Franchise Snapshot: Memphis Pros … Tams … Sounds - basketball - Brief Article

Basketball Digest, Nov, 2001

* The New Orleans Buccaneers moved to Memphis in 1970, giving the city its first professional sports franchise. The Pros (1970-71 to 1971-72) were so named because the club had already purchased its Bucs uniforms for $1,000 and didn't want to dramatically alter them.

* The Pros almost went out of business in 1971, but 4,600 fans and local supporters (including one dog) bought $5 stock shares of the team in a "Save our Pros" campaign.

* Oakland A's owner Charlie Finley bought the Pros in 1972, renaming them the Tams (1972-73 to 1973-74). Finley thought the new nickname was appropriate because the team supposedly had fans in [T]ennessee, [A]rkansas, and [M]ississippi.

* The Tams wore green, gold, and white tops and trunks. At home, they sometimes wore white tops with green trunks; on the road, the Tams sometimes wore green shirts with white trunks. Team "usherettes" wore form-fitting gold body shirts, green hot pants, and gold boots.

* On March 18, 1972, Carolina Cougar Larry Miller dropped an ABA all-time high 67 points on the Tams.

* Finley offered fans ("Mustache Night" on Feb. 25, 1973) and players incentives for growing facial hair, including new suits and mustache spoons.

* During the 1973-74 season, the Tams were so strapped for cash they didn't print game programs for their own home games.

* Former ABA commissioner Mike Storen took over the franchise for the 1974-75 season, naming it the Sounds. One of the team owners was the "Shaft" man himself, Isaac Hayes.

* Memphis's all-time ABA regular season record was 139-281 (.331). In the postseason, the team went 1-8 (.125), getting its one win after qualifying for the 1974-75 playoffs with a regular-season record of 27-57.