Kentucky Colonels Team History
The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league’s nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of any franchise in the league’s history, but the team did not join the NBA in the 1976 ABA–NBA merger. The downtown Louisville Convention Center (now known as The Gardens) was the Colonels’ original venue for the first three seasons before moving to Freedom Hall for the remaining seasons, beginning with the 1970 – 1971 schedule.
Established
1967
City
Kentucky
League History
1967 – 1976 / American Basketball Association
Team History
1967 – 1976 / Kentucky Colonels
Nickname
Colonels – The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. It is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer.
Championship
ABA Championships 0
1975
Arena
1970 – 1976 / Freedom Hall
1967 – 1970 / Louisville Convention Center
Owner
1973 – 1976 / John Y. Brown, Jr. and Ellie Brown
1969 – 1973 / H. Wendell Cherry, Bill DeWitt, Stuart Jay, David Jones, John Y. Brown, Jr. and Mike Storen
1967 – 1969 / Joseph E. Gregory, Mamie Gregory and William C. Boone
1967 / Don Regan
Coach
1974 – 1976 / Hubie Brown
1973 – 1974 / Babe McCarthy
1971 – 1973 / Joe Mullaney
1970 – 1971 / Frank Ramsey
1970 / Alex Groza
1967 – 1970 / Gene Rhodes
1967 / John Givens
*Blue is this team’s history
