May 7, 1969: The Oakland Oaks, named for the city's former baseball team in the Pacific Coast League, win the Championship of the American Basketball Association. They beat the Indiana Pacers, 135-131, at the Oakland Coliseum Arena, and win the Finals, 4 games to 1.
The Oaks were owned by S. Kenneth Davidson; Dennis A. Murphy, who would later co-found the World Hockey Association with Davidson's brother, Gary Davidson; and singer Pat Boone. Boone was basically just there to have his name on the letterhead: Based in Nashville, Tennessee, he had no involvement with the team, and rarely even went to Oakland to attend games.
They were coached by Alex Hannum, who had won NBA Championships as head coach of the St. Louis (now Atlanta) Hawks in 1958 and the Philadelphia 76ers in 1967. He and Bill Sharman would be the only coaches to win titles in both leagues.
The Oaks’ players included Rick Barry, Warren Armstrong (he would later rename himself Warren Jabali), and future coaching legends Larry Brown and Doug Moe. Hannum, Barry and Brown are in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
But the owners mismanaged them like crazy, they never proved as popular as the NBA’s San Francisco (soon to be renamed “Golden State”) Warriors, and moved: They became the Washington Caps in 1970, and the Virginia Squires in 1971.
The Pacers would be back, and would win the ABA Championship in 1970, ’72 and ’73. They, the New York (now Brooklyn) Nets, the Denver Nuggets and the San Antonio Spurs would be admitted to the NBA in 1976. The Squires, the former Oaks, were not admitted, and folded.
But it is noteworthy that, from the Giants' Pennant of October 3, 1962 to the 49ers' NFC Championship of January 10, 1982, the City of San Francisco had no league champions in any sport, while the City of Oakland had 8: The 1967 AFL Champion Raiders; the 1969 ABA Champion Oaks; the 1972, 1973 and 1974 World Series Champion Athletics; the 1975 NBA Champion Warriors; and the 1976 and 1980 NFL Champion Raiders.
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May 7, 1969 was a Sunday. Singer Eagle-Eye Cherry was born.
The NBA season had ended 2 days earlier, with the Boston Celtics winning Game 7 of the Finals over the Los Angeles Lakers. The NHL season had ended the day before that, with the Montreal Canadiens completing a 4-game Stanley Cup Finals sweep of the St. Louis Blues. Football was out of season.
These Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees lost to the California Angels, 4-2 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Tom Murphy outpitched Stan Bahnsen. Jay Johnstone went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs, well before becoming a Yankee. Bobby Murcer hit a home run.
* The New York Mets lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 3-0 at Shea Stadium. Jim Merritt allowed 3 hits over 7 1/3rd shutout innings, and Clay Carroll completed the 3-hit shutout, outpitching Gary Gentry. Pete Rose went 0-for-2 with a walk. Johnny Bench went 0-for-4.
* The Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-1 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Jimmy Wynn went 2-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-4 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Gary Peters outpitched Mike Cuellar. Carlos May went 3-for-5 with a solo home run. Frank Robinson went 1-for-5 with an RBI. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-4 with an RBI. This game was an anomaly: The O's went 109-53, and the Pale Hose went 68-94.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Montreal Expos, 5-3 at Atlanta Stadium (later Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium). Hank Aaron went 1-for-4 with a walk.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Diego Padres, 2-0 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Bob Veale allowed 8 hits and 2 walks, but still took a shutout into the 9th inning, having struck out 13. Chuck Hartenstein got the last 2 outs. Roberto Clemente did not play. Willie Stargell went 3-for-4 with a solo home run.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Cleveland Indians, 10-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Jim Kaat, a man with almost no windup, beat Luis Tiant, who had perhaps the most exaggerated windup in baseball history. Harmon Killebrew hit 2 home runs. Rod Carew went 2-for-5 with an RBI.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Mickey Lolich outpitched Jim Rooker. Al Kaline went 0-for-3 with a walk.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Dodgers scored 3 runs in the top of the 12th inning, including 2 on a home run by Willie Davis. The Cubs only scored 1 in the bottom of the 12th. Jim Brewer was the winning pitcher, in relief of Claude Osteen. Fergie Jenkins went all 12 innings for the loss. Ernie Banks went 1-for-5 with an RBI.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-3 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Gaylord Perry outpitched Nelson Briles. Willie Mays entered the game late as a defensive replacement, and didn't get to bat. Willie McCovey didn't play at all. Lou Brock went 1-for-4 with a stolen base.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Washington Senators, 5-4 at the Oakland Coliseum. Sal Bando hit a home run. Reggie Jackson went 1-for-3 with a walk.
* And the Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Pilots, 5-4 at Sick's Stadium in Seattle. Sonny Siebert outpitched Gary Bell. Rico Petrocelli hit a home run. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-1 with 3 walks. Tony Conigliaro continued his comeback, going 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs. I guess Bell didn't smoke them inside.
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