- 1967
- 1967
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Pipers Team Formation
The Pipers were one of the ABA’s inaugural franchises in 1967. The team had great success on the court, posting the league’s best record during the regular season (54-24, .692) and winning the league’s first ABA Championship. The Pipers were led by their star player, ABA MVP and future Hall-of-Famer Connie Hawkins, who led the ABA in scoring at 26.8 ... -
First ABA Championship
This was the first ABA championship. The Pittsburgh Pipers won the ABA championship in the playoffs after posting the league’s best record during the regular season (54-24, .692). The Minnesota Muskies had the league’s second-best record, but they played in the Eastern Division with the Pipers. Connie Hawkins of the Pittsburgh Pipers was the Most Valuable Player of the ABA ...
History of the Pipers
The Pittsburgh Pipers were one of the original American Basketball Association (ABA) teams, founded in 1967. The team was led by Hall of Fame player and coach Connie Hawkins, who had been banned from playing in the NBA due to a point-shaving scandal. Despite this setback, Hawkins led his team to an ABA championship title during their first season with 54 wins and 24 losses.
The Pipers' success continued into their second year as they won another ABA championship title with 55 wins and 25 losses. However, despite these two championships titles under Hawkins' leadership, financial issues caused them to move out of Pittsburgh after only two years in 1969; they relocated to Minnesota, where they became known as the Minnesota Pipers for one more season before disbanding altogether at that period's end.
Despite their short history within professional basketball leagues like ABA or NBA, contemporary sports fans fondly remember those glory days for Pittsburgh's pro-basketball franchise - The Pittsburgh Pipers! Fans can still reminisce about how great it felt watching Connie Hawkins leading his teammates on the court while wearing those iconic yellow jerseys back then, even if there is no longer any trace left from that golden era today other than memories shared among old-school basketball fans all around America!
Pipers Products
Established
1967
City
Pittsburgh – Minneapolis – Pittsburgh
League History
1967 – 1972 / American Basketball Association
Team History
1970 – 1972 / Pittsburgh Condors
1969 – 1970 / Pittsburgh Pipers
1968 – 1969 / Minnesota Pipers
1967 – 1968 / Pittsburgh Pipers
Nickname
Pipers – The Pittsburgh Pipers were the original professional basketball team in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1967 as part of the American Basketball Association (ABA), they played for two seasons before ultimately folding due to financial difficulties. Despite their short-lived existence, they remain an essential part of basketball history and are remembered fondly by many sports fans today.
One aspect that contributes to this nostalgia is their nickname: The Pipers! It may be a surprise that a basketball team would be named after something so seemingly unrelated - but it has quite an interesting origin story behind it!
As most people know, Pittsburgh is home to famous music institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music and Heinz Hall – home base for the renowned musical group known simply as “The Pipes.” This band was founded in 1965 with members from CMU and Pitt, playing traditional Scottish bagpipe tunes at local events around town – including sporting events like Pirates baseball games at Forbes Field or Steelers football games at Three Rivers Stadium! Because these musicians had become somewhat synonymous with athletics in Western PA over time when ABA co-founder George Mikan came up with the idea for a new pro hoops franchise, he thought “Pipers” would make perfect sense given the region's connection between music & sport already established within the community itself…and thus the name was born!
While we no longer have our beloved Pipers here, hopefully, this article can help bring back some good memories about how unique & special the nickname was/is all these years later...Go, PIPERS!!
Championship
ABA Championships 1
1967
Arena
*Pittsburgh*
1967 – 1968, 1969 – 1973 / Pittsburgh Civic Arena
*Minnesota*
1968 – 1969 / Bloomington’s Met Center
Owner
1970 – 1972 / Metro Sports Haven Industries
1967 – 1969 / Gabe Rubin
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.
Coaches
1971 – 1972 / Jack McMahon and Mark Binstein
1970 – 1971 / Jack McMahon
1969 – 1970 / John Clark and Buddy Jeanette
1968 – 1969 / Jim Harding and Vern Mikkelsen
1967 – 1968 / Vince Cazzetta
*Blue is this team’s history
