The Indiana Loves were a charter franchise of World Team Tennis (WTT). The team was founded as the Detroit Loves and moved to

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

for the 1975 season. Following the 1978 season, Loves president Larry Noble announced that the team was folding.

Team history

Inaugural season

The Loves were founded by Seymour Brode and Marshall Greenspan as a charter franchise of WTT in 1973, and played their home matches at

Cobo Arena Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly as TCF Center) is a convention center in Downtown Detroit, owned by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and operated by ASM Global. Located at 1 Washi ...

in downtown

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, starting with the league's inaugural season in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

. The team was led by Rosie Casals, one of the top American female players at the time, and

Kerry Harris Kerry Harris (born 19 September 1949) is an Australian former professional tennis player, active from 1967 to 1975, who reached the semi-final of the 1972 Australian Open, and reached four Grand Slam doubles finals, of which she won one, in t ...

and Allan Stone, who teamed up to lead WTT in game-winning percentage in mixed doubles. Other players on the inaugural Loves team were Phil Dent, Mary-Ann Beattie and

Lenny Simpson Lendward Simpson (September 23, 1948 – February 9, 2024) was an American professional tennis player and founder of One Love Tennis, a tennis and academic enrichment program for at-risk kids. Early career Simpson was introduced to tennis in 1953 ...

. In their franchise opener, on May 9, 1974, before 3,611 fans at Detroit's Cobo Hall, The Loves defeated the

Toronto-Buffalo Royals The Toronto-Buffalo Royals were a charter franchise of World Team Tennis (WTT) founded by John F. Bassett and John C. Eaton, III. The team was sometimes referred to as the Buffalo-Toronto Royals. The Royals played half of their home matches in Tor ...

, 28-19. Rosie Casals defeated

Wendy Overton Wendy Overton (born March 31, 1947) is an American former professional tennis player active in the 1970s. She is known mostly for her performance in doubles. She began her tennis career in Florida at the age of 11. She was ranked world No. 1 in ...

6-2 and then Overton (retired at 4-0) and substitute

Laura Rossouw Laura Rossouw (born 15 July 1946) is a South African former tennis player who was active in the late 1960s and first half of the 1970s. Tennis career During her career Rossouw won three singles and two doubles titles. She toured the European ...

, 6-0. The Loves' Phil Dent split with Tom Okker, 1-6 and then 6-3, while the Mixed Doubles teams split their two sets. Detroit would go on to win the Central Section championship with a record of 30 wins and 14 losses; the

Pittsburgh Triangles The Pittsburgh Triangles were a charter franchise of World Team Tennis (WTT). The Triangles won the 1975 WTT Championship. The team folded after the 1976 season. Team history The Triangles were founded in 1973 as a charter member of WTT by Centur ...

also finished 30-14, but Detroit was awarded the section title on a tiebreaker. The first two rounds of the WTT playoffs in 1974 were held on a best-of-two, home-and-home basis, with the team with the best aggregate score over the two matches declared the winner. Detroit was set to play division rival Pittsburgh in the Eastern Division semifinals; as the higher seed, the Loves elected to meet the Triangles in the first match at home and the second on the road. Pittsburgh got their revenge on the Loves by thrashing them, 31–10 in Detroit, and 32–17 in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. Cobo Arena held 11,000 in its tennis configuration, and Loves management figured they needed 4,200 fans per home date to break even. They did not come close; the 3,611 for their home debut would be their biggest crowd ever, and they drew just 2,213 fans per match for the entire season (their one home playoff match drew a dismal 1,622). After losing a reported $300,000, Brode and Greenspan sold the team to a group led by William H. Bereman and Dan Domont on November 18, 1974, who moved the franchise to

and renaming them the Indiana Loves.

Move to Indiana

The Loves moved into the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis for the 1975 season. Led by coach Allan Stone who was a key member of their previous season's section championship team, the Loves struggled to a record of 18 wins and 26 losses, fourth place in the Eastern Division and missed the playoffs. In 1976, the Loves featured

Ann Kiyomura Ann Kiyomura-Hayashi (born August 22, 1955) is a retired American professional tennis player. She is from San Mateo, California. Kiyomura played on the WTA Tour from 1973 to 1984. She played in 11 US Opens, reaching the fourth round in 1978. In ...

and Ray Ruffels who teamed up to have WTT's best game-winning percentage in mixed doubles. The overall results were not much better than the previous season. The Loves finished with 19 wins and 25 losses, fourth place in the Eastern Division and missed the playoffs again.

Return to the playoffs

Before the 1977 season, Dan Domont sold out his interest in the Loves, and Larry Noble became the principal owner. William H. Beremen remained part of the ownership group and team president. The Loves added Vitas Gerulaitis and

Sue Barker Sue or SUE may refer to: Music * Sue Records, an American record label * ''Sue'' (album), an album by Frazier Chorus * "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", a song by David Bowie Places * Sue Islet (Queensland), one of the Torres Straits island ...

who went on to win the Female Rookie of the Year Award. The Loves committed themselves to a $250,000 contract over two years for Gerulaitis. While they still had a losing record, the Loves improved enough to qualify for the playoffs with a record of 21 wins and 23 losses, third place in the Eastern Division. The Loves met the defending WTT champion New York Apples in the best-of-three Eastern Division Semifinals. The Apples took the opening match, 33–21. The Loves won the second match, 27–25, to force a deciding third match which the Apples won in dominant fashion, 31–15, to end the Loves' season.

Final season

In 1978, the Loves moved into the larger Market Square Arena. The team struggled to a record of 13 wins and 31 losses, last place in the Eastern Division. On November 9, 1978, Loves principal owner Larry Noble announced that the team was folding.

Season-by-season records

The following table shows regular season records, playoff results and titles won by the Indiana Loves franchise since its founding in 1974.

Home courts

The following table shows home courts used by the Indiana Loves franchise.

Individual honors

The following table shows individual honors bestowed upon players and coaches of the Indiana Loves franchise.

Hall of Fame players

The following players who are enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame played for the Indiana Loves franchise: * Rosie Casals

Final roster

The Indiana Loves final roster for the 1978 season was * Allan Stone, Player-Coach * Dianne Fromholtz *

Tanya Harford Tanya Harford (born 28 November 1958) is a retired South African tennis player. In 1981 she won the doubles title at the French Open together with compatriot Rosalyn Fairbank. In the final they defeated Candy Reynolds and Paula Smith in straig ...

Sue Mappin Sue Mappin (born 7 November 1947) is a former tennis player from Great Britain who was active in the 1960s and 1970s. Mappin won the British under-21 championships in 1966. During her career, Mappin competed at all four Grand Slam tournaments. H ...

Geoff Masters Geoff Masters (born 19 September 1950) is an Australian former tennis player. He was part of doubles winning pairs in the US Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon tournaments during the 1970s. Tennis career Born in Brisbane, Queensland, Masters ...

John Whitlinger John Whitlinger (born February 4, 1954) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. Playing career Whitlinger played in 10 majors in his career. He won one doubles title in his career. Career finals Doubles (1–6) Coaching ...

References

External links

Official World TeamTennis Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indiana Loves (1974-1978) Defunct World TeamTennis teams 1973 establishments in Michigan 1975 establishments in Indiana Tennis in Indiana Tennis in Detroit 1978 disestablishments in Indiana Sports clubs established in 1973 Sports clubs disestablished in 1978 Sports teams in Indianapolis Tennis tournaments in Michigan