The Pittsburgh Condors were a professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team in the original

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

(ABA). Originally called the Pittsburgh Pipers, they were a charter franchise of the ABA and captured the first league title. The team played their home games in Pittsburgh's Civic Arena.

Franchise history

Pittsburgh Pipers - First ABA Champions (1967–1968)

The Pipers were one of the ABA's inaugural franchises in 1967. The team had great success on the court, posting the league's best record during the regular season (54-24, .692) and winning the league's first ABA Championship. The Pipers were led by their star player, ABA MVP and future Hall-of-Famer

Connie Hawkins Cornelius Lance "Connie" Hawkins (July 17, 1942 – October 6, 2017) was an American professional basketball player. A New York City playground legend, "the Hawk" was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992. Early yea ...

, who led the ABA in scoring at 26.8 ppg. The Pipers swept through the

1968 ABA Playoffs The 1968 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament following the American Basketball Association's inaugural 1967-1968 season, starting on March 23 and ending on May 4. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Pittsburgh Pipe ...

and defeated the

New Orleans Buccaneers The New Orleans Buccaneers were a charter member of the American Basketball Association. After three seasons in New Orleans, Louisiana the franchise moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where it became the Pros, Tams and Sounds for four years before a ...

4 games to 3 to take the title, with Hawkins earning Finals MVP honors. The ABA title remains Pittsburgh's only pro basketball championship. Coupled with the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

' NBA championship one year earlier, Pennsylvania had two pro basketball champions in as many years.

Playoff Results

=Division Semifinals

= *(1) Pittsburgh Pipers vs. (3)

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

: Pipers win series 3-0 *Game 1 @ Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh 146, Indiana 127 *Game 2 @ Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh 121, Indiana 108 *Game 3 @ Indiana: Pittsburgh 133, Indiana 114

=Division Finals

= *(1) Pittsburgh Pipers vs. (2)

Minnesota Muskies The Minnesota Muskies were a member of the American Basketball Association, born with the league's creation on February 2, 1967. L.P. Shields and Fred Jefferson were the owners after paying a franchise fee of $30,000. The team then played one seaso ...

: Pipers win series 4-1 *Game 1 @ Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh 125, Minnesota 117 *Game 2 @ Pittsburgh: Minnesota 137, Pittsburgh 123 *Game 3 @ Minnesota: Pittsburgh 107, Minnesota 99 *Game 4 @ Minnesota: Pittsburgh 117, Minnesota 108 *Game 5 @ Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh 114, Minnesota 105

=ABA Finals

= *(1) Pittsburgh Pipers VS. (1) New Orleans Buccaneers: Pipers win Series 4-3 *Game 1 @ Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh 120, New Orleans 112 *Game 2 @ Pittsburgh: New Orleans 109, Pittsburgh 100 *Game 3 @ New Orleans: New Orleans 109, Pittsburgh 101 *Game 4 @ New Orleans: Pittsburgh 106, New Orleans 105 *Game 5 @ Pittsburgh: New Orleans 111, Pittsburgh 108 *Game 6 @ New Orleans: Pittsburgh 118, New Orleans 112 *Game 7 @ Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh 122, New Orleans 113http://www.remembertheaba.com/Pittsburgh-Pipers.html Mellon Arena - drive through side 01

The Pipers shared the

Pittsburgh Civic Arena The Civic Arena, formerly the Civic Auditorium and later Mellon Arena, was an arena located in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Civic Arena primarily served as the home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the city's National Hockey League (NHL) ...

with the city's expansion

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

team, the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

. The Pipers attracted fairly respectable gates by ABA standards, averaging 3,200 fans per game.

Minnesota Pipers (1968–1969)

Despite the championship and strong attendance figures in Pittsburgh, the Pipers franchise left Pittsburgh after their 1968 ABA Championship and moved to

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

on June 28, 1968, becoming the Minnesota Pipers. Minnesota was left vacant when the

had trouble drawing people in the league's first season and moved to Miami to become the

Miami Floridians The Miami Floridians, later in their history known simply as The Floridians, were a professional basketball franchise in the original, now-defunct American Basketball Association. The Miami Floridians played in the ABA from 1968 through 1970 wh ...

. The ABA league office was based in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

(home of league commissioner

George Mikan George Lawrence Mikan Jr. (; June 18, 1924 – June 1, 2005), nicknamed "Mr. Basketball", was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Minneapolis Lakers of t ...

), so the Pipers moved when a Minneapolis attorney named Bill Erickson bought a majority share of the team. As with the Muskies, their home arena was Bloomington's

Met Center The Met Center was an indoor arena that stood in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States, a suburb of Minneapolis. The arena, which was completed in 1967 by Minnesota Ice, just to the north of Metropolitan Stadium, seated 15,000. It was the home of ...

. Despite making the playoffs (but losing in the first round to, coincidentally, the Miami Floridians), the Pipers' attendance settings fared no better than the Muskies and they moved back to Pittsburgh after only one season. In

Terry Pluto Terry Pluto (born June 12, 1955) is an American sportswriter, newspaper columnist, and author who primarily writes columns for ''The Plain Dealer'', and formerly for the '' Akron Beacon Journal'' about Cleveland, Ohio sports and religion. Plu ...

's book on the ABA, ''

Loose Balls ''Loose Balls: The Short Wild Life of the American Basketball Association'' is a sports book originally published in 1990 by Simon & Schuster. The book, a history of the original American Basketball Association, was written by sportswriter Terr ...

'', Pipers co-owner Gabe Rubin says he returned to the Steel City because he couldn't think of anywhere else to go.

Pittsburgh Pipers (1969–1970)

For the first season back in Pittsburgh the team retained the "Pipers" nickname. However, the team failed to match their previous success and fans stayed away. After the season, Haven Industries, maker of the "Jack Frost" brand of sugar products, bought the team and decided a name change was in order.

Pittsburgh Condors (1970–1972)

1970–71 season

A "name-the-team" contest yielded the nickname "Pittsburgh Pioneers." However, local NAIA school Point Park College (now

Point Park University Point Park University is a private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Formerly known as Point Park College, the school name was revised in 2004 to reflect the number of graduate programs being offered. History Beginnings The university bega ...

) already had that nickname and threatened to sue. Ownership resolved the objection by changing the name to "Condors."

Jack McMahon John Joseph McMahon (December 3, 1928 – June 11, 1989) was an American professional basketball player and coach. A 6'1" guard from St. John's University, McMahon was selected by the Rochester Royals in the 1952 NBA draft. He played eight seas ...

took over as coach.

John Brisker John Brisker (June 15, 1947 – disappeared April 11, 1978, declared dead May 29, 1985) was an American professional basketball player from Detroit, Michigan who disappeared in Uganda in April 1978. Career A 6'5" forward/guard who played for the ...

and Mike Lewis played in the

1971 ABA All-Star Game The fourth American Basketball Association All-Star Game was played January 23, 1971 at Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina before an audience at 14,407. Al Bianchi of the Virginia Squires coached the East, with Bill Sharman of th ...

, but the Condors could only manage a 36-48 record, fifth place in the Eastern Division and out of the playoffs (one game behind

The Floridians ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

). While the Condors had a potent offense (fifth in the 11-team ABA with 119.1 points per game), they were often undone by their defense (fourth-worst, allowing 121.8 ppg). Attendance remained poor, with an announced average of 2,806, though some observers close to the team thought the actual average was less than half that. After a slow (4-8) start, general manager Marty Blake decided (in an infamous ABA stunt) to ''give away'' every available seat for an early-season game against Florida on November 17. The game attracted the biggest crowd that the team would ever draw under the Condors name as 11,012 tickets were given out; however, only 8,074 (in a 12,300-seat arena) actually showed up. (3,000 season ticket holders didn't even bother to attend the contest, which Pittsburgh lost, 122-116.) Ownership was not amused, and Blake was fired soon after. The most memorable moment of the season came when Charlie "Helicopter" Hentz destroyed two backboards in a game against the

Carolina Cougars The Carolina Cougars were a basketball franchise in the American Basketball Association that existed from 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Ca ...

1971–72 season

For the next season, Haven tried to change the Condors' image, with a new logo and uniforms, plus a slick marketing campaign. In October, they lured the defending

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

champion

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

(and star Lew Alcindor) to Pittsburgh for an exhibition game, guaranteeing the Bucks $25,000. A local ad proclaimed "Bring on Alcindor" and that "the ABA-NBA merger is here". (The merger would not actually happen until 1976, and it would not include Pittsburgh.) Unfortunately for the Condors, Alcindor—who had changed his name to

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

just a few days before the game—was injured and did not play (the Bucks won anyway, 129-115). Only 8,881 fans showed up, and the Condors "took a bath" on the deal—not a good start for the season. After a 4-6 start, general manager

Mark Binstein Mark Paul Binstein (March 31, 1934 – March 9, 2007) was an American basketball general manager and coach. Binstein replaced Marty Blake as general manager of the Pittsburgh Condors of the American Basketball Association during the 1970–19 ...

fired McMahon for unknown reasons and named himself head coach. The move backfired disastrously; the Condors only went 21-50 the rest of the way. As the season progressed, attendance dropped below 1,000 fans per game, fueling speculation the Condors would fold before

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

. While they did manage to survive into the New Year, Haven had finally seen enough and announced the Condors would be playing elsewhere for the 1972-73 season. In the meantime, they began relocating home games, first to other cities in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, and then to farther-away places. On March 24, 1972 the Condors hosted the

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

; four days later, the Condors hosted the Colonels again, this time in their last 'home' game, in

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and George Thompson played in the ABA All-Star Game. The Condors finished in sixth place in the Eastern Division at 25-59 and failed to make the playoffs. They averaged 2,215 fans per home game—a figure that would have been even lower if not for the gates brought in at both Birmingham (an estimated 3,000) and Tucson (reported as 5,000). These were significantly better than the ones in Pittsburgh; the Condors drew only 689 at their final game at the Civic Center.

Decline and folding

Haven and the league tried to move the Condors to a bigger market. However, they were unable to do so, and in June 1972 the ABA canceled the Condors franchise. The Condors' roster was put into a dispersal draft; George Thompson went to the

Memphis Tams Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, Mike Lewis to the

, Skeeter Swift and

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 ...

to the

Dallas Chaparrals The Dallas Chaparrals were a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA). The team moved to San Antonio, Texas for the 1973–74 season and were renamed the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs joined the National Basketball Association ...

, and

Walt Szczerbiak Walter Szczerbiak Sr. (born August 21, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player. At , Szczerbiak played at the small forward position. On February 3, 2008, Szczerbiak was chosen as one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors ...

to the

jumped to the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

of the

Basketball Hall of Famers

Notes: * ¹ Inducted as a player. Never played for the franchise.

Season-by-season

, - !colspan="6" style="background:#0047AB; color:#F87217; border:2px solid #F87217;", Pittsburgh Pipers (ABA) , - , 1967–68 , , 54 , , 24 , , .692 , , Won Eastern Division Semifinals
Won Eastern Division Finals
Won ABA Finals, , Pittsburgh Pipers 3,

0
Pittsburgh Pipers 4,

1
Pittsburgh Pipers 4,

3 , - , colspan="6" align=center style="background:#0047AB; color:#F87217; border:2px solid #F87217;", Minnesota Pipers , - , 1968–69 , , 36 , , 42 , , .462 , , Lost Division Semifinals , ,

4, Minnesota Pipers 3 , - , colspan="6" align=center style="background:#0047AB; color:#F87217; border:2px solid #F87217;", Pittsburgh Pipers , - , 1969–70 , , 29 , , 55 , , .345 , , colspan=2, Did not qualify , - , colspan="6" align=center style="background:#BF2F38; color:#ffd321;", Pittsburgh Condors , - , 1970–71 , , 36 , , 48 , , .429 , , colspan=2 rowspan=2, Did not qualify , - , 1971–72 , , 25 , , 59 , , .298 , -

References

External links

Condors page at Remember the ABA
{{Pittsburgh sports American Basketball Association teams

Condors Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. They are: * The Andean condor (''Vult ...

Basketball teams established in 1970 Basketball teams disestablished in 1972 Defunct basketball teams in Pennsylvania 1967 establishments in Pennsylvania 1972 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Defunct basketball teams in the United States