1975–76 Baltimore Claws season

Aborted ABA basketball team season August 2023 Baltimore Claws ABA 1976 0 0 Eastern N/A N/A Joe Mullaney Baltimore Civic Arena N/A Memphis Sounds 1 The 1975–76 American Basketball Association season saw the quick demise of the Baltimore Claws franchise, with them folding operations five days before the start of what was to become the final regular season period for the ABA. Had the Claws played even one regular season game before then, this would have been their ninth and final season as a franchise after previously going by the New Orleans Buccaneers, Memphis Pros, Memphis Tams, and Memphis Sounds, as well as their first and only season they would have played in Baltimore, Maryland after previously playing in New Orleans, Louisiana and Memphis, Tennessee. Offseason ABA Draft 1975 ABA draft Round Pick Player Position(s) Nationality College 1 3 Lonnie Shelton PF/C USA United States North Carolina State 2 13 Rich Kelley C/PF USA United States Stanford 3 23 Ron Haigler PF USA United States Pennsylvania 4 33 Glenn Hansen SG USA United States LSU 5 43 Walter Luckett SG USA United States Ohio 6 53 Terry Furlow SG/SF USA United States Michigan State 7 63 Rick Whitlow PG USA United States Illinois State 8 73 John Murphy F USA United States Massachusetts The selections made during this draft were made back when the franchise was still going by the Memphis Sounds name. Preseason transactions On August 27, 1975, the Memphis Sounds franchise was dismantled and sold to a group of Baltimore businessmen headed by David Cohan. The franchise moved to Baltimore. It was first called the Baltimore Hustlers but the league objected to the name so the team was quickly rechristened as the Baltimore Claws.Remember the ABA: New Orleans Buccaneers Year-to-Year Rosters On September 19, 1975, the Claws obtained star center Dan Issel from the Kentucky Colonels, the team that won the 1975 ABA Championship. The Claws also traded guard Rick Mount to the Utah Stars for guards Joe Hamilton and Tim van Blommesteyn. The Claws signed Skip Wise, the 6'3" star guard from Clemson University who the prior year became the first freshman ever to be named First Team All-ACC while averaging 18.9 points per game.Remember the ABA: Baltimore Claws https://web.archive.org/web/20150627052652/http://www.remembertheaba.com/Baltimore-Claws.html 2015-06-27 Preseason exhibition games The Claws played their first game, a preseason exhibition, in Salisbury, Maryland, on October 9, 1975, against the Virginia Squires. The Squires won 131–121; attendance was reported at 1,150. Two days later the Claws lost to the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers 103–82 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. On October 17, 1975, the Claws played the Squires again, this time at Knott Arena, Mt. St. Mary's College, Emmitsburg, Maryland. The Squires won 100–88 in front of approximately 500 spectators.Remember the ABA: ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results https://web.archive.org/web/20091028154556/http://www.remembertheaba.com/ABAStatistics/ABANBAExhibitions.html 2009-10-28 Demise The Claws only managed to sign up 300 season ticket holders. The franchise constantly had money problems. On October 16, 1975, ABA Commissioner Dave DeBusschere gave the Claws four days to send $500,000 to the ABA league office as a "performance bond" for team operations. While their players went unpaid, the Claws sent $250,000 of this amount. On October 20, 1975, five days before the start of the 1975–76 regular season, the ABA folded the Baltimore Claws. Regular season The Claws folded prior to the start of the regular season. Roster George Carter Mel Daniels Scott English Joe Hamilton Stew Johnson Bob Rhodes Dave Robisch Skip Rozenski Paul Ruffner Tony Styles Claude Terry Tim van Blommesteyn Chuck Williams Skip Wise The above would have been the Baltimore Claws' regular season roster had the team continued into regular season play. Season standings + Team W L PCT. GB Denver Nuggets * 60 24 .714 — New York Nets * 55 29 .655 5 San Antonio Spurs * 50 34 .595 10 Kentucky Colonels * 46 38 .548 14 Indiana Pacers * 39 45 .464 21 Spirits of St. Louis 35 49 .417 25 Virginia Squires † 15 68 .181 44 San Diego Sails † 3 8 .273 — Utah Stars † 4 12 .250 — Baltimore Claws † 0 0 .000 — Asterisk (*) denotes playoff team † did not survive the end of the season.Bold – ABA champions1975-76 ABA Season Summary - Basketball-Reference.comRemember the ABA: 1975-76 Regular Season Standings and Playoff Results https://web.archive.org/web/20101129194323/http://remembertheaba.com/PlayoffPages/1976Playoffs.html 2010-11-29 Player statistics Legend 22em GP: Games played GS: Games started MPG: Minutes per game FG%: Field goal percentage 3FG%: 3-point field goal percentage FT%: Free throw percentage RPG: Rebounds per game APG: Assists per game SPG: Steals per game BPG: Blocks per game PPG: Points per game Season Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG Transactions Draft and preseason signings Signed Skip Wise of Clemson University to a five-year, $1,000,000 contractRemember the ABA: New Orleans Bucs/Memphis Pros/Memphis Tams/Memphis Sounds/Baltimore Claws Year-by-Year Notes https://web.archive.org/web/20090508110850/http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/MemphisMaterial/BuccaneersMemphisYearly.html May 8, 2009 Drafted: Lonnie Shelton (stayed in college) Rich Kelley (signed with NBA's New Orleans Jazz) Terry Furlow (stayed in college) Trades September 19, 1975: traded Tom Owens and $500,000 cash to the Kentucky Colonels for Dan Issel September 1975: traded Dan Issel to the Denver Nuggets for Dave Robisch and $500,000 cash Traded Rick Mount to the Utah Stars for Joe Hamilton and Tim van Blommesteyn Dispersal Draft: Alex English (Indiana Pacers) Joe Hamilton (Utah Stars) Stew Johnson (San Diego Sails) Dave Robisch (Spirits of St. Louis) Paul Ruffner (Spirits of St. Louis) Claude Terry (Denver Nuggets) Chuck Williams (Virginia Squires) See also 1952–53 Jersey City Titans, another team to only play in exhibition games for a soon-to-be-defunct league before leaving said league and going defunct days before beginning its regular season External links RememberTheABA.com Baltimore Claws page Category:Baltimore Claws Baltimore Claws Category:1975 in sports in Maryland