| Carolina Cougars | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Division | Eastern Division |
| Founded | 1969 (as Carolina Cougars) |
| History | Houston Mavericks 1967–1969 Carolina Cougars 1969–1974 Spirits of St. Louis 1974–1976 |
| Arena | Greensboro Coliseum Charlotte Coliseum Dorton Arena Reynolds Coliseum |
| Location | Greensboro, North Carolina (111 games) Charlotte, North Carolina (71 games) Raleigh, North Carolina (37 games) |
| Team colors | Carolina Blue, Cardinal Red (1969–71) Green, Blue (1971–74) |
| Head coach | Bones McKinney (1969–71) Jerry Steele (1971) Tom Meschery (1971–72) Larry Brown (1972–74) |
| Ownership | Jim Gardner (1969–70) Tedd Munchak (1970–74) Jonathan Weston (2014 – Current, Team inactive) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Division titles | 1 (1973) |
TheCarolina Cougars were abasketball franchise in theAmerican Basketball Association that existed from 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as theHouston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved toNorth Carolina in late 1969 after two unsuccessful seasons inHouston at theSam Houston Coliseum.
The Carolina Cougars franchise began when futureLieutenant Governor of North CarolinaJim Gardner bought theHouston Mavericks and moved them to North Carolina in 1969.[1] At the time, none of North Carolina's large metropolitan areas –Charlotte, thePiedmont Triad andthe Triangle – was large enough to support a professional team on its own. With this in mind, Gardner decided to brand the Cougars as a "regional" team.[2] Gardner sold the team after one season to Ted Munchak, who poured significant resources into the team.[3]
The Cougars were based inGreensboro and played most of their home games at theGreensboro Coliseum, the state's largest arena at the time. Games were also regularly played in Charlotte at the(original) Charlotte Coliseum and inRaleigh atDorton Arena andReynolds Coliseum.[2] In early 1972, three regular season games were played inWinston-Salem at theWinston-Salem Memorial Coliseum, and one game was played atFort Bragg.
Early on, the Cougars were not especially successful on the court, posting a 42–42 record in the 1969–70 season, a 34–50 record in 1970–71, and a 35–49 record in 1971–72.[4][5][6] The 1969–70 Cougars managed to make the ABA playoffs but lost in the Eastern Division semifinals (first round) to a much strongerIndiana Pacers team.[7] In spite of this, the Cougars had a good fan following, particularly in Greensboro.
The 1971–72 team was coached by formerNBA All-StarTom Meschery, who had just retired from 10 years of NBA play with theSan Francisco Warriors and theSeattle SuperSonics.[6]
In 1972–73, the Cougars hired retired ABA playersLarry Brown and former CougarDoug Moe as coaches.[8][9] The 1972–73 Cougars were fairly talented and featured playersBilly Cunningham,Joe Caldwell, andMack Calvin.[10] All three appeared in theABA All-Star Game that season, and Cunningham was named the league's Most Valuable Player.[11]
Carolina went on to post a 57–27 record, which was the best in the ABA.[12] The Cougars beat theNew York Nets in their first-round playoff series 4 games to 1, but lost a close series to theKentucky Colonels 4 games to 3 in the Eastern Division finals.[13] There were many upset and disappointed fans in Greensboro when the Cougars decided to hold game 7 of the series in Charlotte. Of the 42 scheduled regular season home games, 25 were usually scheduled for Greensboro while only 12 were played in Charlotte. With Cougar management having the choice of city to play game 7, it mystified its Greensboro area fans with the choice to play such a pivotal game on a less familiar court. Game 7 was hotly contested but Kentucky prevailed, much to Cougar fans dismay.
The 1973–74 Cougars started the season strong, winning 17 of their first 22 games. Despite injuries and internal squabbles, the Cougars posted a 47–37 record but were swept in the Eastern Division semifinals 4 games to 0 by theKentucky Colonels.[14]
1973–74 turned out to be the Cougars' last season in North Carolina. Although they were moderately successful overall and had one of the most loyal fan bases in the ABA, talks toward anABA–NBA merger were in the final stages, and it had become apparent that a "regional" franchise would not be viable in the NBA. Although the Charlotte/Greensboro/Raleigh axis (thePiedmont Crescent orI-85 Corridor) was beginning an unprecedented period of growth that continues today, neither city was big enough at the time to support an NBA team on its own. Additionally, several persons quoted in the bookLoose Balls by Terry Pluto say the added travel expenses incurred by the regional concept ultimately proved insurmountable.
Munchak sold the Cougars to a consortium of New York businessmen headed by brothersOzzie and Daniel Silna, who moved toSt. Louis as theSpirits of St. Louis. However, the new owners assembled an almost entirely new team after moving to St. Louis; only a few players from the 1973–74 Cougars suited up for the 1974–75 Spirits.
The Spirits were one of two teams that lasted until the very end of the league but not join the NBA; the other was the Kentucky Colonels (theVirginia Squires folded after the final ABA regular season ended but before the ABA–NBA merger due to their inability to meet a league-mandated financial assessment after the season ended.). At the time of the ABA–NBA merger, the Spirits' owners planned to move the team toSalt Lake City, Utah to play as theUtah Rockies; instead, its players were dealt in the1976 ABA dispersal draft.
Professional basketball would return to North Carolina in 1988 when theCharlotte Hornets entered the NBA.
Carl Scheer, who won Executive of the Year as a member of the Cougars, would later become the first executive of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets. Cougars point guardGene Littles would become an assistant coach, an executive, and the second head coach of the Hornets.Larry Brown, who coached the Cougars for two seasons and won Coach of the Year during his tenure, would eventually become the eighth head coach of Charlotte's NBA franchise.
Two teams in other professional sports leagues include Carolina in their branding: theCarolina Panthers of theNational Football League, and theCarolina Hurricanes of theNational Hockey League. The former team is based in Charlotte, and the latter team in Raleigh.
Beginning in 2012, the Cougars' uniforms were worn by the Bobcats/Hornets under the NBAHardwood Classics moniker.[15]
| Carolina Cougars Hall of Famers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | ||||
| No. | Name | Position | Tenure | Inducted |
| 32 | Billy Cunningham | F | 1972–1974 | 1986[17] |
| Coaches | ||||
| Name | Position | Tenure | Inducted | |
| Larry Brown | Head Coach | 1972–1974 | 2002[18] | |
| ABA champions | Division champions | Playoff berth |
| Season | League | Division | Finish | Won | Lost | Win% | Playoffs | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina Cougars | ||||||||
| 1969–70 | ABA | Eastern | 3rd | 42 | 42 | .500 | LostDivision Semifinals (Pacers) 0–4 | — |
| 1970–71 | ABA | Eastern | 6th | 34 | 50 | .405 | — | — |
| 1971–72 | ABA | Eastern | 5th | 35 | 49 | .417 | — | — |
| 1972–73 | ABA | Eastern | 1st | 57 | 27 | .679 | WonDivision Semifinals (Nets) 4–1 LostDivision Finals (Colonels) 3–4 | Billy Cunningham(MVP) Larry Brown(COY) Carl Scheer(EOY) |
| 1973–74 | ABA | Eastern | 3rd | 47 | 37 | .560 | LostDivision Semifinals (Colonels) 0–4 | — |
| Statistic | Wins | Losses | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season record | 215 | 205 | .512 |
| Postseason record | 7 | 13 | .350 |
| Regular and postseason record | 222 | 218 | .505 |
