Conference: Western
Division: Northwest Founded: 1970
History: Portland Trail Blazers 1970 – Present
Arena: Moda Center
Location: Portland, Oregon
Team Colors: Red, Black, White
Head Coach: Chauncey Billups
Championships: (1) 1977
Conference Titles: (3) 1977, 1990, 1992
Division Titles: (6) 1978, 1991, 1992, 1999, 2015,
2018
Retired Numbers: (12) 1, 13, 14, 15, 20, 22, 30, 30,
Retired Numbers: (12) 1, 13, 14, 15, 20, 22, 30, 30,
32, 36, 45, 77
1970 – 1974: Franchise Inception
Sports promoter and Trailblazers founder Harry Glickman sought a National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise for Portland in 1955 when he proposed two new expansion teams, the other in Los Angeles(1). When the Memorial Coliseum was opened in 1960 Glickman saw the potential it could serve as a professional basketball venue. Still, it was not until February 6th, 1970, that the NBA Board of Governors granted him the rights to a franchise in Portland(2). To raise the money for the $3.7 million admission tax, Glickman associated himself with real estate magnates Robert Shmertz of New Jersey, Larry Weinberg of Los Angeles, and Herman Sarkowsky of Seattle(3). Two weeks later, on February 24th, team management held a contest to select the team’s name and received more than 10,000 entries. The most popular choice was “Pioneers”, but that name was excluded from considered as it was already used by sports teams at Portland’s Lewis & Clark College. The name “Trail Blazers” received 172 entries, and was ultimately selected by the judging panel, being revealed on March 13th in the halftime of SuperSonics games at the Memorial Coliseum. Derived from the trail-blazing activity by explorers making paths through forests, Glickman considered it a name that could “reflect both the ruggedness of the Pacific Northwest and the start of a major league era in our state”. Despite the initial mixed response, the Trail Blazers name, often shortened to just “Blazers”, became popular in Oregon(22). While not directly connected, the Portland Trailblazers do bear the namesake of the Salem Trailblazers a short-lived pro team playing in the Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League.
Along with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Buffalo Braves (now the Los Angeles Clippers), the Trail Blazers entered the NBA in 1970 as an expansion team, under coach Rolland Todd. Geoff Petrie and Sydney Wicks led the team in their early years, and the team failed to qualify for the playoffs in its first six seasons of existence. During that span, the team had three head coaches (including future Hall-of-Famer Lenny Wilkens); team executive Stu Inman also served as coach(5). The team won the first pick in the NBA draft twice during that span. In 1972, the team drafted LaRue Martin with the number one pick.
1974 – 1979: Bringing a championship to Portland
In 1974 the team selected number one pick Bill Walton from UCLA. The ABA-NBA merger of 1976 saw those two rival leagues join forces. Four ABA teams joined the NBA; the remaining teams were dissolved and their players were distributed among the remaining NBA squads in a dispersal draft. The Trail Blazers selected Maurice Lucas in the dispersal draft(6). That summer, they also hired Jack Ramsay as head coach.
The two moves, coupled with the team’s stellar play, led Portland to several firsts: a winning record (49 – 33), a playoff appearance, and an NBA championship in 1977(11). Starting on April 5th of that year, the team began a sellout streak of 814 straight games – the longest in American major professional sports history – which did not end until 1995, after the team moved into a larger facility(8).
The team started the 1977 – 78 season with a 50 – 10 mark, and some predicted a dynasty in Portland(9). However, Bill Walton suffered a foot injury that ended his season and would plague him over the remainder of his career, and the team struggled to an 8 – 14 finish, going 58 – 24 overall. In the playoffs, Portland lost to the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1978 conference semifinals(10). That summer, Walton demanded to be traded to a team of his choice (Clippers, Knicks, Warriors, or 76ers), because he was unhappy with his medical treatment in Portland(11). Walton was never traded, and he held out the entire 1978 – 79 season and left the team as a free agent thereafter(12). The team was further dismantled as Lucas left in 1980(5).
1970 – 1974: Franchise Inception
Sports promoter and Trailblazers founder Harry Glickman sought a National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise for Portland in 1955 when he proposed two new expansion teams, the other in Los Angeles(1). When the Memorial Coliseum was opened in 1960 Glickman saw the potential it could serve as a professional basketball venue. Still, it was not until February 6th, 1970, that the NBA Board of Governors granted him the rights to a franchise in Portland(2). To raise the money for the $3.7 million admission tax, Glickman associated himself with real estate magnates Robert Shmertz of New Jersey, Larry Weinberg of Los Angeles, and Herman Sarkowsky of Seattle(3). Two weeks later, on February 24th, team management held a contest to select the team’s name and received more than 10,000 entries. The most popular choice was “Pioneers”, but that name was excluded from considered as it was already used by sports teams at Portland’s Lewis & Clark College. The name “Trail Blazers” received 172 entries, and was ultimately selected by the judging panel, being revealed on March 13th in the halftime of SuperSonics games at the Memorial Coliseum. Derived from the trail-blazing activity by explorers making paths through forests, Glickman considered it a name that could “reflect both the ruggedness of the Pacific Northwest and the start of a major league era in our state”. Despite the initial mixed response, the Trail Blazers name, often shortened to just “Blazers”, became popular in Oregon(22). While not directly connected, the Portland Trailblazers do bear the namesake of the Salem Trailblazers a short-lived pro team playing in the Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League.
Along with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Buffalo Braves (now the Los Angeles Clippers), the Trail Blazers entered the NBA in 1970 as an expansion team, under coach Rolland Todd. Geoff Petrie and Sydney Wicks led the team in their early years, and the team failed to qualify for the playoffs in its first six seasons of existence. During that span, the team had three head coaches (including future Hall-of-Famer Lenny Wilkens); team executive Stu Inman also served as coach(5). The team won the first pick in the NBA draft twice during that span. In 1972, the team drafted LaRue Martin with the number one pick.
1974 – 1979: Bringing a championship to Portland
In 1974 the team selected number one pick Bill Walton from UCLA. The ABA-NBA merger of 1976 saw those two rival leagues join forces. Four ABA teams joined the NBA; the remaining teams were dissolved and their players were distributed among the remaining NBA squads in a dispersal draft. The Trail Blazers selected Maurice Lucas in the dispersal draft(6). That summer, they also hired Jack Ramsay as head coach.
The two moves, coupled with the team’s stellar play, led Portland to several firsts: a winning record (49 – 33), a playoff appearance, and an NBA championship in 1977(11). Starting on April 5th of that year, the team began a sellout streak of 814 straight games – the longest in American major professional sports history – which did not end until 1995, after the team moved into a larger facility(8).
The team started the 1977 – 78 season with a 50 – 10 mark, and some predicted a dynasty in Portland(9). However, Bill Walton suffered a foot injury that ended his season and would plague him over the remainder of his career, and the team struggled to an 8 – 14 finish, going 58 – 24 overall. In the playoffs, Portland lost to the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1978 conference semifinals(10). That summer, Walton demanded to be traded to a team of his choice (Clippers, Knicks, Warriors, or 76ers), because he was unhappy with his medical treatment in Portland(11). Walton was never traded, and he held out the entire 1978 – 79 season and left the team as a free agent thereafter(12). The team was further dismantled as Lucas left in 1980(5).
Bill Walton
Photo Credit
Portland Trail Blazers Links
“Pro hoop aim of local men; Syndicate to seek NBA franchise”. The Sunday Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. December 18, 1955
References and copyrights
