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HAWKS HISTORY
by Chet Wright

It was a setting for Mark Twain. A banjo box gymnasium called Wharton Field House seating 6,000 on hardwood benches in a city, or should we say three cities, straddling the Mississippi River where the Atlanta Hawks had their roots.

They were known as the Tri-City Blackhawks, one of the original members of the National Basketball Association after a mid-summer merger in 1949 of the 12-year old National Basketball League and the four-year old Basketball Association of America formed the new league.

The Illinois cities of Moline and Rock Island and Davenport, Iowa across the river formed the formal name of the neophyte Blackhawks, coached by Roger Potter.

In the opening game at Wharton Field House, the Blackhawks beat the old Denver Nuggets, 93-85. But after a string of six losses, Potter became the first former coach of the franchise, as he was replaced by Arnold Auerbach.

The first edition of the Blackhawks made the playoffs despite being six games under .500, but dropped out in the first round to the Anderson Duffey Packers. Then the coach, better known as Red Auerbach, left for Boston and many green and white World Championship banners.

After two years and a grammatical change to Tri-Cities, the Blackhawks packed their bags and moved to Milwaukee. They shortened the nickname to the Hawks and struggled for four years, never winning more than 27 games and finishing last each season. But it was in Milwaukee where the Hawks made a draft choice that would solidify the franchise for years to come.

His name was Bob Pettit. A first round draft choice from Louisiana State in 1954, Pettit played his entire 11-year career with the Hawks, moving with the club to St. Lous in 1955. He wrote nearly every record in the Hawks book and was a four-time MVP of the annual NBA All-Star game, more times than any other player in history.

From 1957 through 1961, the Hawks won five consecutive Western Conference titles. Pettit was the star of the show and had an excellent supporting cast with Cliff Hagan, Slater Martin, Charley Share, and Ed Macauley.

In 1958, the Hawks captured its lone World Championship by defeating Boston, four games to two. On three occasions during the five year stretch, the Hawks advanced to the finals only to lose to the Celtics.

For no apparent reason, the Hawks turned sour during the 61-62 season and had it not been for the Expansion Chicago Packers, the club would have gone from first to last in just one year. It was the only spring the Hawks failed to qualify for the playoffs in the 13 seasons they spend in St. Louis.

Fortunately for the franchise, Harry Gallatin, the former All-Pro with the New York Knickerbockers, took over the reins the following season and guided the Hawks to a second place finish and back into the playoffs. For his efforts, Gallatin became the first recipient of the NBA's Coach of the Year award.

But Gallatin couldn't put the Hawks back on top and was replaced in the middle of the 64-65 season by Richie Guerin, another former Knick standout. The club again made the playoffs but were upset in the opening round by the Baltimore Bullets, a team which finished under .500 and eight games behind the Hawks during the regular season.

After the playoff loss, Bob Pettit took off his uniform for the last time. Pettit wound up his career with a 26.4 scoring average topped by a 31.1 mark during the disappointing 61-62 campaign. His rebounding standards were even more incredible, a career average of 16.2 and a single season high of 20.3 set during the 60-61 season. He was named first team All-Pro in his first ten seasons in the league, and second team in his eleventh and final season. In 1970, Pettit was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame and his uniform number 9 has been retired.

The Hawks were becoming a young team as was characterized by the early Pettit-led teams. A year later Cliff Hagan was gone, represent-

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CHAMPIONSHIP SIGMA

[[5 images]]
[[caption]]
LEFT TO RIGHT (Seated)--Cab Greene, Joe Johnson, Winnie Wainwright; (standing)--Coach A.J. Lockhart, Richard Mack, John R. Sanders, Frank Nelson, Edward Mitchell, Charles Smith, Itty Dalton.


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