April 24, 1967: The Philadelphia 76ers beat the San Francisco Warriors, the former Philadelphia team, 125-122 at the Cow Palace outside San Francisco. This was Game 6 of the Finals, and it capped one of the greatest seasons in NBA history. It is their 1st title since moving to Philadelphia 4 years ago, the 3rd NBA title for the city (the Warriors had won it in 1947 and 1956), and the 1st World Championship for Wilt Chamberlain.
The 76ers, who started out 41-3 on their way to a then-NBA record 68 wins, had Hall-of-Famers Chamberlain, Hal Greer, Chet "the Jet" Walker, Larry Costello and rookie Billy Cunningham. They also had Wally Jones, whom fellow Overbrook High of West Philly graduate Wilt called "the first man in space" because of his jumping ability. Jones later converted to Islam, and slightly altered his name to Wali Jones. ; Bill Melchionni, later to win ABA titles with the New York Nets; and another rookie, Matt Guokas, whose father, Matt Sr., had played on the '47 Warriors and became a great broadcaster for the Philadelphia Eagles.
They were coached by Alex Hannum, who had also led the 1958 St. Louis Hawks to the title, and would lead the 1969 Oakland Oaks to the ABA title. Their general manager was Jack Ramsay, who would coach the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA title in 1977.
Wilt celebrated all summer long. And now you know why 1967 was known as the Summer of Love.
Cunningham would coach their 1983 NBA Champions. Matt Guokas Jr., whose father Matt Sr. was a member of the Philadelphia Eagles' 1948 and '49 NFL Champions, was a reserve on the '67 76ers, and a broadcaster for the '83 76ers. The team has never won an NBA title without Cunningham and Gukoas being involved.
The Warriors had won the NBA Championship in 1947 and 1956, while playing in Philadelphia. Chamberlain played for them from 1959 to 1965, including their 1962 move to San Francisco. The Syracuse Nationals, who had won the NBA Championship in 1955, moved to become the 76ers in 1963. The Warriors changed their name to the Golden State Warriors in 1971, and have won the Championship in 1975, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022. So the Warriors have won 7 titles, the 76ers have won 3, and Philadelphia has won 4 -- but none since 1983.
The 76ers retired Chamberlain's Number 13, Greer's Number 15 and Cunningham's Number 32. Those men, along with Wali Jones, Chet Walker, Bill Melchionni, head coach Jack Ramsay, statistician Harvey Pollack, public address announcer Dave Zinkoff and broadcaster Bill Campbell, have been elected to the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.
*
April 24, 1967 was a Monday. Croatian basketball star Dino Rađa (his name usually written in English as Dino Rajda) was born on this day. This was also the day that Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov became the space race's 1st in-flight fatality. I have a separate entry for this event.
The Stanley Cup Finals were between Games 2 and 3. The series was tied, 1-1, and the Toronto Maple Leafs ended up beating the Montreal Canadiens in 6 games.
And there were 3 games played in baseball:
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Washington Senators, 7-4 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. (It was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.) Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-5.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros, 3-1 at the Astrodome in Houston. Pete Rose went 2-for-2 with 2 walks.
* And the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-5 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Lou Johnson singled Wes Parker home in the bottom of the 13th inning. Lou Brock went 3-for-6 with a walk, 3 stolen bases, and 2 RBIs.
No comments:
Post a Comment