- 1957
- 1960
- 1966
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Move to Cincinnati
In April 1957, the Harrison brothers moved the Royals to Cincinnati. This move followed a well-received regular-season game played at Cincinnati Gardens on February 1, 1957. The change of venue had been said to have been suggested by Jack Twyman and Dave Piontek, who were two of several roster players on the new Royals from that region. Cincinnati, which had ... -
Oscar Robertson era
In 1960, the team was able to land local superstar Oscar Robertson. Robertson led a team that included Twyman, Wayne Embry, Bob Boozer, Bucky Bockhorn, Tom Hawkins, and Adrian Smith over the next three seasons. The Royals reversed their fortunes with Robertson and rose to title contender. An ownership dispute in early 1963 scuttled the team’s playoff chances when new ... -
New Owners Jacobs
In 1966, the team was sold to Max and Jeremy Jacobs. That same season, the Royals began playing some of their home games in neutral sites such as Cleveland (until the Cavaliers began to play in 1970), Dayton, and Columbus, Ohio which was the norm for the rest of the Royals tenure in the Queen City. New coach Bob Cousy ...
History of the Royals
The Cincinnati Royals were a professional basketball team active in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1957 to 1972. The franchise, which began as the Rochester Royals, moved to Cincinnati in 1957 and became known as the Cincinnati Royals. During their 15-year tenure in Ohio’s Queen City, they made two NBA Finals appearances and won four division titles.
Led by Hall of Fame players such as Oscar Robertson and Jack Twyman, along with other notable stars like Wayne Embry and Jerry Lucas, the Royal teams of this era were some of the most successful teams ever assembled for an NBA franchise located outside New York City or Los Angeles at that period. In the 1961-62 season under head coach Paul Seymour led them to an impressive 56–26 record, good enough for first place finish in Eastern Division; however, they lost out on the championship title after losing 4–3 against Boston Celtics during playoffs finals series. Despite these successes, the team never won any championship titles during its stay there.
By 1971 financial difficulties forced owner Bob Carpenter Jr., who had bought majority shares back in 1965, to sell his controlling interest club, eventually leading to relocation to Kansas City, Missouri, where it rebranded itself Kansas City Kings the following year, 1973 thus ending fifteen years long association between Cincinnatians & their beloved royal side. Although a brief stint here may have been relatively unsuccessful, it did produce some memorable moments & legendary names which remain firmly etched into history books today, making them worthy successors original Rochester Royals' side founded in 1948.
Royals Products
Established
1923
City
Rochester – Cincinnati – Kansas City – Sacramento
League History
1949 – Present / National Basketball Association
1948 – 1949 / Basketball Association of America
1945 – 1948 / National Basketball League
1923 – 1945 / Various Unknown Leagues
Team History
1985 – Present / Sacramento Kings
1975 – 1985 / Kansas City Kings
1972 – 1975 / Kansas City-Omaha Kings
1957 – 1972 / Cincinnati Royals
1923 – 1957 / Rochester Royals
Nickname
Royals – The Cincinnati Royals are a long-standing NBA team that has existed since the 1940s. The team's original name was the Rochester Royals, but after moving to Cincinnati in 1957, they adopted their current moniker. But where did this nickname come from?
It turns out that there is quite an interesting story behind it! When the franchise first began playing in 1945 as part of the National Basketball League (NBL), they were known as "The Rochester Seagrams," named after their sponsor at the time - Seagram Distillers Company. However, when NBL merged with BAA and formed what we know today as NBA, owners changed their name to reflect more regal origins - hence "Cincinnati Royals."
Interestingly enough, though, this wasn't just due to some random choice by ownership; it was because of a special connection between one particular owner and royalty itself! That man was Les Harrison, who had once served on the board of directors for the British Royal Family’s racing stable called “Royal Stables Ltd,” which he believed gave him the right to use the term “royals" for his basketball team. Thus began an era where fans could proudly cheer on The Cincinnati Royals each season!
Today however, much has changed about both teams' names and locations; despite all these changes over the years, one thing remains the same – love for the history behind them still burns strong among diehard sports fanatics everywhere! So next time you're watching your favorite game or cheering along with other supporters at the stadium, don't forget to take a moment to appreciate how far back roots go...all way back to King George VI himself, perhaps?
Championship
NBA Championships 0
1951
Arena
2016 – Present / Golden 1 Center
2012 – 2016 / Sleep Train Arena
2011 – 2012 / Power Balance Pavilion
1888 – 2010 / ARCO Arena II
1985 – 1988 / ARCO Arena I
*Kansas City*
1974 – 1985 / Kemper Arena
1972 – 1978 / Omaha Civic Auditorium
1972 – 1974 / Kansas City Municipal Auditorium
*Cincinnati*
1957 – 1972 / Cincinnati Gardens
*Rochester*
1955 – 1957 / Rochester War Memorial
1949 – 1954 / Edgerton Park Arena
1923 – 1948 / Unknown Arena
Owner
2013 – Present / Vivek Ranadive
1999 – 2013 / George, Joe and Gavin Maloof
1992 – 1999 / Jim Thomas
1985 – 1992 / Gregg Lukenbill and Joe Benvenuti
1959 – 1985 / Thomas Woods
1923 – 1959 / Les and Jack Harrison
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.
Retired Number
1 / Nate Archibald
2 / Mitch Richmond
4 / Chris Webber
6 / Sacramento Fans “The Sixth Man”
11 / Bob Davies
12 / Maurice Stokes
14 / Oscar Robertson
16 / Peja Stojakovic
21 / Vlade Divac
27 / Jack Twyman
44 / Sam Lacey
*Blue is this team’s history
