Wes Unseld (left) and Elvin Hayes
June 7, 1978: Game 7 of the NBA Finals. The Washington Bullets, losers in the Finals in 1971 (as the Baltimore Bullets) and 1975, finally get the job done, 105-98 over the Seattle SuperSonics at the Seattle Center Coliseum.
The Bullets, who began as (yes, a team with this name existed) the Chicago Packers in 1961, were led by coach Dick Motta and future Hall-of-Famers Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes. Bobby Dandrige wins a title after having done so with the 1971 Milwaukee Bucks. Mitch Kupchak would win 2 more titles with the Los Angeles Lakers, and is now the general manager of the Charlotte Hornets.
The Bullets' close calls finally ending led to their fans taking up the slogan "The Fat Lady is singing." The expression "It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings" dates to the close of composer Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen (or "Ring Cycle"): At the end of the 4th and final opera, Götterdämmerung (meaning "Twilight of the Gods"), the valkyrie Brünnhilde sings a 20-minute aria, and since the opera's 1876 debut, when she was played by Austrian soprano Amalie Materna, she has traditionally been played by a large woman.
So when the Bullets made another Playoff run the next season, 1978-79, T-shirts with a cartoon image of a fat valkyrie were sold, with the caption, "THE FAT LADY WILL SING AGAIN." But she didn't -- at least, not for the Bullets: This time, while they got back to the Finals, again playing the Sonics, the Sonics won in 5 games.
And that was it: The Bullets got old fast. Unseld, already 33, played just 2 more seasons, and retired. Hayes was the same age, and left at the same time, going back to his hometown team, the Houston Rockets. Through the 1987-88 season, the Bullets remained a Playoff perennial, but from 1980 to 2004, 25 seasons, they won just 9 Playoff games. From 1980 to 2013, 34 seasons, they won only 2 Playoff series.
The Bullets became the Washington Wizards in 1997, in response to gun violence in D.C., at the same time they moved from the Capital Centre in suburban Landover, Maryland to the downtown arena now known as the Capital One Arena. (The name “Baltimore Bullets” had been used for a previous franchise, named for a product the city was producing in big numbers in World War II.)
Those 2 Finals matchups with the Sonics, and the 1949 loss by the old Washington Capitols to the Minneapolis Lakers, remain the only NBA Finals appearances for Washington teams: They are 1-3 in 72 years. Given the rich heritage of high school and college basketball in the D.C. area, including Georgetown University and the University of Maryland, it could be argued that the area is perhaps the most underachieving in pro basketball.
The Washington Capitals would win their 1st Stanley Cup 4 years later to the day: June 7, 2018.
UPDATE: In both 2023-24 and 2024-25, the Wizards had the worst record in the NBA. At least they still exist in the same metro area, albeit under a different name and in a different arena. The Seattle SuperSonics, who usually kept making the Playoffs, and returned to the NBA Finals in 1996, were moved in 2008, becoming the Oklahoma City Thunder. They reached the Finals under that name in 2012, and won the title in 2025. The Sonics' name, colors and history is being held by the NBA in case of an expansion team, or a team moving to Seattle, which has a new arena.
The Wizards do not have a team Hall of Fame, but they do retire numbers. From their previous incarnation as the Baltimore Bullets: 10, for guard Earl "the Pearl" Monroe; and 15, for forward Gus Johnson. From their 1978 title as the Washington Bullets: 11, for forward Elvin Hayes; 41, for center Wes Unseld; and 45, for guard, later broadcaster, Phil Chenier.
All of those, except Chenier, have been elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. It says something about what the Bullets/Wizards have done from 1980 onward that the only members of that Hall who have played at least 5 seasons for them have been Bernard King. (Bob Dandridge and Chris Webber played 4 seasons for them; Mitch Richmond and Ben Wallace, 3; Moses Malone, Spencer Haywood and Michael Jordan, 2; Ralph Sampson and Paul Pierce, 1.)
Hayes, Unseld and Chenier have been elected to the Washington DC Sports Hall of Fame. So has STeve Buckhantz, Chenier's former broadcast partner. So has Johnny Holliday, a legendary radio personality in Cleveland, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Washington area, who has worked with the Bullets/Wizards, the Senators, the Nationals, the Redskins/Commanders and the Capitals.
So has Abe Pollin, the owner who moved the Bullets to Washington, built the Capital Centre and then the arena now known as the Capital One Arena, and changed their name to the Wizards. So has Dick Motta, who coached the Bullets to the 1978 NBA Championship. So has Bob Ferry, former Baltimore Bullets forward, who was the general manager who built the '78 title team. So has his son, Danny Ferry, who starred at nearby DeMatha Catholic High School, before moving on to Duke University and playing in the NBA, although not for the Washington franchise.
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June 7, 1978 was a Wednesday. The World Cup was underway in Argentina, and these games were played:
* Brazil and Spain played to a draw, 0-0 at Estadio José María Minella in Mar del Plata.
* The Netherlands and Peru played to a draw, 0-0 at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza.
* Scotland and Iran played to a draw, 1-1 at Estadio Olimpico in Córdoba.
* Austria beat Sweden, 1-0 at Estadio José Amalfitani in Buenos Aires.
And these Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Seattle Mariners, 9-1 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ron Guidry advanced to 9-0 on the season, striking out 10 batters. Reggie Jackson, Roy White and Bucky Dent hit home runs.
* The New York Mets beat the Los Angeles dodgers, 3-2 at Shea Stadium. Ron Hodges grounded into a double play in the 8th inning, but it scored Steve Henderson with what turned out to be the winning run, making Charlie Hough a losing pitcher in relief of Burt Hooton. Pat Zachry went the distance for the win. Joel Youngblood hit a home run.
* The Montreal Expos beat the San Diego Padres, 8-3 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Dave Winfield went 0-for-4.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-4 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. With the Giants leading 4-3 with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th, Randy Moffitt, brother of tennis legend Billie Jean King, allowed 3 straight singles, to Bake McBride, Larry Bowa and Mike Schmidt, to tie the game. Greg Luzinski, who had homered earlier, was walked to set up the double play at any base (or, at least, a force play at home), but reliever Gary Lavelle gave up a game-winning single to José Cardenal. This made Tug McGraw a winning pitcher in relief of Jim Lonborg.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs, 9-6 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Pete Rose went 2-for-5. Johnny Bench did not play.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Rusty Staub went 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs. Robin Yount went 1-for-5.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 8-3 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Unusually, Rod Carew went 0-for-4, dropping his batting average to .366.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-0 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Phil Niekro knuckleballed his way to a 4-hit shutout, backed by a home run from Biff Pocoroba.
* A doubleheader was split at the Oakland Coliseum. The California Angels won the opener, 4-1. Ken Brett outpitched Alan Wirth. The Oakland Athletics won the nightcap, 1-0. Matt Keough pitched 7 1/3rd innings of 4-hit shutout ball, and Bob Lacey and Elias Sosa finished the 5-hit shutout, outpitching Tom Griffin.
* The Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers were rained out at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Rangers swept, 5-4 and 3-2.
In the 2nd game, Bobby Bonds hit a sacrifice fly to score Bump Wills with the winning run in the bottom of the 13th inning. Oddly, while Bonds would be surpassed by his son, Barry, Wills would never match the achievements of his father, Maury. Over the 2 games, George Brett went 2-for-11 with an RBI.
* The Cleveland Indians and the Toronto Blue Jays were rained out at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on June 25. The Jays won the 1st game, 2-1. The Indians won the 2nd game, 3-2.
* The Houston Astros and the Pittsburgh Pirates were rained out at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 17. The Pirates swept, 5-1 and 3-2. Willie Stargell went 0-for-3 with a walk in the 1st game, and then sat out the 2nd.
* And the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox were not scheduled.
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