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Milwaukee Hawks Team History

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Milwaukee Hawks




  • 1951
  • 1954
  • Milwaukee Hawks 1951

    Move to Milwaukee from Tri-City

    The Blackhawks finished last in the Western Division and missed the playoffs. By then, it was obvious that the Tri-Cities area was too small to support an NBA team. After the season, the franchise relocated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and became the Milwaukee Hawks.
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  • Bob_Pettit_1962

    Signing Bob Pettit

    The Hawks finally got a superstar in Bob Pettit who was drafted out of Louisiana State. In his first season, Pettit would earn Rookie of the Year honors while finishing fourth in scoring a 20.4 ppg. However, it would not be enough to lift the Hawks out of the last place as they posted a record of 26-46. Following the ...
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History of the Hawks

The Milwaukee Hawks are a professional basketball team that has been part of the National Basketball Association (NBA) since 1951. The franchise began in 1946 as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, based in Moline, Illinois. In 1951, they moved to Milwaukee and became known as the Hawks. Since then, they have experienced both highs and lows throughout their history with some memorable moments along the way.

In the 1955-56 season under head coach Red Holzman led by Bob Pettit's 25 points per game average and Cliff Hagan's 24-point average helped propel them to an NBA Championship title over Bill Russell’s Boston Celtics 4 games to 3 on April 16th, 1956 at Boston Garden for their first ever championship win after 8 years of trying. This was one of the greatest moments in Hawk’s history which is fondly remembered by fans even today!

Over time, however, fortunes changed drastically for this once proud franchise culminating with relocation from Wisconsin back to St Louis Missouri where it had originally started out before moving into Wisconsin all those many years ago. After two seasons there, the owners decided to move yet again this time permanently settling down in Atlanta Georgia where it currently resides now playing its home games at State Farm Arena right next door Philips arena was formerly known as Phillips Center or Omni center when first opened up back 1993. Even though much has changed over these past many decades, one thing remains true: That being no matter what city or state its members play for, this team still carries the same name that proudly represented the people of Wisconsin so long ago.





Established
1946

City
Tri-Cities - Milwaukee - St. Louis - Atlanta

League History
1949 – Present / National Basketball Association
1946 – 1949 / National Basketball League

Team History
1968 – Present / Atlanta Hawks
1955 – 1968 / St. Louis Hawks
1951 – 1955 / Milwaukee Hawks
1946 – 1951 / Tri-Cities Blackhawks

Nickname
Hawks - The Tri-City Blackhawk’s name was shorted to just Hawks after the team moved to Milwaukee.

Championship
NBA Championships 0
1958

Arena
2019 - Present / State Farm Arena
1999 - 2018 / Philips Arena
1997 – 1999 / Georgia Dome & Alexander Memorial Coliseum
1972 – 1997 / The Omni
1968 – 1972 / Alexander Memorial Coliseum

*St. Louis*
1955 – 1968 / Kiel Auditorium

*Milwaukee*
1951 – 1955 / Milwaukee Arena

*Moline*
1946 – 1951 / Wharton Field House

Owner
2015 – Present / Tony Ressler
2004 – 2015 / Atlanta Spirit, LLC
1977 – 2004 / Ted Turner/Turner Broadcasting
1968 – 1976 / Tom Cousins/Cousins Corporation, Carl Sanders
1946 – 1968 / Ben Kerner

Who is the greatest Milwaukee Hawks?
  • Add your greatest player

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
9 / Bob Pettit
21 / Dominique Wilkins
23 / Lou Hudson
44 / Pete Maravich
55 / Dikembe Mutombo
59 / Kasim Reed
– / Ted Turner

*Blue is this team’s history

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