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Philadelphia Warriors Team Formation
The Warriors were founded in 1946 as the Philadelphia Warriors, a charter member of the Basketball Association of America. They were owned by Peter A. Tyrrell, who also owned the Philadelphia Rockets of the American Hockey League.
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NBA Finals Winner
The 1955 – 1956 NBA season was the tenth season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Philadelphia Warriors winning the NBA Championship, beating the Fort Wayne Pistons 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
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Signed Wilt Chamberlain
In 1959, the team signed draft pick Wilt Chamberlain. Known as “Wilt the Stilt”, he led the team in scoring six times, quickly began shattering NBA scoring records and changed the NBA style of play forever. On March 2, 1962, in a Warrior “home” game played on a neutral court in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Chamberlain scored 100 points against the New York Knicks, a single-game record the NBA ranks among its finest moments.
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100 Point Game – Wilt Chamberlain
Wilt Chamberlain set the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association (NBA) by scoring 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a 169–147 win over the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962, at Hershey Sports Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania. It is widely considered one of the greatest records in basketball. Chamberlain set five other league records that game including most free throws made, a notable achievement, as he was regarded as a poor free throw shooter. The teams broke the record for most combined points in a game (316). That season, Chamberlain averaged a record 50.4 points per game, and he had broken the NBA single-game scoring record (71) earlier in the season in December with 78 points. The third-year center had already set season scoring records in his first two seasons. In the fourth quarter, the Knicks began fouling other players to keep the ball away from Chamberlain, and they also became deliberate on offense to reduce the number of possessions for Philadelphia. The Warriors countered by committing fouls of their own to get the ball back.
The game was not televised, and no video footage of the game has been recovered; there are only audio recordings of the game’s fourth quarter. The NBA was not yet a major sports league and struggled to compete against college basketball. The attendance at this game was around half of capacity, and there were no members of the New York press at the game.
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Mieuli Moves to SF
In 1962, Franklin Mieuli purchased the majority shares of the team and relocated the franchise to the San Francisco Bay Area, renaming them the San Francisco Warriors.
The Warriors were founded in 1946 as the Philadelphia Warriors, a charter member of the Basketball Association of America. They were owned by Peter A. Tyrrell, who also owned the Philadelphia Rockets of the American Hockey League. Tyrrell hired Eddie Gottlieb, a longtime basketball promoter in the Philadelphia area, as coach and general manager. The owners named the team after the Philadelphia Warriors, an old basketball team who played in the American Basketball League in 1925.
Established
1946
City
Philadelphia – San Francisco – Oakland – San Francisco
League History
1949 – Present / National Basketball Association
1946 – 1949 / Basketball Association of America
Team History
1971 – Present / Golden State Warriors
1962 – 1971 / San Francisco Warriors
1946 – 1962 / Philadelphia Warriors
Nickname
Warriors – Historical connection with the Delaware Indians who inhabited the Philadelphia area before British Colonist displaced them.
Championship
NBA Championships 1
2018, 2017, 2015, 1975, 1956
Basketball Association of America Championship 1
1947
Arena
2020 – Present / Chase Center
*Oakland*
2006 – 2019 / Oracle Arena
2005 – 2006 / Oakland Arena
1997 – 2005 / The Arena in Oakland
1971 – 1996 / Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena
*San Francisco*
1966 – 1971 / Cow Palace
1964 – 1966 / San Francisco Civic Auditorium & USF War Memorial Gymnasium
1962 – 1964 / Cow Palace
*Philadelphia*
1952 – 1962 / Philadelphia Convention Hall
1946 – 1962 / Philadelphia Arena
Owner
2010 – Present / Peter Guber and Joe Lacob
1995 – 2010 / Chris Cohan
1986 – 1995 / Jim Fitzgerald
1962 – 1986 / Franklin Mieuli
1952 – 1962 / Eddie Gottlieb
1946 – 1952 / Pete Tyrell
Retired Number
13 / Wilt Chamberlain
14 / Tom Meschery
16 / Al Attles
17 / Chris Mullin
24 / Rick Barry
42 / Nate Thurmond
*Blue is this team’s history