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Santa Maria Golden Dukes
The Santa Maria Golden Dukes were a community-run amateur club located in Santa Maria, California which competed in the AAU League and the NIBL in the 1940s and 1950s. The Dukes, though they were not corporate-sponsored, were members of the amateur National Industrial Basketball League for two years, between 1952 and 1954. It was the time that the NBA was in its infancy.For the town of Santa Maria, a Golden Dukes home basketball game was an always community happening. They played their home games in the old Armory Building at the Santa Maria Fairpark on the corner of Stowell and Thornburg in Santa Maria. History Duke Webster and AAU Duke Webster, a Santa Maria individual who owned a service station cater corner from the Santa Maria Inn founded the team. He used to organize one campaign or another to keep the team afloat. For 4–5 years prior to the team joining the NIBL, Webster would sponsor the team, bringing in college players and becoming the Dukes' first coach. The Golden D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amateur Athletic Association (basketball)
The Amateur Athletic Association is an amateur basketball league that was created in 1897. It hosts the annual AAU National Tournament. All players participating have to be amateurs. During the 1960s players who left college before the formation of the American Basketball League and American Basketball Association had three options: the National Basketball Association, the Eastern League or AAU basketball. And AAU basketball was attractive to many players who wished to remain eligible for the Olympics. Several AAU teams were sponsored by corporations which provided jobs to the players on their teams. Famous NBA names played or coached in the AAU Tournaments such as David Robinson, Larry Brown, Gregg Popovich, Bob Kurland, Mike Krzyzewski (as a coach), Jay Triano, Phil Jordon, Roger Brown, George Yardley, Jim Pollard, Clyde Lovellette and Bob Boozer. History The tournament started in 1897 and met incredible success until the late 50s. There a few occasion that college players r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |