- 1975
- 1976
-
New Nickname “Sails”
Bloom sold the franchise during the summer of 1975 to Frank Goldberg, a former co-owner of the successful Denver Nuggets franchise. Goldberg started anew, renaming the team the San Diego Sails for 1975 – 1976. Goldberg hired former University of Minnesota coach Bill Musselman and, with a completely different roster, color scheme, set of uniforms, and just about everything else, ... -
Sails Demise
After the Sails’ demise, the club’s roster was put out to auction among the ABA’s eight remaining clubs. Guard Bo Lamar, and big men Mark Olberding and Dave Robisch were the only Sails players to receive bids. The exception was the team’s best player, All-Star center Caldwell Jones. ABA Commissioner Dave DeBusschere held Jones out of the auction as a ...
History of the Sails
The San Diego Sails were an American Basketball Association team based in San Diego.
Bloom sold the franchise during the summer of 1975 to Frank Goldberg, a former co-owner of the successful Denver Nuggets franchise. Goldberg started anew, renaming the team the San Diego Sails and hiring former University of Minnesota coach Bill Musselman. With a completely different roster, color scheme, set of uniforms, and just about everything else, the re-branded Sails sought to repeat Denver's turnaround a season earlier from mediocrity to championship contender.
With the team lacking fan support or a long-term future, Goldberg folded the franchise on November 12. The ABA, which planned to start the season with ten teams only to have the Baltimore Claws fold after three exhibition games, saw its number drop to eight with the Sails' failure; on December 2, the Utah Stars also disbanded, cutting the league to seven teams and forcing the ABA to shrink its two-division setup to just one.
Established
1972
City
San Diego
League History
1972 – 1975 / American Basketball Association
Team History
1975 / San Diego Sails
1972 – 1975 / San Diego Conquistadors
Nickname
Sails – The name is due to all the sail boats located in the San Diego Harbor.
Championship
ABA Championships 0
Arena
1974 – 1975 / San Diego Sports Arena
1973 – 1974 / Golden Hall
1972 – 1973 / Peterson Gym
Owner
1975 / Frank Goldberg
1972 – 1975 / Leonard Bloom
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
1975 / Bill Musselman
1974 – 1975 / Alex Groza and Beryl Shipley
1973 – 1974 / Wilt Chamberlain
1972 – 1973 / K.C. Jones
*Blue is this team’s history