The Long Beach Chiefs were an American basketball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii (1961–62) and Long Beach, California (1962–63) that was a member of the American Basketball League.

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 team was known as the Hawaii Chiefs from 1961–62. Originally, Art Kim wanted to name the franchise the Hawaii Aliis, a name for Hawaiian royalty, but he was forced to change the name of the team to the Chiefs by June 1961 due to the native Hawaiians informing Kim that it was considered taboo to use the aliis name in conjunction to ordinary people since it could only be associated with Hawaiian royalty., p. 3

The Chiefs were owned by Art Kim, who was later the owner of the Anaheim Amigos of the American Basketball Association.Anaheim Amigos page at RememberTheABA.com His previous team ownership with the Chiefs in Hawaii and Long Beach would be a factor in Kim being named an inaugural owner for the Amigos franchise in the ABA.Pluto, Terry, Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association (Simon & Schuster, 1990), , p.41

They finished 13–28 (1961–1962) and 16–8 (1962–1963) under coaches Red Rocha and Al Brightman. They started 10–0 in 1962–1963.

The Arenas The Chiefs played at the Long Beach Arena. The arena is still in use by Long Beach State University athletics. The location is 300 E Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90802.

In Honolulu they rotated between the Civic Auditorium, the Conroy Bowl at Schofield Barracks and Bloch Arena. The Civic Auditorium in Honolulu was demolished in 1973. It was located on South King Street. It was replaced by an American Security Bank Building, now the Interstate Building.

Conroy Bowl is now a medical facility on Schofield Barracks. The address is 627–699 Trimble Road, Wahiawa, HI 96786.

Bloch Arena in Pearl Harbor is still in use today and also hosted the collegiate Pearl Harbor Basketball Invitational. The address is 224 A Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96818.

Media Coverage

In Hawaii, the Chiefs got radio coverage of most home games on KGU (AM). After the move to California, the Chiefs had radio coverage on KLFM.

Notable alumni Bob Anderegg Frank Burgess Jeff Cohen Rick Herrscher Bill Spivey Govoner Vaughn

Year by year YearLeagueReg. seasonPlayoffs1961/62ABL3rd, WesternPreliminary Round1962/63ABL2ndNo playoff

Game log 1961-62 Hawaii FIRST HALF November Record: 5-10; Home: 5-1; Road: 3-5; Neutral: 0-1 # Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record Attendance Site 1 November 7 A Washington Tapers W 91-76 1-0 1,196 Washington Coliseum 2 November 9 A Washington Tapers L 91-92 1-1 1,800 Washington Coliseum 3 November 10 A Kansas City Steers L 101-121 1-2 2,248 Municipal Auditorium 4 November 12 N Chicago Majors L 97-105 1-3 1,500 Municipal Auditorium 5 November 14 A Pittsburgh Rens L 99-100 1-4 3,093 Pittsburgh Civic Auditorium 6 November 16 A Pittsburgh Rens L 99-106 1-5 2,743 Pittsburgh Civic Auditorium 7 November 17 A Washington Tapers L 89-100 1-6 489 Washington Coliseum 8 November 18 A Washington Tapers L 110-119 OT 1-7 1,775 Washington Coliseum 9 November 21 A Cleveland Pipers L 74-91 1-8 3,318 Public Hall 10 November 22 A Cleveland Pipers L 96-97 1-9 3,569 Public Hall 11 November 24 H Chicago Majors L 84-94 1-10 3,146 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 12 November 25 H Chicago Majors W 116-110 2-10 1,231 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 13 November 26 H Chicago Majors W 99-90 3-10 1,263 Bloch Arena 14 November 27 H Chicago Majors W 105-93 4-10 1,195 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 15 November 28 H Chicago Majors W 124-107 5-10 1,512 Hilo Civic Auditorium

December Record: 7-12; Home: 5-5; Road: 1-4; Neutral: 1-3 # Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record Attendance Site16 December 1 H Washington Tapers W 93-83 6-10 2,471 Conroy Bowl17 December 2 H Washington Tapers W 102-83 7-10 2,868 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 18 December 3 H Washington Tapers L 86-90 7-11 1,846 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 19 December 4 H Washington Tapers L 117-122 7-12 1,611 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 20 December 5 H Washington Tapers W 115-93 8-12 1,509 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 21 December 8 A San Francisco Saints L 88-98 8-13 1,411 Oakland Auditorium 22 December 9 A San Francisco Saints L 84-100 8-14 3,368 Civic Auditorium 23 December 12 N Washington Tapers W 84-81 9-14 1,562 Olympic Auditorium 24 December 13 N Los Angeles Jets L 89-90 9-15 3,284 Cow Palace 25 December 16 A Chicago Majors W 95-88 10-15 3,421 Chicago Stadium 26 December 17 N Chicago Majors L 91-96 10-16 1,500 Milwaukee Arena 27 December 19 N San Francisco Saints L 101-104 10-17 982 Sacramento Memorial Auditorium 28 December 20 A San Francisco Saints L 95-103 10-18 2,743 Civic Auditorium 29 December 22 A San Francisco Saints L 113-117 10-19 1,538 Civic Auditorium 30 December 25 H Kansas City Steers W 88-87 11-19 2,543 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 31 December 26 H Kansas City Steers L 97-108 11-20 2,170 Hilo Civic Auditorium 32 December 28 H Kansas City Steers L 93-121 11-21 1,878 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 33 December 29 H Kansas City Steers W 110-99 12-21 1,370 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 34 December 30 H Kansas City Steers L 81-91 12-22 2,036 Honolulu Civic Auditorium

January Record: 6-8 (first half 2-5); Home: 6-4 (first half 2-3); Road: 0-3 (first half 0-1); Neutral: 0-1 (first half 0-1) # Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record Attendance Site 35 January 1 H Pittsburgh Rens L 87-106 12-23 1,654 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 36 January 2 H Pittsburgh Rens L 92-98 12-24 1,248 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 37 January 4 H Pittsburgh Rens L 101-104 12-25 1,445 Conroy Bowl 38 January 5 H Pittsburgh Rens W 107-105 13-25 2,083 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 39 January 6 H Pittsburgh Rens W 95-83 13-26 2,143 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 40 January 9 A Los Angeles Jets L 103-140 13-27 2,741 Olympic Auditorium 41 January 10 N Los Angeles Jets L 122-123 13-28 2,684 Cow Palace SECOND HALF Record second half: 4-3; Home second half: 4-1; Road second half: 0-3; Neutral second half: 0-0 # Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record Attendance Site 42 January 15 A San Francisco Saints L 95-110 0-1 2,187 Civic Auditorium 43 January 17 A San Francisco Saints L 92-109 0-2 3,011 Civic Auditorium 44 January 23 H Cleveland Pipers W 106-100 1-2 2,819 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 45 January 25 H Cleveland Pipers L 113-114 1-3 1,940 Bloch Arena 46 January 26 H Cleveland Pipers W 121-114 2-3 3,339 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 47 January 27 H Cleveland Pipers W 106-94 3-3 3,531 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 48 January 30 H Kansas City Steers L 81-84 3-4 3,137 Honolulu Civic Auditorium

February Record: 8-11; Home: 4-4; Road: 1-4; Neutral: 3-3

# Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record Attendance Site 49 February 1 H Kansas City Steers L 91-92 3-5 2,200 Conroy Bowl 50 February 2 H Kansas City Steers W 111-87 4-5 3,656 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 51 February 3 H Kansas City Steers W 100-91 5-5 3,848 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 52 February 4 N Kansas City Steers L 92-105 5-6 7,857 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 53 February 6 N Kansas City Steers W 88-85 5-7 4,200 California Western University Gym 54 February 9 A Kansas City Steers L 94-113 5-8 3,584 Municipal Auditorium 55 February 11 A Kansas City Steers L 88-91 5-9 2,163 Municipal Auditorium 56 February 12 A Cleveland Pipers W 137-136 2OT 6-9 6,090 Cleveland Arena 57 February 14 N Cleveland Pipers L 103-115 6-10 1,240 New Castle Junior/Senior High School 58 February 15 N Cleveland Pipers L 108-112 6-11 3,784 Pittsburgh Civic Auditorium 59 February 17 N New York Tapers L 85-101 6-12 5,700 Oklahoma City Municipal Auditorium 60 February 18 N New York Tapers W 105-103 7-12 5,000 Fairgrounds Pavilion 61 February 19 A Pittsburgh Rens L 97-109 7-13 3,989 Pittsburgh Civic Auditorium 62 February 20 A Pittsburgh Rens L 90-104 7-14 3,145 Pittsburgh Civic Auditorium 63 February 23 H Chicago Majors L 123-125 OT 7-15 1,171 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 64 February 24 H Chicago Majors L 99-106 7-16 2,307 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 65 February 25 H Chicago Majors W 110-84 8-16 1,171 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 66 February 26 H Chicago Majors L 77-97 8-17 1,553 Hilo Civic Auditorium 67 February 27 H Chicago Majors W 95-94 9-17 1,447 Honolulu Civic Auditorium

March Record: 7-7; Home: 5-0; Road: 1-4; Neutral: 1-3 # Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record Attendance Site 68 March 2 H San Francisco Saints W 92-87 10-17 2,835 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 69 March 3 H San Francisco Saints W 114-104 11-17 2,935 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 70 March 4 H San Francisco Saints W 110-102 12-17 1,750 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 71 March 5 H San Francisco Saints W 109-99 13-17 2,135 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 72 March 6 H San Francisco Saints W 122-97 14-17 3,966 Honolulu Civic Auditorium 73 March 9 N Chicago Majors L 92-104 14-17 7,592 Miami Beach Convention Center 74 March 10 N Chicago Majors W 110-95 15-17 7,657 Miami Beach Convention Center 75 March 11 N Chicago Majors L 95-111 15-18 6,013 Jacksonville Coliseum 76 March 12 N Chicago Majors L 93-113 15-19 4,794 Jacksonville Coliseum 77 March 13 A New York Tapers L 98-102 15-20 200 Long Island Arena 78 March 14 A New York Tapers W 110-95 16-21 Long Island Arena 79 March 17 A Cleveland Pipers L 100-107 16-22 Public Hall 80 March 19 A Chicago Majors L 108-112 16-23 3,128 Chicago Stadium 81 March 20 A San Francisco Saints L 111-119 16-24 3,245 Civic Auditorium 82 March 22 A San Francisco Saints L 102-113 16-25 3,258 Civic Auditorium ABL SECOND HALF PRELIMINARY ROUND PLAYOFFS Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Attendance Site March 29 N New York Tapers L 116-125 OT 3,453 Civic Arena

Game log 1962-63 Long Beach

November Record: 9-0; Home: 6-0; Road: 1-0; Neutral: 2-0 # Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record Attendance Site 1 November 17 H Kansas City Steers W 105-96 1-0 2,294 Long Beach Arena 2 November 18 H Kansas City Steers W 103-74 2-0 1,078 Long Beach Arena 3 November 20 H Kansas City Steers W 93-89 3-0 1,734 Long Beach Arena 4 November 21 H Oakland Oaks W 89-87 4-0 1,453 Long Beach Arena 5 November 22 H Oakland Oaks W 106-98 5-0 1,821 Long Beach Arena 6 November 25 H Oakland Oaks W 104-83 6-0 1,717 Long Beach Arena 7 November 28 N Chicago Majors W 96-87 7-0 6,829 Maple Leaf Gardens 8 November 29 N Chicago Majors W 103-74 8-0 5,000 Rochester Community War Memorial 9 November 30 A Chicago Majors W 118-99 9-0 3,847 Chicago Stadium

December Record: 7-8; Home: 5-2; Road: 2-7; Neutral: 1-2