Pittsburgh/Minnesota Pipers Years of existence: 1967-68 Pittsburgh Pipers 1968-69 Minnesota Pipers 1969-70 Pittsburgh Pipers Colors: Orange and Blue Home Arenas: 1967-68: Pittsburgh Civic Arena (12,000) 1968-69: Metropolitan Sports Center (15,500) & Duluth Arena Auditorium (6,919) 1969-70: Pittsburgh Civic Arena (12,000) Coaches: 1967-68: Vince Cazzetta 1968-69: Jim Harding, Vern Mikkelsen & Verl Young 1969-70: John Clark & Buddy Jeanette Pipers Fan Memories Detailed Franchise Year-to-Year Notes Pipers Ownership History and Rosters Franchise All-Time Top 20 Scorers

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The Pittsburgh Pipers started out with a bang in the ABA's inaugural year, winning the first ABA Championship. Three major reasons for the Pipers' initial success were Connie Hawkins (future Hall of Famer), Charlie Williams, and Chico Vaughn. Before playing for the Pipers, Hawkins had played for the old Pittsburgh Renaissance of the defunct American Basketball League. Hawkins came to the ABL Rens from the University of Iowa where, in his freshman year, he was linked to a bribery scandal. It was never proven (or even suggested) that Hawkins accepted money, but he was charged with the indiscretion of "failing to report a bribe." Iowa expelled him and the NBA blacklisted him. After playing for the Rens, Hawkins played for the Harlem Globetrotters. The ABA finally gave Hawkins the chance to play competitive professional basketball once again.

Charlie Williams, a feisty guard, was in a similar position. Before the ABA began its first season, Williams was set to play for the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics. However, Williams was also banned from the NBA for failure to report a bribe in college. The Pipers were the perfect opportunity for both of these players. The addition of veteran Chico Vaughn, a talented guard who had played for the St. Louis Hawks and the Detroit Pistons, gave the Pipers the best backcourt combination in the new league.

The Pipers cruised in the first ABA season under coach Vince Cazzetta, winning 54 games. Hawkins dazzled ABA fans with a variety of creative scoop shots and slam dunks. He ended up leading the ABA in scoring, with 26.8 ppg. The "Hawk" also placed fourth in the league in assist, with 4.6 apg. The Pipers had a twelve game winning streak. At another point in the 67-68 season, they won 18 out of 19 games. Attendance-wise, the Pipers were also impressive, averaging about 3,200 per contest. On January 26, 1968, the Pipers drew a league record 12,300 fans for their game against the Minnesota Muskies.

In the playoffs, the Pipers dominated every team except the New Orleans Buccaneers. During the playoffs, the Pipers shot 49% on their 2 pt. field goal attempts, and averaged 117.4 points per contest. Hawkins himself scored 419 points during the course of the playoffs, averaging 29.93 ppg. In the ABA Finals, the Pipers had to win Game 6 on the road at New Orleans. Behind Hawkins, the Pipers won that game, and before 11,457 fans at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena for Game 7, Pittsburgh won the Championship, 122-113.

For the ABA's second season, the Pipers inexplicably moved to Minneapolis, to become the Minnesota Pipers. Bill Erickson, a 38 year old Minneapolis businessman and attorney, bought a majority interest in the Pipers and brought them in to the midwest. The year before, the Muskies franchise had played its games in Minneapolis. The Muskies experienced financial difficulties and poor attendance, and moved to Miami after the first season. The Pipers decided that they could succeed where the Muskies had failed.

The Pipers' second season turned out to be a disaster. They started out with a good record, and grabbed first place. However, Hawkins, Charlie Williams, Chico Vaughn, and center Art Heyman suffered serious injuries. The Pipers' new coach, Jim Harding, ran his players into the ground during frequent and long practices. Injured Pipers rarely had a chance to recuperate, and healthy Pipers became tired during the late stages of games. Because the Pipers started out well in their second season, Harding was selected to coach the East All-Star team in Louisville, Kentucky. But at the All-Star Banquet before the game, Harding physically attacked Gabe Rubin, the Chairman of the Pipers. According to Basketball Weekly magazine, Harding was swinging at Rubin and Rubin retaliated by scratching and clawing Harding. Needless to say, Harding was fired on the spot. General Manager Vern Mikkelsen took over the team for a while, until Gus Young was named the new head coach of the franchise.

With all the chaos surrounding it, the team played poorly, even when Connie Hawkins was healthy. Bad weather in Minneapolis and Duluth (where the Pipers played several games) severely hurt attendance. Even when the weather was nice, though, the Pipers had trouble drawing fans. On March 6, 1969, the Pipers lowered lowered ALL ticket prices to just $2.00, hoping to draw crowds. The new price failed to draw fans. By the end of the season, the Pipers had lost an estimated $400,000, and many speculated that the team would move to Jersey City on the East Coast.

Instead, the Pipers once again did what everyone least expected--they moved back to Pittsburgh. By this time, however, Hawkins had decided to leave the troubled team. He signed with the Phoenix Suns of the NBA, after the NBA rescinded its ban against him. The Pipers' third season was just as bad as their second. Fans were reluctant to support the team, since it had abandoned Pittsburgh just a year earlier. Injuries hit the team once again, including a serious knee injury to Charlie Williams. New coaches John Clark and Buddy Jeanette always seemed frustrated with their team. On February 21, 1970, Jeanette slapped substantial fines on all of his players after they lost a home game to the Indiana Pacers, 130-110. About the only bright spots in the Pipers' 1969-70 season were talented rookies John Brisker and George Thompson. Brisker averaged 21. 0 ppg that year.

Guard Charlie Williams (above left, #44), a survivor from the Pipers' first year in Pittsburgh, averaged a strong 19.5 points per game during the 1969-70 season. Another original Pittsburgh Piper, Tom "Troooper" Washington (left, #32), struggled after the team's return to Pittsburgh. He was traded to the Los Angeles Stars in the middle of the season. Relative newcomer Mike Lewis (above right, #24) was an animal on the boards for both the Pipers and Condors. He averaged 13.5 boards per game for the Pipers in 1969-70, and 14. 6 boards per game for the Condors in 1970-71. Photos Copyright © John Oznick and used with permission.

After their third year, the Pipers stayed in Pittsburgh but became the "Condors," one of the least successful teams in ABA history.

MEMORIES OF VINCE CAZZETTA: "The Minnesota Muskies, the New Orleans Buccaneers, and the Indiana Pacers had the most talent when the league started. Actually, Pittsburgh had less material than anybody at first. Until I got involved in getting players we had the poorest material in the league. In fact, of the 27 players we started with in training camp, only 4 were on our championship team at the end of the season. It was a revolving door of players until I was able to get players I needed to win. Also, our owner Gabe Rubin traded my center Ira Harge without my knowledge. In spite of this and many other incidents, we won. During that first year we had a 15 game winning streak, another winning streak of 12 games, and at one time we won 18 out of 19 games. I have read a few accounts of the first winning streak, and they credit Art Heyman. He did bring something to the team that we didn't have previously, a small forward who could play guard and take his bigger opponents (over 6'8") outside, and if they put a smaller man on him, take that man inside. We exploited this as soon as we got Heyman. I had been asking our owner, Gabe Rubin, to find such a player from training camp on. The player I originally wanted was a player drafted by the New York Knicks--Mike Riordan out of Providence College. Mike was around 6'4", a hard nosed defensive player with the offensive skills of Heyman and the ability to play either the 2 or 3 position. However, as it turned out, Art Heyman filled the bill and with his versatility, he gave us that fifth starter which we badly needed. Although Art was controversial at times, I was most always able to keep him focused on our goal. Connie carried us, but Art was the missing piece to the puzzle and helped us tremendously.

MEMORIES OF JOHN BUDKE: "At a game in Indianapolis we saw the Pipers play the Pacers. Art Heyman was kind of a flake and when the introductions were made he ran out on the floor and there were a lot of boos. He just smiled put out his arms with his palms up and motioned for us to give him more. We did and he just thought it was great. This was one of several times I saw the great Connie Hawkins play. He had such huge hands and long arms and was such a great ball-handler from his globetrotter days that he was something to see. He had a good outside shot but would also drive in with those great one-handed finesse moves. One play I will never forget is when he got out on a fast break with the ball, Charlie Williams, who was very fast came streaking down the court and Connie hits him with a behind the back pass for a lay-up."

MEMORIES OF AARON MILLS SCOTT: "I have an ABA memory, but it isn't mine. I'm only 22 so I never saw any of the games. But my dad tells a great ABA story every chance he gets. My dad saw Connie Hawkins play during the one year he was with Minnesota. My dad lived in Minneapolis and he was one of the very, very few people who ever gave the ABA the credit and attention the league deserved. The Pipers' attendance was just terrible in Minnesota, even by ABA standards. During one game, Connie made a play that my dad swears is the best he's ever seen, on TV or in person. One of the Minnesota guards went down the lane and missed a floating layup. The ball went off the back rim and headed back out toward the foul line. The Hawk was working hard on the boards and he went up to get it. Connie (my dad swears) jumped up, grabbed the ball in one hand, and was actually MOVING AWAY FROM THE BASKET. So he now had the ball way up high in one hand as he drifted AWAY from the basket (while facing it). Then he jammed it straight down. I am awed by even hearing the story. He had such long arms, huge hands, and such great body control. My dad insists that people would and should be talking about the Hawk along with Wilt, Oscar, and Mike as one of the very greatest players of all time. I sure wish I could have seen that play in person. It probably wasn't even filmed. It's too bad most of the video of Connie comes from his Phoenix Suns/NBA days. He simply wasn't the same great player he was in the ABA."

MEMORIES OF AGUSTIN TORRES: "Fred Cranwell was the public relations man for the Pipers during their third year. He told me a funny story about the time the Pipers had a rare game on television, against the Carolina Cougars. It was on a UHF channel. Cranwell sold about 25 advertising spots for that game. But he really only had room for 22 of them. The game was tied near the end of regulation and the Pipers still had about 3 spots to run. Cranwell was fearful that they'd never get another shot at television if those ads didn't run. So during a timeout he ran down to the Carolina huddle and told the Cougars' coach, Bones McKinney, about his plight. Cranwell hinted that it would help the ABA in general if the game went into overtime. Bones didn't say yes or no, but a Cougars player (Cranwell doesn't recall his name) promptly missed two shots, and the Pipers got their overtime. Cranwell still doesn't know if Carolina did it on purpose."

MEMORIES OF PAUL DORMAN: "I was playing high school basketball during the heyday of the ABA, so that combined with the fact that I lived 175 miles from Pittsburgh made it difficult to attend a lot of Pipers games. But my grandparents lived outside of Pittsburgh so occasionally we made it to a game while we were on family trips. I can remember seeing the L.A. Stars, Kentucky Colonels and the Indiana Pacers play the Pipers the year that they came back to Pittsburgh (1969-70). The city basically wrote the team off for good reason. It was hard to have many fans left after the team deserted Pittsburgh the year that it won the championship, and then came back two years later with its tail between its legs. There were never many people at Pipers games, maybe a thousand or two. I can remember just walking up and buying courtside tickets for $4 or $5. However despite all of this, the games were great fun for a kid my age who had never seen pro basketball before. I have many memories of Darel Carrier and Louie Dampier raining three pointers, Mel Daniels and Roger Brown dominating games, and John Brisker, Charlie Williams, Chico Vaughn and Mike Lewis (my personal favorite) playing for the Pipers, and later the Condors."

MEMORIES OF LARRY LEVIN: "I grew up in Pittsburgh. When the Pipers returned pro basketball to the city (after the Rens of the ABL), I began to follow the team. My favorite players were of course Connie Hawkins and Art Heyman. Heyman was the team cut-up. I remember getting tickets to the final game of the 1967-68 Championship Series. My friend and I got floor seats. A ball came our way during the game and my friend went to retrieve it. He gave the ball to the referee and then began to wave wildly towards the television cameras (this was before Jumbotrons in the arenas). We were quite disappointed when the team moved to Minnesota. Even though it eventually came back, things were never the same."

MEMORIES OF ED DEMARCO: "To a 13 year-old basketball fan growing up in Pittsburgh, the Pipers were 'Heaven on Earth.' They ran a 16-and-under $1 admission promotion. I saw all the 1967-68 regular season and playoff games at the Civic Arena. My father always gave me enough money for a bus ride to and from the game, admission, a program, popcorn, and soda (or 'pop' as we say in Pittsburgh). Connie Hawkins, Chico Vaughn, Charlie Williams, Tom Washington and Art Heyman were our starters. Jim Jarvis, Richie Parks, Willie Porter and Craig Dill were our bench players. Vince Cazzetta was the coach. It was the time of my young life. I was crushed when they moved to Minnesota. In fact, I've never rooted for a Minnesota team since. It was very enjoyable when the Steelers defeated the Vikings in the Super Bowl in the mid 70's. I'm now 45 years old and my interest in sports has lessened greatly. But I'll always remember the 1967-68 Pipers."

MEMORIES OF PAT COSGROVE: "During the 1969-70 preseason I attended a game in Bayonne, New Jersey between the New York Nets and the Pipers. A crowd of about 2,800 saw a vastly improved Nets squad. As for the Pipers, the only player who generated any interest prior to the contest was former Marquette star George Thompson. However, an out of shape Thompson played only limited minutes. Another Piper (at right) actually stole the show. By the second quarter, people were becoming extremely curious about a "mystery man." He was built like a linebacker, and he flashed a feathery jump shot from all over the gym. By the time the game ended everybody in attendance knew the name: John Brisker."

1967-68 Season (Pittsburgh Pipers)

Record: 54-24, First Place in Eastern Division
1968 Playoff Results:

Eastern Division Semifinals vs. Indiana Pacers (38-40)
Pipers won series, 3-0

Eastern Division Finals vs. Minnesota Muskies (50-28)
Pipers won series, 4-1

ABA Championship vs. New Orleans Buccaneers (48-30)
Pipers won ABA Championship, 4-3

Record: 36-42, Fourth Place in Eastern Division
1968 Playoff Results:

Eastern Division Semifinals vs. Miami Floridians (43-35)
Floridians won series, 4-3

Record: 29-55, Fifth Place in Eastern Division
Missed Playoffs