The Washington Caps were an

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, ...

team from 1969 through 1970. The franchise had previously been the Oakland Oaks. From 1970 through 1976 the team played as 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, ...

Origins

With the formation of the ABA in February 1967 a team was awarded to

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

for $30,000 with singer

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...

as primary owner. The team was originally the Oakland Americans but the name was eventually changed to the Oakland Oaks. NBA superstar

Rick Barry Richard Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944) is an American retired professional basketball player who starred at the NCAA, American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Barry ranks among the ...

signed with the Oaks, as did Steve Jones and

Levern Tart Levern Tart (June 1, 1942 – June 22, 2010) was an American basketball player. Early life Born in Marion, South Carolina, Tart went to Roosevelt High School in West Palm Beach, Florida. College career The 6'2" (later listed as 6'3"), guard T ...

. Barry, however, was prevented from playing in the ABA due to a lawsuit brought by his former NBA team (regarding enforcement of the

reserve clause The reserve clause, in North American professional sports, was part of a player contract which stated that the rights to players were retained by the team upon the contract's expiration. Players under these contracts were not free to enter into an ...

in his contract), so he spent the season as an Oaks radio announcer instead of as a player. The Oaks won the very first ABA game in 1967 (a 132–129 victory against the

Anaheim Amigos Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

on October 3, 1967. After Barry returned in the 1967–68 season, they breezed through the regular season then won the 1969 ABA Championship over the

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 ...

in the playoffs. However, the Bank of America was threatening to foreclose on a $1.2 million loan to the team and in August, 1969, a group of investors led by real estate attorney

Earl Foreman Earl Marin Foreman (March 29, 1924 – January 23, 2017) was an American lawyer and sports executive. Foreman practiced law in the District of Columbia. He was the owner of the short-lived Washington Whips professional soccer club of the NASL a ...

bought the team and moved it to Washington, D.C., for the upcoming season.

The one season (1969–70)

With the move came a new identity for the team as the green and gold clad Washington Caps. Al Bianchi replaced the more proven

Alex Hannum Alexander Murray Hannum (July 19, 1923 – January 18, 2002) was a professional basketball player and coach. Hannum coached two National Basketball Association (NBA) teams and one American Basketball Association (ABA) team to league championships ...

as head coach. A federal appeals court ruled in favor of the Caps regarding Barry, their top gate attraction, but he openly objected to playing in Washington, D.C., where the team butted heads with the NBA Baltimore Bullets and did not have a suitable arena to play home games. He sat out the first 32 games of the season, but the courts left him with no choice except to report to the team or sit out the season. Barry and

Warren Armstrong 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 whi ...

participated in the ABA All Star game, but injuries limited their playing time for the season. In March 1970 the ABA-NBA merger appeared close at hand under conditions that would have required the Washington Caps to relocate, but a subsequent lawsuit derailed the merger until June 1976. In defiance of all geographic reality, the Caps assumed the Oaks' place in the Western Division despite their move to the Eastern Seaboard. This kept them constantly on the road at faraway venues (their nearest divisional rivals, 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 an ...

, were over 1,000 miles away) and the travel and time differential took its toll on their play. Playing at

Washington Coliseum The Uline Arena, later renamed the Washington Coliseum, was an indoor arena in Washington, D.C. located at 1132, 1140, and 1146 3rd Street, Northeast, Washington, D.C. It was the site of one of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's inaugural balls i ...

their average attendance was 2,992 fans per game. In a case of exceptionally bad timing, the Caps arrived at a time when the surrounding Near Northeast neighborhood was still recovering from the 1968 race riots. Fears that the neighborhood wasn't safe dragged down attendance. Due to the long travel distances involved in divisional play, the Caps played some home games in places like

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

and even

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

but did not fare well in those supposed home games. However, due to a solid record in their real home games, the Caps finished the season with 44 wins and 40 losses. The Caps' record put them in third place in the Western Division, 7 games behind the

Denver Rockets Denver () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States#State capital, capital, and List of municipalities in Colorado#, most populous city of th ...

and one game behind 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 ...

. In the 1970 ABA Playoffs the Caps faced the Denver Rockets in the Western Division semifinals and took the series to seven games before losing 143–119 in the finale in Denver.

Basketball Hall of Famers

Season-by-season

, - !colspan="6" align=center style="background:#FFD700; color:#228B22;", Washington Caps , - , 1969–70 , , 44 , , 40 , , .524 , , Lost Division Semifinals , , Denver 4, Washington 3 , -

Virginia Squires

After the conclusion of the 1969–1970 season the Caps were forced to move once again. At the time, merger talks with the NBA were underway, and the owner of the NBA's Baltimore Bullets,

Abe Pollin Abraham J. Pollin (December 3, 1923 – November 24, 2009) was the owner of a number of professional sports teams including the Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League (NHL), the Washington Mystics in the Women's National Basketbal ...

, wanted to move his team to Washington, and didn't want the Caps there. The other ABA owners persuaded Foreman to move the Caps for the second time in as many seasons. (However, the Caps name would be somewhat revived, this time for a

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 ...

expansion team called the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

- also owned by Pollin - in 1974. Since then, the Capitals have been co-tenants with the Bullets/Wizards franchise at the Capital Centre and

Capital One Arena Capital One Arena is an indoor arena in Washington, D.C. Located in the Penn Quarter neighborhood, the arena sits atop the Gallery Place rapid transit station of the Washington Metro. It has been largely considered to be a commercial success ...

.) Foreman decided to make the Caps a regional franchise, the

. While the team would be based in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

and play most of their games at the

Norfolk Scope Norfolk Scope is a multi-function complex in Norfolk, Virginia, comprising an 11,000-person arena, a 2,500-person theater known as Chrysler Hall, a exhibition hall and a 600-car parking garage. The arena was designed by Italian architect/engin ...

and the

Old Dominion University Fieldhouse Old Dominion University Fieldhouse was a 5,200-seat multi-purpose arena located on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Opened in 1970, it was home to the Old Dominion Monarchs and Lady Monarchs college basketball teams un ...

, they also played home games in

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada * Hampton, New Brunswick *Ha ...

at the Hampton Roads Coliseum, in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

at the

Richmond Coliseum Richmond Coliseum is a defunct arena located in downtown Richmond, Virginia, with a capacity of 13,500 that was most often used for various large concerts. The arena opened in 1971 and the region is looking to replace the aging facility with a la ...

and in Roanoke at the

Roanoke Civic Center Berglund Center (originally called the Roanoke Civic Center) is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena located in the Williamson Road, Roanoke, Virginia, Williamson Road neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia. It was built in 1971. It was the former home to ...

. However, Roanoke was dropped from the list of "home" cities after only one season. The Squires' colors were red, white, and blue. The Squires would continue to play in every ABA season through 1976. At the conclusion of the 1975–1976 season the Squires, having fallen on hard times, were unable to make a league-mandated financial assessment. The Squires were disbanded after the season but just prior to the ABA-NBA merger in June 1976.

External links

Remember the ABA Washington Caps page
{{ABAteams American Basketball Association teams Defunct basketball teams in the United States Basketball teams established in 1969 Basketball teams disestablished in 1970 1969 establishments in Washington, D.C. 1970 disestablishments in Washington, D.C.