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 ...

and merchant John C. Eaton, III as a charter member of WTT in 1973. Originally, WTT granted the franchise to

. 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,

, 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 ...

, 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 *

, 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

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

Team history

Home courts

1974 roster

See also

References

External links