Wikipedia / Long Beach Chiefs
Wikipedia / Long Beach Chiefs
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.
The Chiefs were owned by Art Kim, who was later the owner of the Anaheim Amigos of the American Basketball Association. 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.
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
Year by year
Year | League | Reg. season | Playoffs |
1961/62 | ABL | 3rd, Western | Preliminary Round |
1962/63 | ABL | 2nd | No 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 | W | 91-76 | 1-0 | 1,196 | ||
2 | November 9 | A | L | 91-92 | 1-1 | 1,800 | ||
3 | November 10 | A | L | 101-121 | 1-2 | 2,248 | ||
4 | November 12 | N | L | 97-105 | 1-3 | 1,500 | ||
5 | November 14 | A | L | 99-100 | 1-4 | 3,093 | ||
6 | November 16 | A | L | 99-106 | 1-5 | 2,743 | ||
7 | November 17 | A | L | 89-100 | 1-6 | 489 | ||
8 | November 18 | A | L | 110-119 OT | 1-7 | 1,775 | ||
9 | November 21 | A | L | 74-91 | 1-8 | 3,318 | ||
10 | November 22 | A | L | 96-97 | 1-9 | 3,569 | ||
11 | November 24 | H | L | 84-94 | 1-10 | 3,146 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
12 | November 25 | H | W | 116-110 | 2-10 | 1,231 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
13 | November 26 | H | W | 99-90 | 3-10 | 1,263 | ||
14 | November 27 | H | W | 105-93 | 4-10 | 1,195 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
15 | November 28 | H | 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 | Site |
16 | December 1 | H | W | 93-83 | 6-10 | 2,471 | ||
17 | December 2 | H | W | 102-83 | 7-10 | 2,868 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
18 | December 3 | H | L | 86-90 | 7-11 | 1,846 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
19 | December 4 | H | L | 117-122 | 7-12 | 1,611 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
20 | December 5 | H | W | 115-93 | 8-12 | 1,509 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
21 | December 8 | A | L | 88-98 | 8-13 | 1,411 | ||
22 | December 9 | A | L | 84-100 | 8-14 | 3,368 | ||
23 | December 12 | N | W | 84-81 | 9-14 | 1,562 | ||
24 | December 13 | N | L | 89-90 | 9-15 | 3,284 | ||
25 | December 16 | A | W | 95-88 | 10-15 | 3,421 | ||
26 | December 17 | N | L | 91-96 | 10-16 | 1,500 | ||
27 | December 19 | N | L | 101-104 | 10-17 | 982 | Sacramento Memorial Auditorium | |
28 | December 20 | A | L | 95-103 | 10-18 | 2,743 | ||
29 | December 22 | A | L | 113-117 | 10-19 | 1,538 | ||
30 | December 25 | H | W | 88-87 | 11-19 | 2,543 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
31 | December 26 | H | L | 97-108 | 11-20 | 2,170 | Hilo Civic Auditorium | |
32 | December 28 | H | L | 93-121 | 11-21 | 1,878 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
33 | December 29 | H | W | 110-99 | 12-21 | 1,370 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
34 | December 30 | H | 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 | L | 87-106 | 12-23 | 1,654 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
36 | January 2 | H | L | 92-98 | 12-24 | 1,248 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
37 | January 4 | H | L | 101-104 | 12-25 | 1,445 | ||
38 | January 5 | H | W | 107-105 | 13-25 | 2,083 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
39 | January 6 | H | W | 95-83 | 13-26 | 2,143 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
40 | January 9 | A | L | 103-140 | 13-27 | 2,741 | ||
41 | January 10 | N | L | 122-123 | 13-28 | 2,684 |
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 | L | 95-110 | 0-1 | 2,187 | ||
43 | January 17 | A | L | 92-109 | 0-2 | 3,011 | ||
44 | January 23 | H | W | 106-100 | 1-2 | 2,819 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
45 | January 25 | H | L | 113-114 | 1-3 | 1,940 | ||
46 | January 26 | H | W | 121-114 | 2-3 | 3,339 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
47 | January 27 | H | W | 106-94 | 3-3 | 3,531 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
48 | January 30 | H | 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 | L | 91-92 | 3-5 | 2,200 | ||
50 | February 2 | H | W | 111-87 | 4-5 | 3,656 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
51 | February 3 | H | W | 100-91 | 5-5 | 3,848 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
52 | February 4 | N | L | 92-105 | 5-6 | 7,857 | ||
53 | February 6 | N | W | 88-85 | 5-7 | 4,200 | ||
54 | February 9 | A | L | 94-113 | 5-8 | 3,584 | ||
55 | February 11 | A | L | 88-91 | 5-9 | 2,163 | ||
56 | February 12 | A | W | 137-136 2OT | 6-9 | 6,090 | ||
57 | February 14 | N | L | 103-115 | 6-10 | 1,240 | ||
58 | February 15 | N | L | 108-112 | 6-11 | 3,784 | ||
59 | February 17 | N | L | 85-101 | 6-12 | 5,700 | ||
60 | February 18 | N | W | 105-103 | 7-12 | 5,000 | ||
61 | February 19 | A | L | 97-109 | 7-13 | 3,989 | ||
62 | February 20 | A | L | 90-104 | 7-14 | 3,145 | ||
63 | February 23 | H | L | 123-125 OT | 7-15 | 1,171 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
64 | February 24 | H | L | 99-106 | 7-16 | 2,307 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
65 | February 25 | H | W | 110-84 | 8-16 | 1,171 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
66 | February 26 | H | L | 77-97 | 8-17 | 1,553 | Hilo Civic Auditorium | |
67 | February 27 | H | 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 | W | 92-87 | 10-17 | 2,835 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
69 | March 3 | H | W | 114-104 | 11-17 | 2,935 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
70 | March 4 | H | W | 110-102 | 12-17 | 1,750 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
71 | March 5 | H | W | 109-99 | 13-17 | 2,135 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
72 | March 6 | H | W | 122-97 | 14-17 | 3,966 | Honolulu Civic Auditorium | |
73 | March 9 | N | L | 92-104 | 14-17 | 7,592 | ||
74 | March 10 | N | W | 110-95 | 15-17 | 7,657 | ||
75 | March 11 | N | L | 95-111 | 15-18 | 6,013 | ||
76 | March 12 | N | L | 93-113 | 15-19 | 4,794 | ||
77 | March 13 | A | L | 98-102 | 15-20 | 200 | ||
78 | March 14 | A | W | 110-95 | 16-21 | |||
79 | March 17 | A | L | 100-107 | 16-22 | |||
80 | March 19 | A | L | 108-112 | 16-23 | 3,128 | ||
81 | March 20 | A | L | 111-119 | 16-24 | 3,245 | ||
82 | March 22 | A | L | 102-113 | 16-25 | 3,258 |
ABL SECOND HALF PRELIMINARY ROUND PLAYOFFS
Date | H/A/N | Opponent | W/L | Score | Attendance | Site |
March 29 | N | L | 116-125 OT | 3,453 |
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 | W | 105-96 | 1-0 | 2,294 | ||
2 | November 18 | H | W | 103-74 | 2-0 | 1,078 | ||
3 | November 20 | H | W | 93-89 | 3-0 | 1,734 | ||
4 | November 21 | H | W | 89-87 | 4-0 | 1,453 | ||
5 | November 22 | H | W | 106-98 | 5-0 | 1,821 | ||
6 | November 25 | H | W | 104-83 | 6-0 | 1,717 | ||
7 | November 28 | N | W | 96-87 | 7-0 | 6,829 | ||
8 | November 29 | N | W | 103-74 | 8-0 | 5,000 | ||
9 | November 30 | A | W | 118-99 | 9-0 | 3,847 |
December
Record: 7-8; Home: 5-2; Road: 2-7; Neutral: 1-2
# | Date | H/A/N | Opponent | W/L | Score | Record | Attendance | Site |
10 | December 1 | A | W | 93-86 | 10-0 | 3,479 | ||
11 | December 2 | A | L | 108-116 | 10-1 | 4,774 | ||
12 | December 4 | A | W | 120-100 | 11-1 | 1,679 | ||
13 | December 5 | A | L | 91-112 | 11-2 | 2,587 | ||
14 | December 7 | A | L | 90-113 | 11-3 | 2,887 | ||
15 | December 8 | H | L | 103-111 | 11-4 | 3,512 | ||
16 | December 9 | H | W | 109-107 | 12-4 | 682 | ||
17 | December 11 | H | L | 102-106 | 12-5 | 1,088 | ||
18 | December 12 | H | W | 99-89 | 13-5 | 704 | ||
19 | December 13 | H | W | 94-90 | 14-5 | 764 | ||
20 | December 15 | A | L | 89-110 | 14-6 | 2,582 | ||
21 | December 16 | A | L | 88-112 | 14-7 | 1,842 | ||
22 | December 27 | A | L | 92-97 | 14-8 | 3,448 | ||
23 | December 29 | H | W | 124-111 | 15-8 | 2,141 | ||
24 | December 30 | H | W | 104-100 | 16-8 | 1,003 |
References