The 1975-76 American Basketball Association season saw the San Diego Sails fold due to weak home attendance and other financial pressures; the team folded 11 games into the season.

Offseason

Draft picks

Kevin Grevey Kevin Michael Grevey (born May 12, 1953) is a retired American professional basketball player. A 6'5" (1.96 m) swingman, the left-handed Grevey played for the Washington Bullets from 1975 to 1983 and the Milwaukee Bucks from 1983 to 1985. He is ...

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

(signed with the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

of the NBA) *

Bob Gross Robert Edwin Gross (born August 3, 1953) is an American retired professional basketball player. A 6'6" (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) forward, he attended Seattle University and California State University, Long Beach, and was selected in the ...

, California State University, Long Beach (signed with the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

of the NBA)Remember the ABA: San Diego Conquistadors/San Diego Sails Year-by-Year Notes

Preseason transactions

* June 1975: Frank Goldberg purchases the team * June 1975: Irv Kaze named general manager * June 1975: Alex Groza named director of player personnel * June 28, 1974:

Bill Musselman William Clifford Musselman (August 13, 1940 – May 5, 2000) was an American basketball coach in the NCAA, the ABA, the WBA, the CBA, and the NBA. He was known for his trademark intensity, once being quoted as saying, "Defeat is worse than deat ...

hired as head coach * August 20, 1975: Sails purchase Mark Olberding from the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

* October 21, 1975: Sails trade a second-round draft choice and cash to the

Spirits of St. Louis The Spirits of St. Louis were a basketball franchise based in St. Louis that played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1974 to 1976. This was the third and last city of a franchise that had begun as a charter member in 1967 as the ...

for

Dave Robisch David George Robisch (born December 22, 1949) is a retired American professional basketball player in the ABA and NBA. Robisch played at the University of Kansas, where he was initiated into the Sigma Nu fraternity. He was positioned at center ...

Preseason exhibition games

Like most ABA teams, the Sails took the court in preseason exhibition action against the NBA. However, unlike most ABA teams, the Sails only played one such game prior to the 1975-76 season. The Sails began their preseason play on October 15, 1975, as they hosted the

. The Sails'

Caldwell Jones Caldwell "Pops" Jones (August 4, 1950 – September 21, 2014) was an American professional basketball player. Jones was drafted out of Albany State College by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 14th pick in the 1973 NBA draft. He played three seaso ...

led all scorers with 27 points and also had 27 rebounds while holding Portland's

Bill Walton William Theodore Walton III (born November 5, 1952) is an American television sportscaster and former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for coach John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins, winning three consecutive national ...

to 6 points and 11 rebounds, but Portland won 98-85. Despite the Sails' loss the ABA won 31 games against the NBA in that preseason, compared to 17 wins for the NBA.

Regular season

Roster

*35 Clint Chapman *8 Lee Davis *6

Tom Ingelsby Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

Warren Jabali Warren Jabali (August 29, 1946 – July 13, 2012) was an American basketball player. He played professionally in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1968 to 1975. Early career Born Warren Edward Armstrong, Jabali changed his name wh ...

Stew Johnson Stewart "Stew" Johnson (born August 19, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'8" (2.03 m) tall forward/center from Murray State University, that was born in New York City, Johnson was selected by the New York Knicks in th ...

*43 Kevin Joyce *10

Bo Lamar Dwight "Bo" Lamar (born April 7, 1951) is a former professional American basketball player. Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, he graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Lamar was a l ...

*15 Pat McFarland *53 Mark Olberding *11

Roscoe Pondexter Roscoe Pondexter Jr. (born October 17, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Long Beach State 49ers from 1972 to 1974. Pondexter was a third round pick of the Boston Celtics in the 1974 NB ...

*12

*9 Rick Schmidt *21 Bobby Warren *22

Joby Wright Joseph "Joby" Wright (born September 5, 1950) is an American former college and professional basketball player who was men's basketball head coach at Miami University and at the University of Wyoming. Early life Wright starred in basketball at J ...

Season standings

1975-76 ABA Season Summary - Basketball-Reference.com
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Game log

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Month by Month

October 1975

The ABA opened its 1975-76 season on October 24, 1975, and on that night the Sails hosted the Denver Nuggets before 3,060 fans. Denver's Ralph Simpson led all scorers with 30 points and Denver won 120-108. The next night the Sails began a long road swing by earning their first win in franchise history with a road victory against the

Utah Stars The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround. History prior to moving t ...

. Bo Lamar led all scorers with 29 points and 5,525 fans saw the Sails prevail 99-97. The very next night the Sails lost on the road against the

; a meager crowd of 1,144 saw Maurice Lucas lead all scorers with 25 as the Spirits won 101-85. On October 29 the Sails lost on the Indiana Pacers home court 105-100; Caldwell Jones,

Billy Knight William R. Knight (born June 9, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player and executive. Playing with the Indiana Pacers in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and later the National Basketball Association (NBA), he w ...

and Billy Keller each scored 25 before 5,007 fans. The Sails closed the month with a close road loss to the

102-100 as 4,147 saw

James Silas James Edward Silas (born February 11, 1949) is a retired American professional basketball player, who played the point guard position. Born in Tallulah, Louisiana, Silas played the majority of his career with the Dallas Chaparrals/San Antonio Spurs ...

lead all scorers with 29. The Sails had only one home game in October and finished the month with a record of 1-4.1975-76 ABA Game by Game Log- Part 1
/ref>

November 1975

On November 1 the Sails finally returned home, losing to the

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, ...

109-105 before 2,396 fans; Ticky Burden led all scorers with 45. The next night at home the Sails defeated the San Antonio Spurs 105-102; James Silas had 28 for San Antonio to lead all scorers and attendance was only 1,670. On November 5 the Sails returned to the road for a rematch with the Virginia Squires which the Sails won 118-104 despite Ticky Burden's 40 points for the Squires in

Mack Calvin Mack Calvin (born July 27, 1947) is an American former basketball player. A five-time ABA All-Star, Calvin recorded the second most assists in ABA history, and was later named to the ABA All-Time Team. High school career Calvin was born in Fort W ...

's debut as Virginia's head coach before 4,334 fans. On November 7 the Sails faced the Kentucky Colonels in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

; Dave Robisch scored 31 for San Diego but the Colonels won 104-99 before 11,887 fans. The next night the Sails lost another road game, this time to the San Antonio Spurs 99-76; attendance was 7,812. The following night in St. Louis, unbeknownst to anyone at the time, the Sails played the final game in the franchise's history. Despite San Diego's Mark Olberding leading all scorers with 21 points the Spirits of St. Louis defeated the San Diego Sails 95-92 before 1,194 fans. On November 12, 1975, the ABA announced that it was folding the San Diego Sails franchise. The Sails were scheduled to host the Indiana Pacers on that day but the game was not played. The Sails had only played three home games (out of 11) and in those games attendance dropped from 3,060 to 2,396 to 1,670. In that time owner Frank Goldberg, knowing that the ABA-NBA merger was likely at the end of the season, learned that Los Angeles Lakers owner

Jack Kent Cooke Jack Kent Cooke (October 25, 1912 – April 6, 1997) was a Canadian-American businessman in broadcasting and professional sports. Starting in sales, Cooke was very successful, eventually becoming a partner in a network of radio stations and news ...

would vigorously oppose the Sails' entry into the NBA, as he wanted no further competition in the southern California market (and the Cooke-owned cable television system owned the rights to Lakers' telecasts).Remember the ABA: San Diego Sails
The Sails' roster was dispersed: * Dave Robisch to the Indiana Pacers * Stew Johnson to the San Antonio Spurs * Mark Olberding to the San Antonio Spurs * Kevin Joyce to the Kentucky Colonels * Caldwell Jones to the Kentucky Colonels * Coach Bill Musselman to the Virginia Squires

Player statistics

Legend

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Transactions

Draft and preseason signings

Draft picks

(signed with

of the NBA) *

, California State University, Long Beach (signed with

of the NBA)

Signings

* June 28, 1974:

hired as head coach * August 20, 1975: Sails purchase Mark Olberding from the

Trades

* October 21, 1975: Sails trade a second-round draft choice and cash to the

for

Notes

References

Sails on Basketball Reference
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20081222080515/http://www.remembertheaba.com/San-Diego-Sails.html RememberTheABA.com San Diego Sails page {{DEFAULTSORT:1975-76 San Diego Sails season

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

San Diego Sails