only 32, Auerbach, already had a good track record as coach with the Washington Capitals before arriving in the Tri-Cities in 1950, the year of the NBL-BAA merger. With the Caps in the BAA, Auerbach had amassed a .684 win percentage overall and a single-season win percentage of .817 in 1947. That would not be bested until the 1967 76ers. Auerbach had also demonstrated a keen touch in making personnel decisions in Washington.

Upon being hired in the Tri-Cities, Auerbach extracted from Kerner a promise to leave him total control over personnel. As you may guess, that pledge was quickly broken by Kerner who meddled in affairs and ultimately drove Red from the Tri-Cities after just one season. The broken promise and their clash of personalities, however, had cast the dye for the vitriol of the 1957 NBA Finals.

via bestsportsphotos.com

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Hall of Fame Snubs: Larry Foust

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Years Active: 1951 – 1962
Regular Season Stats: 817 games, 29.2 mpg
13.7 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 1.7 apg, 40.5% FG, 74.1% FT
Postseason Stats: 73 games, 27.4 mpg
12.4 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 39.4% FG, 78.1% FT
Accolades: 8x All-Star (1951-56, 1958-59), All-NBA 1st Team (1955), All-NBA 2nd Team (1952)

Larry-Foust

Larry Foust, rugged Piston center, poured in 37 points as Fort Wayne made it four straight over the Royals. Foust scored six of his team’s seven points in the overtime after the regular game ended, 94-94.

- Via The Milwaukee Journal, Decemeber 2, 1954

Larry Foust is one of the many victims of failed basketball memory. The depths and passage of time naturally erode the ability to recall the greatness of things achieved by those in the past. Compounding this natural tendency is the fact that none of Foust’s clubs exist as he knew them.

The Fort Wayne Pistons have since moved on to Detroit. The Minneapols Lakers headed west to Los Angeles. The St. Louis Hawks went down south to Atlanta. Nevertheless, Foust is a player worth not only recalling, but one worthy of Hall of Fame induction. During the 1950s he was one of the premier NBA centers and yet is unrecognized as such.

During his heydey (1951-58), Foust recorded the 4th most win shares for a center. Of the top 6 players on this list, Foust is the only one not enshrined in the Hall of Fame. George Mikan, Neil Johnston, Ed Macauley, Arnie Risen and Clyde Lovellette are all deservedly in.

Looking at Foust’s production, this is an unfortunately recurring theme. He is routinely in the lofty company of various Hall of Fame players and yet he is the one outside looking in. During the entirety of the 1950s, Foust scored the 3rd most points and grabbed the most rebounds of any center in the NBA. Amongst all players he was 8th in points scored and 2nd in rebounds. Finally, his player efficiency rating (PER) of 21.o was 5th amongst centers and 9th overall.

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The Lowdown: Slater Martin

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Years Active: 1950 – 1960
Regular Season Stats: 745 games, 35.9 mpg
9.8 ppg, 4.2 apg, 3.4 rpg, 36.4% FG, 76.2% FT
Postseason Stats: 92 games, 39.4 mpg
10.0 ppg, 3.8 apg, 3.4 rpg, 35.1% FG, 71.5% FT
Accolades: 5x All-NBA 2nd Team (1955-59), 7x All-Star (1953-59), 5x NBA Champion (1950, 1952-54, 1958)

Slater Martin

“He was small in stature [5'10"], but he was one tough hombre.”

- Via Slater Martin – Hall-of-Famer, Texas star and Davis grad – dies at 86

Sadly, Slater Martin passed away tonight. I was hoping at some point to write about his career and I’m a bit disappointed his passing served as the catalyst for this look back. Truthfully Martin deserves to be remembered by any basketball fan at any given moment for he was one of the premier play makers of the 1950s. However, he’s one of the least known Hall of Famers and 5x NBA champions you’ll ever come across. So, in his death, I suppose it’s time to rectify that.

Born on Galveston Island, Martin would grow up in Houston and learn how to shoot basketball thanks to a makeshift wooden backboard his grandfather made for him. His grandfather also bequeathed him the nickname “Dugie”.  While at Jefferson Davis High School in Houston, Martin secured two state championships before moving on to the University of Texas. His tenure as a Longhorn began in 1943 but wouldn’t end until 1949 thanks to military service in the Pacific during World War II and a brief stint playing amateur basketball. Returning to UT after these interruptions, Martin led the Longhorns to the NCAA semi-finals in 1947. This would be the program’s greatest advance into the tournament until 2003.

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The Lowdown: Richie Guerin

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Years Active: 1957 – 1970
Regular Season Stats: 848 games, 32.4 mpg
17.3 ppg, 5.0 apg, 5.0 apg, 41.6% FG, 78% FT
Playoff Stats: 42 games, 32 mpg
15.6 ppg, 5.1 apg, 3.5 rpg, 42.9% FG, 80.3% FT
Accolades: 6x All-Star (1958 – ’63), 3x All-NBA 2nd Team (1959-’60, 1962), Coach of the Year (1968)

Photo via nasljerseys

“It is inconceivable to me that any coach in any sport, even under the most severe emotional strain, would threaten ‘there will be a lot of blood spilled on that floor tomorrow night’ and that ‘certain players may not be around the game is over.’”

- NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy explaining why he fined Richie Guerin $1000 in 1970

Few have played basketball with as much intensity as Richie Guerin as he careened up and down the court leaving a wake of destruction. A point guard of fury, he routinely jawed, elbowed and belittled opponents and teammates alike. This pitbull of the hardwood wanted nothing more than to win, but like many greats, the ultimate success of a title would elude Guerin. However, in his quest he left a dubious mark as one of the pioneering score-first PGs in the NBA.

A standout guard for Iona College while averaging 20.5 points per game, Richie Guerin was drafted 17th by his hometown New York Knicks in the 1954 Draft. The Knicks would have to wait two years, however, to get their point guard. Guerin had been a Marine Reservist since he was 15 years old and now Uncle Sam called him up for active duty. Guerin served his two years at Quantico, Virginia, the recent home base for NBA all-star Paul Arizin. As the 1956-57 season loomed, Guerin finished his service and headed to New York.

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The Lowdown: Paul Silas

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Years Active: 1965 – 1980
Regular Season Stats: 1254 games, 27.9 mpg
9.4 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 2.1 apg, 43.2% FG, 67.3% FT
Postseason Stats: 163 games, 28.3 mpg
6.9 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, 39.7% FG, 69.2% FT
Accolades: 2x All-Star (1972, ’75), 2x All-Defensive 1st Team (1975-’76), 3x All-Defensive 2nd Team (1971-’73), 3x NBA Champion (1974, ’76, ’79)

Photo via Sports Illustrated

While Havlicek is a quiet, gentlemanly sort, Silas is a cordial, beaming man who could teach smiling at a stewardess school. And while Havlicek is exacting of himself and his teammates, Silas may be doubly so.

- They’re Replaying The Sixth Man Theme

In 1972, Paul Silas was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Boston Celtics. The 6’7″ forward wasn’t too thrilled at the prospect of moving from sunny Arizona to Massachusetts. It wasn’t just the weather that he was wary of, however. Already an 8-year veteran, he had heard tall tales of the Celtic mystique all his career. His skepticism soon dissipated:

“To be truthful, I thought it was a lot of nonsense. But when I arrived it was amazing. It’s almost like a collegiate atmosphere in a pro world—an atmosphere of total sacrifice for the good of the team, on and off the court. It’s a way of life. You just fall into it.”

Those Celtics of John Havlicek, Jo Jo White and Dave Cowens fell into Silas at the right moment. Just a year earlier in 1971, Silas had shed a commendable 30 pounds to drop his weight from 240 to 210. Before, during his days with the St. Louis Hawks, Silas was known as one of the NBA’s premier tough guys. A mountain of a man patrolling the lane and dominating the boards. It was an era overly focused on beefing up frontlines to thwart Wilt Chamberlain. After the weight loss, Silas stunned opponents with a new-found ability to gracefully run the court and beat his man for easy buckets. And in the halfcourt set, his lighter frame allowed better lift on his jumper. His defense remained almost as stout as it was before, but he did concede his lost weight allowed opponents to sometimes get him out of rebounding position.

Watching Silas’s transformation was Red Auerbach who exchanged Charlie Scott’s draft rights for Paul. Red correctly surmised that Silas was just what the Celtics needed. Already a 56-win team the season before, the Celtics had arisen from the short slumber following Bill Russell’s retirement in 1969. They needed a veteran ready to contribute immediately alongside center Cowens. The addition of Silas catapulted the Celtics to 68 wins.

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Take It Easy, Ed

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Editor’s Note: this article first appeared at Hardwood Paroxysm on November 9, 2011, the day of Macauley’s death

Photo via Life Magazine

“Ed matured quicker than most of us. He was an all-around type of guy who had a stablizing effect on us as a leader. We all learned something from him.” – Bob Cousy

Via 100 Greatest Basketball Players of All-Time by Alex Sachare

This is the trouble in idolizing and adoring legends from bygone eras when you’re a 20-something like me. The shrouded mystique and the tantalizing aura of what these people did draws me in. I thoroughly enjoy the play of LeBron James, Kevin Durant and other greats of today’s NBA. The music of Erykah Badu and the Black Keys thrills me too. But there’s something about catching deep-from-the-vaults archival footage of James Brown & the Famous Flames taking impassioned begging to new heights or the shrouded mystique and aura of players from the 50s captured primarily in still photos like the one above.

Even when you know the era wasn’t totally charming and had its flaws, there is still a sense of quaintness about these rare snippets of a departed era. And like those eras, we all eventually depart. On Tuesday, Ed Macauley took his leave.

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The Lowdown: Lou Hudson

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Editor’s Note: Originally appeared April 14, 2011 at Hardwood Paroxysm

Years Active: 1967-1979
Career Stats: 20.2 ppg, 2.7 apg, 4.4 rpg, 1.4 spg, 49% FG, 80% FT
Accolades: All-NBA 2nd Team (1970), 6x All-Star (1969-74), All-Rookie 1st Team (1967)

Lou Hudson

Photo from bandofballers.com

…Sweet Lou, sweet as in cool jazz put down by a lightly plucked bass and the hushed swirling of brushes around a drumhead. His skin is the color of light coffee, his features regular and smooth, his temperament equable. His game is heavy on the sugar: there is a gentle rhythm to his constant motion on offense and a classic softness in his jump shot, of which there is none prettier.

Via “He’s Shooting the Works” by Peter Carry

Cool Jazz: Lou Hudson was indeed a cool character on the court. His seeming lack of flair is probably to blame for his footnote status in NBA history. To boot, he spent the bulk of his playing days in the cold outer reaches of the basketball universe. First was his collegiate stint at the University of Minnesota under coach John Kundla, who won several titles as coach of the Minneapolis Lakers in the NBL, BAA and NBA, but achieved little with the Golden Gophers. Second, Hudson was drafted a lofty #4 by the St. Louis Hawks in 1966 after averaging a 20-and-8 with a broken wrist during his senior year at Minnesota.

As you may know, the Hawks are no longer in St. Louis, so any potential myth/narrative/memory of Hudson carrying on the torch lit by Bob Pettit, Ed Macauley & co. was squashed. Third, those Hawks moved to Atlanta in 1968, a city notorious for its fair-weather attitude toward professional sports. However, like a cool, swinging jazz bass, you may not consciously notice Hudson was expertly plying his craft, but just like that bass once you are awakened to Lou’s presence, you deeply dig the groove.

Regular, Smooth, Equable: “Super Lou” spent 13 seasons in the NBA, 11 of which came with the Hawks. Along with Pettit and Dominique Wilkins, he forms the troika of legendary Hawks. Indeed, they are the only ones to have their jerseys retired by the franchise and they all hold the franchise record for points in a single game (57). Hudson also scored the 1st points in Atlanta Hawks history, truly a harbinger of his stay in Georgia. For 7 straight seasons, Hudson averaged at least 22 points a game including five in a row of 25+. The only blips in his steady play came from Uncle Sam drafting him into the army in 1967 allowing Hudson to play in only 48 games that season and then an elbow injury suffered in 1974-75 limiting him to 11 games.

Heavy on the Sugar: “Sweet Lou” got to those prodigious scoring numbers by relying on a jump shot as saccharine as any before or since. He was not a high-flyer, a wizard with the ball, or a bruiser down low. He would just kill you softly with that jumper while his cohorts, Walt Bellamy, Paul Silas and Bill Bridges would punish you down low. The 1st phase of Hudson’s Hawkdom culminated in 1970 when he averaged a healthy 25 points on a blistering 53% shooting. He was named an All-Star starter and to the All-NBA 2nd Team that season. The Hawks as a team also reached its apex losing to the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. This was the true death of the Hawks’ St. Louis character. The roster would be overhauled, coaches changed and conferences switched during the next two seasons.

Constant Motion: In 1971, on board came Pete Maravich and in 1972 coach Cotton Fitzsimmons. The Hawks made the playoffs both years with a mediocre 36 wins each time, but Cotton was on to an offensive scheme from heaven. “Pistol Pete” was given free reign to wheel and deal, so long as he sought out “Super Lou” who was to ceaselessly move without the ball: cutting to the hoop, dashing around screens, being Reggie Miller before there was Reggie Miller. Their synchronicity was ridiculously productive. In 1973, they became only the 2nd pair of teammates to score 2,000 points a piece for a season. That ’73 season, with Walt Bellamy the only interior holdover, the Hawks put together a strong season of 46 wins and were finally legit playoff participants. Such was their luck that they faced off with the Boston Celtics (the most forgotten about 68-win team ever) that postseason.

Hudson played his heart out averaging nearly 30 points and 8 rebounds but Boston triumphed in 6 games. This proved to be the highlight of the Hawks sudden resurgence. The team regressed to 35 wins in 1974, Maravich was traded in ’75 and Lou went down with his elbow injury that same year. As the Hawks sank ever deeper, Sweet Lou at the age of 32 was traded to the Lakers for the 1977-78 season. Two relatively productive seasons as a reserve were followed by retirement in 1979. Maybe hanging around for one more season and getting a ring with the 1980 Lakers would have salvaged a bit more of a popular legacy for Hudson, but really, what else was left for Sweet Lou to prove?