The Carolina Cougars franchise began when future Lieutenant Governor of North CarolinaJim Gardner bought the Houston Mavericks and moved them to North Carolina in 1969.[1] At the time, none of North Carolina's large metropolitan areas – Charlotte, the Piedmont Triad and the Triangle – was large enough to support a professional team on its own. With this in mind, Gardner decided to brand the Cougars as a "regional" team.[2] Gardner sold the team after one season to Ted Munchak, who poured significant resources into the team.[3]
Early on, the Cougars were not especially successful on the court, posting a 42–42 record in the 1969–70 season, a 34–50 record in 1970–71, and a 35–49 record in 1971–72.[4][5][6] The 1969–70 Cougars managed to make the ABA playoffs but lost in the Eastern Division semifinals (first round) to a much stronger Indiana Pacers team.[7] In spite of this, the Cougars had a good fan following, particularly in Greensboro.
Carolina went on to post a 57–27 record, which was the best in the ABA.[12] The Cougars beat the New York Nets in their first-round playoff series 4 games to 1, but lost a close series to the Kentucky Colonels 4 games to 3 in the Eastern Division finals.[13] There were many upset and disappointed fans in Greensboro when the Cougars decided to hold game 7 of the series in Charlotte. Of the 42 scheduled regular season home games, 25 were usually scheduled for Greensboro while only 12 were played in Charlotte. With Cougar management having the choice of city to play game 7, it mystified its Greensboro area fans with the choice to play such a pivotal game on a less familiar court. Game 7 was hotly contested but Kentucky prevailed, much to Cougar fans dismay.
The 1973–74 Cougars started the season strong, winning 17 of their first 22 games. Despite injuries and internal squabbles, the Cougars posted a 47–37 record but were swept in the Eastern Division semifinals 4 games to 0 by the Kentucky Colonels.[14]
Move to St. Louis
1973–74 turned out to be the Cougars' last season in North Carolina. Although they were moderately successful overall and had one of the most loyal fan bases in the ABA, talks toward an ABA–NBA merger were in the final stages, and it had become apparent that a "regional" franchise would not be viable in the NBA. Although the Charlotte/Greensboro/Raleigh axis (the Piedmont Crescent or I-85 Corridor) was beginning an unprecedented period of growth, none of these cities was big enough at the time to support an NBA team on its own. Additionally, several persons quoted in the book Loose Balls by Terry Pluto say the added travel expenses incurred by the regional concept ultimately proved insurmountable. Munchak sold the Cougars to a consortium of New York businessmen headed by brothers Ozzie and Daniel Silna, who moved to St. Louis as the Spirits of St. Louis. However, the new owners assembled an almost entirely new team after moving to St. Louis; only a few players from the 1973–74 Cougars suited up for the 1974–75 Spirits.
The Spirits were one of two teams that lasted until the very end of the league but not join the NBA; the other was the Kentucky Colonels (the Virginia Squires folded after the final ABA regular season ended but before the ABA–NBA merger due to their inability to meet a league-mandated financial assessment after the season ended.). At the time of the ABA–NBA merger, the Spirits' owners planned to move the team to Salt Lake City, Utah to play as the Utah Rockies; instead, it's players were dealt in the 1976 ABA dispersal draft.
Legacy
Professional basketball would return to North Carolina in 1988 when the Charlotte Hornets entered the NBA.
Carl Scheer, who won Executive of the Year as a member of the Cougars, would later become the first executive of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets. Cougars point guard Gene Littles would become an assistant coach, an executive, and the second head coach of the Hornets. Larry Brown, who coached the Cougars for two seasons and won Coach of the Year during his tenure, would eventually become the eighth head coach of Charlotte's NBA franchise.
