1975 World Team Tennis season

January 2025 March 2026 May 2, 1975 – August 16, 1975 Eastern Division Champions Pittsburgh Triangles Western Division Champions San Francisco Golden Gaters WTT Finals – Bancroft Cup August 25, 1975 (Match 3) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Match 3) Pittsburgh Triangles 1974 1976 WTT Seasons The 1975 World Team Tennis season was the second season of the top professional team tennis league in the United States. The Pittsburgh Triangles defeated the San Francisco Golden Gaters in the WTT Finals to win the league championship.https://www.facebook.com/WorldTeamTennis/info World Team Tennis Life Events World TeamTennis August 30, 2014Dmitry Steve http://www.oocities.org/colosseum/Arena/6925/wtt.html Steve Dimitry's Extinct Sports Leagues: World Team Tennis (1974–1978) 1998 August 30, 2014 Competition format The 1975 World Team Tennis season included 10 teams split into two divisions (Eastern and Western). The league intended for each team to play a regular-season schedule of 44 matches. However, WTT scheduled neutral-site matches to cut down on travel and create events where fans could see multiple teams either with one admission or over the course of a few days. These special events were called WTT Spectaculars.Leonard Vince World Team Tennis Puts House in Order https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19750728&id=aSwNAAAAIBAJ&pg=7386,105598 August 30, 2014 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 22 July 28, 1975Jares Joe Patching a Tattered Image: A Crazy-Quilt Court Will Add Even More Color, and "Spectaculars" May Cut Costs as World Team Tennis Revs Up and Moves into Its Second Season https://www.si.com/vault/1975/05/12/617006/patching-a-tattered-image Sports Illustrated May 12, 1975 August 30, 2014 Because of these and because of scheduling challenges created when the Houston E-Z Riders suspended operations just days before the season started,Riders Withdraw for '75 San Antonio Express 32 May 3, 1975 the 10 teams in the league did not play an equal number of matches. Seven of them played 44 matches, while three played 46 matches. The top three teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. The second and third-place teams met in division semifinal matches hosted by the second-place teams. The winners of those matches met the first-place team in the best-of-three division championship series. The division semifinal winners hosted the first match of the division championship series. The first-place team hosted the second and third (if necessary) matches. The division champions met in the best-of-three World Team Tennis Final with the lower seed hosting the first match and the higher seed hosting the second and third (if necessary) matches. Each match comprised one set each of men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.Cisco Dan 1999 Tennis Hawai'i Sports: History, Facts, & Statistics https://books.google.com/books?id=s4QWvle-CR8C&pg=PA332 Latitude 20 Book Series University of Hawai'i Press 332 0-8248-2121-1 98048396 August 30, 2014 Google Books The order of play was women's doubles first, men's doubles third and mixed doubles fifth. The coach of the home team decided whether men's or women's singles would be played second or fourth. Games were decided by the first player or doubles team to reach four points with no-ad scoring. Each set ended when one team had won either six or seven games and had an advantage over its opponent of at least two games. Sets that were tied 6–6 were decided by a tiebreaker. Set tiebreaker games were nine total points with the first player or doubles team to reach five the winner. An advantage of only one point was needed to win a tiebreaker game. Matches could end when one team built an insurmountable lead. For example, if a team had a 24–17 lead after four sets, the fifth set (mixed doubles) would not be played. If a team had a 22–19 lead after four sets, the match could end if the leading team won four games in the fifth set, since it would be impossible for the trailing team to make up the three-game deficit that existed when the set started. If the match was tied at the end of five sets, a super tiebreaker game was played between the mixed doubles teams using the same format as the set tiebreaker games.Innovations to Spice Play Arizona Republic May 2, 1976 125 Teams sometimes agreed to play dead sets even if the outcome of the match had already been decided or to play sets to completion when the outcome of the match was decided within that set. Franchise movement, expansion and contraction On October 16, 1974, Toronto-Buffalo Royals president John F. Bassett announced that the team had been sold to Herbert S. Hoffman and Phyllis Morse who said that they would move it to Hartford, Connecticut.WTT Franchise Sold to Harford, Conn. Playground Daily News 18 October 17, 1974 On October 25, 1974, the Chicago Aces ownership announced that the team was up for sale, and there were ongoing negotiations with several groups of investors including one in Atlanta. The team acknowledged some player salaries were late in being paid and said that the statuses of player contracts would be settled after the team was sold.Team Tennis Aces May Double Fault https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19741026&id=fcxRAAAAIBAJ&pg=4881,3506877 August 30, 2014 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 10 October 26, 1974 On November 18, 1974, Seymour Brode and Marshall Greenspan sold the Detroit Loves to a new ownership group led by William H. Bereman and Dan Domont who moved the team to Indianapolis and changed its name to the Indiana Loves.Detroit Loves Will be Moved https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1982&dat=19741119&id=EJBRAAAAIBAJ&pg=1001,3846189 August 30, 2014 The Evening News Newburg, New York 9B November 19, 1974 Burt McGlynn tried to sell the Minnesota Buckskins to local investors after the 1974 season ended. On November 6, 1974, McGlynn announced that the local interest in the Buckskins had dried up, and the team would either fold or be sold and moved. He mentioned that there was interest from investor groups in Indianapolis and Washington, D.C.Buckskins out of WTT? The Argus Fremont, California November 7, 1974 The investor group from Indianapolis ended up buying the Loves, and the group from Washington decided not to buy the team. On November 26, 1974, WTT announced at its annual meeting that the Buckskins had become the first team in the league to fold.Billie Jean Picks Riggs in WTT Draft Bakersfield Californian 18 November 27, 1974 In late 1974, it was reported that owner Ray Ciccolo had lost about $300,000 operating the Boston Lobsters.https://www.funwhileitlasted.net/tag/boslob74-78 1974-1978 Boston Lobsters Andy Crossley Fun While It Lasted October 25, 2012 August 30, 2014 In early 1975, he was forced to declare bankruptcy.Smith Kelsie Lobsters Hoping for Tennis Revival http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/tennis/articles/2005/07/05/lobsters_hoping_for_tennis_revival https://web.archive.org/web/20140903213853/http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/tennis/articles/2005/07/05/lobsters_hoping_for_tennis_revival/ dead September 3, 2014 August 30, 2014 The Boston Globe July 5, 2005 At the WTT owners meeting on February 1, 1975, each team was required to post a $500,000 letter of credit. Teams that failed to do so—the Baltimore Banners,https://www.funwhileitlasted.net/tag/balban74 1974 Baltimore Banners Andy Crossley Fun While It Lasted February 1, 2013 August 30, 2014Cummings Jim Cummings and Goings http://www.wisconsin.usta.com/Rules_/_Officials/cummings__goings_by_jim_cummings August 30, 2014 United States Tennis Association May 7, 2014 the Boston Lobsters, the Chicago Aces, the Florida Flamingos and the Hartford Royals—were contracted. A dispersal draft was conducted to distribute the players from those five teams among the remaining teams in the league.New Boston Net Team Obtains Six Backers Berkshire Eagle 18 March 28, 1975 On February 6, 1975, Bud Fischer, Frank Goldberg and Ben Press sold the defending WTT champion Denver Racquets to a new ownership group that included Reggie Jackson and his agent Gary K. Walker who moved the team to Phoenix, Arizona and changed its name to the Phoenix Racquets.Crossley Andy https://www.funwhileitlasted.net/tag/denrac74 1974 Denver Racquets Fun While It Lasted September 14, 2013 August 30, 2014A Roundup of the Week Feb. 3-9 https://www.si.com/vault/1975/02/17/557878/a-roundup-of-the-week-feb-3-9 Sports Illustrated August 30, 2014 February 17, 1975 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20140826120834/http://www.si.com/vault/1975/02/17/557878/a-roundup-of-the-week-feb-3-9 August 26, 2014 A group of investors that included Bob Mades, Paul Slater, Herbert S. Hoffman, Robert K. Kraft and Harold Bayne emerged as a potential owner for the franchise in Boston. However, the Lobsters had already been contracted by WTT. The group purchased the Philadelphia Freedoms on March 27, and moved the team to Boston. In order to claim the name of the original Lobsters, the new ownership group would be required to settle some of the debts of the former team. The new owners decided to do this and renamed the Freedoms the Boston Lobsters. Shortly before the start of the 1975 season, WTT granted an expansion franchise to Frank Mariani to play in San Diego. Mariani named the team the San Diego Friars.DiRenzo Joe The Tennis Scene Annapolis Capital 32 July 30, 1977 While several of the original 16 WTT franchises from 1974, had financial difficulties resulting in six of them not returning for and four of them moving before the 1975 season, the Houston E-Z Riders had made plans to go forward in Houston. The team was to play its 1975 home matches in the brand new Astroarena.The Houston Alumnae Chapter of Delta Delta Delta Sorority is Presenting an Evening of Tennis Saturday in the Astro Arena The Galveston Daily News 11 May 11, 1975 However, just before the season started, on May 2, 1975, team president and vice-president E.Z. and Betty Jones announced that the E-Z Riders were suspending operations for the 1975 season. Players under contract with the team could be loaned to other WTT teams, and the E-Z Riders had the right to protect four players to return for the 1976 season. There were rumors that the E-Z Riders were behind on their financial obligations. However, E.Z. Jones said, "We are 100% current with our league obligations and our player salaries and have even made salary advances." In order to return to WTT in 1976, the E-Z Riders would need to meet certain league financial requirements and exercise an option by September 15, 1975. The suspension of operations was so sudden and unexpected that newspaper advertisements for E-Z Riders home matches continued to run after the announcement. The E-Z Riders did not exercise their option to return to the league in 1976, and the team folded on September 15, 1975. Player draft Several high-profile public figures were selected in the 1974 WTT draft. These included comedians Johnny Carson and Bill Cosby, Stan Malless, president of the United States Lawn Tennis Association which objected to WTT, 11-year-old Tracy Austin, Dean Paul Martin, Jr., two-sport star John Lucas and Elton John. Perhaps the most noteworthy selection occurred when Freedoms player-coach Billie Jean King used the team's seventh round pick to select Bobby Riggs whom she had beaten 14 months earlier in the Battle of the Sexes. Stan Smith and Ilie Năstase were chosen by the New York Sets. Ken Rosewall, Manuel Santana, Pancho Gonzales, Andrés Gimeno, Pierre Barthès and Alex Metreveli (ალექსანდრე მეტრეველი) were selected by the Hartford Royals. Roy Emerson and Vijay Amritraj (ta விஜய் அம்ரித்ராஜ்) were chosen by the Los Angeles Strings. Olga Morozova (ru Ольга Васильевна Морозова) was selected by the Houston E-Z Riders. Clark Graebner and Ove Bengtson were chosen by the Cleveland Nets. Joaquín Loyo-Mayo was selected by the San Francisco Golden Gaters. Jeff Borowiak was chosen by the Hawaii Leis. Julie Heldman was selected by the Chicago Aces. Jan Kodeš was chosen by the Baltimore Banners. Chris Evert was selected by the Florida Flamingos. The top overall selection was Colin Dibley who was chosen by the original Boston Lobsters.Billie Jean Drafts Bobby Riggs https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2457&dat=19741127&id=_4EzAAAAIBAJ&pg=2347,4342440 August 30, 2014 Bangor Daily News 18 November 27, 1974 The San Diego Friars did not make any selections, because the team had not yet been founded. Standings and attendance Reference: 100% 50% Eastern Division Pos Position TeamMP Matches playedW Matches wonL Matches lostPCT Winning percentageMB Matches behind 1 Pittsburgh Triangles 44 36 8 .818 0 2 New York Sets 44 34 10 .773 2 3 Boston Lobsters 46 20 26 .435 17 4 Indiana Loves 44 18 26 .409 18 5 Cleveland Nets 44 16 28 .364 20 1975 Eastern Division Playoffs 50% Western Division Pos Position TeamMP Matches playedW Matches wonL Matches lostPCT Winning percentageMB Matches behind 1 San Francisco Golden Gaters 44 29 15 .659 0 2 Phoenix Racquets 44 22 22 .500 7 3 Los Angeles Strings 44 20 24 .455 9 4 Hawaii Leis 46 14 32 .304 16 5 San Diego Friars 46 14 32 .304 16 1975 Western Division Playoffs Hawaii won a standings tiebreaker over San Diego. Total attendance during the season was 503,858, for an average of 3,053 over 165 playing dates.http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1976/02/18/page/73/article/can-laver-evert-save-team-net Can Laver, Evert Save Team Net? February 18, 1976 Chicago Tribune July 10, 2016 Playoff bracket Reference: Division Semifinals(August 17) Division Championships(August 18–20) WTT Finals(August 21–25) Eastern Division Western Division 25px 190px 25px E2 New York Sets 24 E3 Boston Lobsters 25 W2 Phoenix Racquets 20 W3 Los Angeles Strings 8 E1 Pittsburgh Triangles 2 E3 Boston Lobsters 0 W1 San Francisco Golden Gaters 2 W2 Phoenix Racquets 0 1 Pittsburgh Triangles 2 3 San Francisco Golden Gaters 1 Playoff match results Reference: Home teams are in CAPS. 100% 50% Eastern Division semifinal match (2) New York Sets vs. (3) Boston Lobsters Date Result August 17 Boston Lobsters 25, NEW YORK SETS 24 50% Western Division semifinal match (2) Phoenix Racquets vs. (3) Los Angeles Strings Date Result August 17 PHOENIX RACQUETS 20, Los Angeles Strings 8 100% 50% Eastern Division Championship (1) Pittsburgh Triangles vs. (3) Boston Lobsters Date Match Result August 18 1 Pittsburgh Triangles 25, BOSTON LOBSTERS 16 August 19 2 PITTSBURGH TRIANGLES 23, Boston Lobsters 14 ** Series: Pittsburgh Triangles 2, Boston Lobsters 0 50% Western Division Championship (1) San Francisco Golden Gaters vs. (2) Phoenix Racquets Date Match Result August 18 1 San Francisco Golden Gaters 25, PHOENIX RACQUETS 24 August 19 2 SAN FRANCISCO GOLDEN GATERS 26, Phoenix Racquets 20 ** Series: San Francisco Golden Gaters 2, Phoenix Racquets 0 100% 25% 50% WTT Finals (1) Pittsburgh Triangles vs. (3) San Francisco Golden Gaters Date Match Result August 21 1 SAN FRANCISCO GOLDEN GATERS 26, Pittsburgh Triangles 25 August 24 2 PITTSBURGH TRIANGLES 28, San Francisco Golden Gaters 25 August 25 3 PITTSBURGH TRIANGLES 21, San Francisco Golden Gaters 14 ** Series: Pittsburgh Triangles 2, San Francisco Golden Gaters 1 25% Of the total of 9 playoff matches, home teams won 6 and lost 3. The higher seeds had 5 wins and 1 loss in their 6 home matches. The higher seeds won 4 of the 5 matchups. Individual statistical leaders The table below shows the individual players and doubles teams who had the best winning percentages in each of the five events in WTT. Event Player(s) Team Men's singles Marty Riessen Cleveland Nets Women's singles Billie Jean King New York Sets Men's doubles Frew McMillan and Tom Okker San Francisco Golden Gaters Women's doubles Billie Jean King and Mona Guerrant New York Sets Mixed doubles Betty Stöve and Frew McMillan San Francisco Golden Gaters Individual honors Reference: Award Recipient Team Male Most Valuable Player Tom Okker San Francisco Golden Gaters Female Most Valuable Player Evonne Goolagong Pittsburgh Triangles Male All-Star Match Most Valuable Player Marty Riessen Cleveland Nets Female All-Star Match Most Valuable Player Greer Stevens Boston Lobsters Male Rookie of the Year Marty Riessen Cleveland Nets Female Rookie of the Year Greer Stevens Boston Lobsters Coach of the Year Frew McMillan San Francisco Golden Gaters Playoffs Most Valuable Player Vitas Gerulaitis Pittsburgh Triangles All-Star Match WTT held its inaugural All-Star Match on July 13, 1975, at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena as part of the evening session of a WTT Spectacular in front of 7,112 fans. The afternoon session drew a crowd of only 1,159. The East defeated the West, 28–21.Cawley Helps Put Triangles in Team Tennis East Lead The News-Star Monroe, Louisiana 14 See also Tennis 1975 WTA Tour 1975 Men's Grand Prix circuit References 30em External links Official WTT website World Team season World Team Tennis season Category:World TeamTennis seasons