The Chicago Majors were a basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, that was a member of the American Basketball League from 1961 to 1963.
History The American Basketball League played one full season, 1961–1962, and part of the next season until the league folded on December 31, 1962. The ABL was the first basketball league to have a three point shot for baskets scored far away from the goal. Other rules that set the league apart were a 30-second shooting clock and a wider free throw lane, 18 feet instead of the standard 12.
The American Basketball League was formed when Abe Saperstein did not get the Los Angeles National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise he sought. His Harlem Globetrotters had strong NBA ties. When Minneapolis Lakers owner Bob Short was permitted to move the Lakers to Los Angeles, Saperstein reacted by convincing National Alliance of Basketball Leagues (NABL) team owner Paul Cohen (Tuck Tapers) and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) National Champion Cleveland Pipers owner George Steinbrenner to take the top NABL and AAU teams and players and form a rival league.
League franchises were: the Chicago Majors (1961–1963); Cleveland Pipers (1961–1962); Kansas City Steers (1961–63); Long Beach Chiefs (1961–1963), as Hawaii Chiefs in 1961–62; Los Angeles Jets (1961–62, disbanded during season); Oakland Oaks (1961–1963, as San Francisco Saints in 1961–1962; Philadelphia Tapers 1961–1963, as Washington Tapers in 1961–62; moved to New York during 1961–62 season; as New York Tapers in 1961–62 and the Pittsburgh Rens (1961–1963).
The Majors were owned by Abe Saperstein. Former Globetrotter Ermer Robinson was the team's business manager for their two seasons. Chicago native Ron Sobieszczyk came out of retirement to play for the Majors. In 1961 Chicago was coached by Andy Phillip.
The Majors finished 38–42 in 1960–1961 under Phillip, finishing third in the ABL Eastern Division. In 1962–1963 they finished 8–19 under Ron "Sobie" Sobieszczyk, folding along with the entire league on December 31, 1962.
The arena The Majors played in Chicago Stadium, which later became the home stadium of the Chicago Bulls.
Media coverage Although well covered by the print media, including the Chicago Tribune, unlike its NBA competition the Chicago Packers it does not seem to have had any radio or television coverage.
Notable players
Bucky Bolyard Jeff Cohen Kelly Coleman Nat Clifton Mel Davis Tony Jackson John F. Sullivan Roger Taylor Herschell Turner John Wessels Jackie Fitzpatrick
1962 ABL draft selections Territorial selections Chet Walker (Bradley University) Dave DeBusschere (University of Detroit) First round Don Nelson (University of Iowa)
Additional selections
Bud Olsen (University of Louisville) Armand Reo (University of Notre Dame) Jim Hudock (University of North Carolina) Russ Marvel (North Carolina State University) Larry Pursiful (University of Kentucky) Mike Cingiser (Brown University) Bob Bolton (Western Michigan University) Alfred Kaemmerling (Princeton University) Lindburg Moody (South Carolina State College) Frank Snyder (Memphis State University) Ralph Wells (Northwestern University) Bucky Keller (Virginia Polytechnic University) Jackie Fitzpatrick (Knoxville College)
Year-by-year YearLeagueReg. SeasonPlayoffs1961/62ABL3rd, EasternQuarterfinals1962/63ABL6thNo playoff Game log 1961-62 FIRST HALF October Record: 0-1 Home: 0-0; Road: 0-1; Neutral: 0-0 # Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record Attendance Site 1 October 30 A Los Angeles Jets L 116-119 0-1 8,384 Sports Arena
November Record: 8-8; Home: 1-1; Road: 2-6; Neutral: 5-1 # Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record Attendance Site 2 November 2 A Washington Tapers L 64-65 0-2 5,500 Washington Coliseum 3 November 4 A Washington Tapers W 101-87 1-2 2,000 Washington Coliseum 4 November 7 A Pittsburgh Rens L 90-105 1-3 13,816 Civic Auditorium 5 November 9 N Pittsburgh Rens W 109-97 2-3 1,800 Washington Coliseum 6 November 10 N Los Angeles Jets L 106-121 2-4 2,248 Municipal Auditorium 7 November 12 N Hawaii Chiefs W 105-97 3-4 1,500 Municipal Auditorium 8 November 13 N Washington Tapers W 97-87 4-4 5,000 L.C. Walker Arena 9 November 15 N Washington Tapers W 96-91 5-4 6,500 Lansing Civic Center 10 November 17 H San Francisco Saints W 94-91 OT 6-4 12,073 Chicago Stadium 11 November 21 H Los Angeles Jets L 119-142 6-5 3,000 Chicago Stadium 12 November 22 N Los Angeles Jets W 118-90 7-5 2,895 Milwaukee Arena 13 November 24 A Hawaii Chiefs W 94-84 8-5 3,149 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 14 November 25 A Hawaii Chiefs L 110-116 8-6 1,231 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 15 November 26 A Hawaii Chiefs L 90-99 8-7 1,263 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 16 November 27 A Hawaii Chiefs L 93-105 8-8 1,195 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 17 November 28 A Hawaii Chiefs L 107-124 8-9 1,512 Hilo Civic Auditorium
December Record: 7-13; Home: 1-3; Road: 4-7; Neutral: 2-3 # Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record Attendance Site 18 December 1 A San Francisco Saints L 87-90 8-10 2,752 Civic Auditorium 19 December 2 A San Francisco Saints L 91-92 8-11 2,855 Civic Auditorium 20 December 5 N Cleveland Pipers W 110-97 9-11 2,300 Milwaukee Arena 21 December 6 H Cleveland Pipers W 101-93 10-11 2,127 Chicago Stadium 22 December 7 N Cleveland Pipers L 88-107 10-12 2,432 Civic Auditorium 23 December 8 A Kansas City Steers L 99-117 10-13 1,027 Municipal Auditorium 24 December 9 H Kansas City Steers L 88-89 10-14 1,500 Chicago Stadium 25 December 10 A Kansas City Steers L 89-97 10-15 1,276 Municipal Auditorium 26 December 13 A Cleveland Pipers L 95-117 10-16 2,500 Public Hall 27 December 14 A Pittsburgh Rens L 106-119 10-17 3,692 Civic Auditorium 28 December 16 H Hawaii Chiefs L 88-95 10-18 3,421 Chicago Stadium 29 December 17 N Hawaii Chiefs W 96-91 11-18 1,500 Milwaukee Arena 30 December 19 N Cleveland Pipers L 94-99 11-19 1,000 Boylan Catholic High School in Rockford, Illinois 31 December 20 H Cleveland Pipers W 98-94 12-19 1,872 Chicago Stadium 32 December 21 A Cleveland Pipers W 113-112 13-19 3,453 Cleveland Arena 33 December 22 A Pittsburgh Rens W 102-89 14-19 3,813 Civic Auditorium 34 December 24 A Pittsburgh Rens L 86-100 14-20 2,986 Civic Auditorium 35 December 28 A Pittsburgh Rens W 127-105 15-20 13,760 Civic Auditorium 36 December 29 N Pittsburgh Rens L 92-96 15-21 6,000 Olympia Stadium 37 December 31 H Washington Tapers L 92-96 15-22 5,163 Chicago Stadium
January Record: 7-9 (first half 3-4); Home: 3-1 (first half 2-0); Road: 1-6 (first half 0-3); Neutral: 3-2 (first half 1-1) # Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record Attendance Site 38 January 1 N Cleveland Pipers L 99-117 15-23 1,600 Memorial Hall (University of Akron) 39 January 3 A Cleveland Pipers L 104-114 15-24 2,338 Public Hall 40 January 4 A Kansas City Steers L 93-94 15-25 9,172 Municipal Auditorium 41 January 5 N Los Angeles Jets W 106-103 OT 16-25 5,500 University of Wichita Field House 42 January 6 H Los Angeles Jets W 105-89 17-25 2,352 Chicago Stadium 43 January 10 A Kansas City Steers L 120-122 17-26 2,223 Municipal Auditorium 44 January 11 H New York Tapers W 109-99 18-26 13,012 Chicago Stadium SECOND HALF Record second half: 4-5; Home second half:1-1; Road second half: 1-3; Neutral second half:2-1 # Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record Attendance Site 45 January 17 N New York Tapers W 109-99 1-0 2,143 Cleveland Arena 46 January 18 A Kansas City Steers L 97-114 1-1 3,840 Municipal Auditorium 47 January 19 A Pittsburgh Rens W 111-99 2-1 3,816 Civic Auditorium 48 January 20 H Pittsburgh Rens W 114-111 3-1 2,436 Chicago Stadium 49 January 21 A Pittsburgh Rens L 82-97 3-2 6,348 Civic Auditorium 50 January 26 H Pittsburgh Rens L 99-100 3-3 3,012 Chicago Stadium 51 January 27 N Pittsburgh Rens L 97-101 3-4 2,015 New Castle Junior/Senior High School 52 January 28 A Pittsburgh Rens L 87-103 3-5 4,096 Civic Auditorium 53 January 31 N Pittsburgh Rens W 109-99 4-5 2,430 Milwaukee Arena
February Record: 10-6; Home: 3-0; Road: 5-4; Neutral: 2-2
# Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record Attendance Site 54 February 1 H Pittsburgh Rens W 109-105 5-5 427 Waukegan High School 55 February 2 H Pittsburgh Rens L 106-108 5-6 20,482 Chicago Stadium 56 February 3 A Cleveland Pipers L 114-120 5-7 2,338 Public Hall 57 February 4 N San Francisco Saints W 109-107 6-7 1,523 Public Hall 58 February 9 H San Francisco Saints W 111-104 7-7 2,042 Chicago Stadium 59 February 13 A Kansas City Steers W 97-91 7-8 6,463 Municipal Auditorium 60 February 14 N Kansas City Steers L 104-109 7-9 700 University of Wichita Field House 61 February 15 A Kansas City Steers L 104-110 8-9 1,813 Municipal Auditorium 62 February 17 H Cleveland Pipers W 115-106 8-10 3,115 Chicago Stadium 63 February 18 A San Francisco Saints W 125-117 OT 9-10 3,176 Civic Auditorium 64 February 20 A San Francisco Saints L 116-119 9-11 1,156 Cow Palace 65 February 22 A San Francisco Saints W 118-102 10-11 1,156 Cow Palace 66 February 23 A Hawaii Chiefs W 125-123 OT 11-11 2,351 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 67 February 24 A Hawaii Chiefs W 106-99 12-11 2,307 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 68 February 25 A Hawaii Chiefs L 84-110 12-12 1,171 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 69 February 26 A Hawaii Chiefs W 97-77 13-12 1,553 Hilo Civic Auditorium 70 February 27 A Hawaii Chiefs L 94-95 13-13 1,447 Honolulu Civic Auditorium
March Record: 8-4; Home: 2-0; Road: 3-2; Neutral: 3-2 # Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record Attendance Site 71 March 3 H Cleveland Pipers W 115-111 14-13 5,228 Chicago Stadium 72 March 5 A New York Tapers W 102-98 15-13 1,183 Long Island Arena 73 March 7 A New York Tapers L 94-106 15-14 112 Long Island Arena 74 March 9 N Hawaii Chiefs W 104-92 16-14 7,322 Miami Beach Convention Center 75 March 10 N Hawaii Chiefs L 103-110 16-15 7,657 Miami Beach Convention Center 76 March 11 N Hawaii Chiefs W 111-95 17-15 6,013 Jacksonville Coliseum 77 March 12 N Hawaii Chiefs W 113-93 18-15 4,794 Jacksonville Coliseum 78 March 13 A Cleveland Pipers L 101-110 18-16 1,300 Ashtabula High School 79 March 14 A Cleveland Pipers L 122-124 18-17 2,310 Public Hall 80 March 18 A Cleveland Pipers L 102-111 18-18 3,215 Public Hall 81 March 19 H Hawaii Chiefs W 112-108 19-18 3,128 Chicago Stadium 82 March 20 A Pittsburgh Rens W 121-120 20-18 8,885 Civic Auditorium 83 March 22 A Pittsburgh Rens W 97-91 21-18 3,943 Civic Arena ABL QUARTERFINALS Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Attendance Site March 30 N New York Tapers L 108-115 1,500 Cleveland Arena
Game log 1962-63
November Record: 4-9; Home: 1-1; Road: 3-6; Neutral: 0-2 # Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record Attendance Site 1 November 14 A Philadelphia Tapers L 98-116 0-1 700 Convention Hall 2 November 15 A Philadelphia Tapers L 46-51 0-2 see second game Convention Hall 3 November 15 A Philadelphia Tapers W 65-63 OT 1-2 1,262 Convention Hall 4 November 16 A Pittsburgh Rens W 97-87 2-2 8,233 Civic Arena 5 November 18 A Oakland Oaks L 100-119 2-4 1,432 Oakland Civic Auditorium 6 November 20 A Oakland Oaks L 100-119 2-5 1,760 Oakland Civic Auditorium 7 November 22 A Kansas City Steers L 85-111 2-6 4,180 Municipal Auditorium 8 November 23 H Kansas City Steers W 91-90 3-6 8,721 Chicago Stadium 9 November 24 A Kansas City Steers L 113-128 3-7 3,867 Municipal Auditorium 10 November 25 A Kansas City Steers W 101-99 4-7 1,512 Municipal Auditorium 11 November 28 N Long Beach Chiefs L 87-96 4-8 6,829 Maple Leaf Gardens 12 November 29 N Long Beach Chiefs L 74-103 4-9 5,000 Rochester Community War Memorial 13 November 30 H Long Beach Chiefs L 99-118 4-10 3,847 Chicago Stadium
December Record: 4-11; Home: 1-2; Road: 2-7; Neutral: 1-2