The Toronto-Buffalo Royals were a charter franchise of
World Team Tennis
World TeamTennis (WTT) is a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973.
The league's season normally takes place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA take a ...
(WTT) founded by
John F. Bassett
John F. Bassett (February 5, 1939 – May 15, 1986) was a Canadian tennis player, businessman, and film producer.
Athletic career
Bassett won the Canadian Open Junior Doubles Championship in 1955 when he was 15 years old. He reached the second ...
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
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, Canada and the other half in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
, United States. The Royals played only one season before being sold and moving to
Hartford, Connecticut after the
1974 season. The team was contracted by WTT on February 1, 1975. The Royals had 13 wins and 31 losses, and finished in last place in the Central Section missing the playoffs.
Team history
The Royals were founded by
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
businessman and
retired
Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload.
Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
player
Player may refer to:
Role or adjective
* Player (game), a participant in a game or sport
** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games
** Athlete, a player in sports
** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...
John F. Bassett
John F. Bassett (February 5, 1939 – May 15, 1986) was a Canadian tennis player, businessman, and film producer.
Athletic career
Bassett won the Canadian Open Junior Doubles Championship in 1955 when he was 15 years old. He reached the second ...
and
merchant John C. Eaton, III as a charter member of WTT in 1973. Originally, WTT granted the franchise to
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
. The team began play in WTT's inaugural
1974 season. The Royals played half of their home matches at the
CNE Coliseum
Coca-Cola Coliseum is an arena at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, used for agricultural displays, ice hockey, and trade shows. It was built for the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) and the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (the Roya ...
in Toronto,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, Canada and the other half at the
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, colloquially known as The Aud, was a multipurpose indoor arena in downtown Buffalo, New York. Opened on October 14, 1940, it was home to the Canisius Golden Griffins (NCAA), the Buffalo Bisons ( AHL), the Buffalo Bis ...
in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
, United States.
While WTT identified the team as the Toronto-Buffalo Royals in its official standings,
the team was sometimes called the Buffalo-Toronto Royals by the Canadian
media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...
among others. The team identified itself as the Toronto-Buffalo Royals in its media guide and promotional materials such as team pennants.
The Royals' main attraction was player-coach
Tom Okker
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 ...
. However, Okker's contract allowed him to be excused from his commitment to the Royals when he had opportunities to play in
ATP or
Grand Slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
tournament
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
s. So, Okker was effectively a
part-time
Part-time can refer to:
* Part-time job, a job that has fewer hours a week than a full-time job
* Part-time student, a student, usually in higher education, who takes fewer course credits than a full-time student
* Part Time
Part Time (styliz ...
player.
The Royals struggled to a record of 13 wins and 31 losses, last place in the Central Section.
On October 16, 1974, team president Bassett announced that the Royals had been sold to Bert Hoffman and Phyllis Morse who said that they would move the team to
Hartford, Connecticut.
At the WTT owners meeting on February 1, 1975, each team was required to post a $500,000
letter of credit
A letter of credit (LC), also known as a documentary credit or bankers commercial credit, or letter of undertaking (LoU), is a payment mechanism used in international trade to provide an economic guarantee from a creditworthy bank to an ex ...
. Since the Royals failed to do so, the team was contracted by WTT. A dispersal draft was conducted to distribute the players among the remaining teams in the league.
Home courts
The following table shows home courts used by the Toronto-Buffalo Royals in 1974, the only season in which they competed in WTT.
1974 roster
The Toronto-Buffalo Royals roster for the 1974 season was
*
Tom Okker
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 ...
, Player-Coach
*
Mike Estep
Mike Estep (born July 19, 1949) is a former professional tennis player from the United States.
During his career Estep won 2 singles titles and 7 doubles titles. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 59 in August 1973.
In 1983 ...
*
Jan O'Neill
*
Wendy Overton
*
Laura Rossouw
See also
*
World TeamTennis
World TeamTennis (WTT) is a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973.
The league's season normally takes place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA take a ...
*
1974 World Team Tennis season
The 1974 World Team Tennis season was the inaugural season of the top professional team tennis league in the United States. The Denver Racquets defeated the Philadelphia Freedoms in the WTT Finals to win the league's first championship.
Competit ...
References
External links
Official World TeamTennis Website
{{Tennis box
Defunct World TeamTennis teams
1973 establishments in Ontario
1973 establishments in New York (state)
Tennis in Canada
Tennis in Connecticut
Tennis in New York (state)
Sports teams in Toronto
Sports teams in New York (state)
Sports in Buffalo, New York
Sports clubs established in 1973
Defunct sports teams in New York (state)
Sports clubs disestablished in 1975
1974 disestablishments in Ontario
1974 disestablishments in New York (state)
1974 establishments in Connecticut
1975 disestablishments in Connecticut
Tennis in Ontario