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1968–69 Oakland Oaks season

1968–69 Oakland Oaks season
ABA champions
Division champions
Head coachAlex Hannum
General managerScotty Stirling
Owner(s)Pat Boone
S. Kenneth Davidson
Dennis A. Murphy
ArenaOakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena
Results
Record60–18 (.769)
PlaceDivision: 1st
Playoff finishWon ABA Championship
Local media
TelevisionKEMO 20
< 1967–68 1969–70 >

The 1968–69 Oakland Oaks season was the second and final season of the Oaks existing under that name in the ABA. The Oaks finished the season first in the Western Division and won their first and only ABA title in the process. They were helped in part by the hiring of Alex Hannum and Rick Barry for $85,000 per year alongside drafting rookie Warren Jabali in the 1968 ABA draft.

In the ABA Western Division Semifinals, they defeated the Denver Rockets in a tough seven game series on their end. In the ABA Western Division Finals, they swept the previous Western Division Champions, the New Orleans Buccaneers, in four games. Finally, they would beat the Eastern Division Champions, the Indiana Pacers, in five games to secure the championship that season.[1]

Despite their success for the season, however, the team still operated at a loss. Despite being owned by singer Pat Boone alongside S. Kenneth Davidson and Dennis A. Murphy, the team lost money due to the proximity of the San Francisco Warriors. Not only that, but a blank check after winning the ABA Championship that season had the team risk being foreclosed upon via bankruptcy before new ownership stepped in by the eleventh hour to help save the franchise. As such, despite winning the title, the team moved to Washington, D.C. to become the Washington Caps. That team's existence would only last for one season before they moved the Caps to the nearby state of Virginia to become a regional franchise known as the Virginia Squires for the rest of their tenure going forward from there.

Roster

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1968–69 Oakland Oaks roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
G 44 Andrew Anderson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) July 6, 1945 Canisius
SF 24 Rick Barry 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) March 28, 1944 Miami (FL)
PF 30 Gary Bradds 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) July 26, 1942 Ohio State
PG 11 Larry Brown 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) September 14, 1940 North Carolina
SF 32 John Clawson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) May 15, 1944 Michigan
PG 14 Russ Critchfield 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 150 lb (68 kg) June 27, 1946 California
C 42 Jim Eakins 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) May 24, 1946 BYU
C 33 Ira Harge 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) March 14, 1941 New Mexico
SG 15, 31 Warren Jabali 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) August 29, 1946 Wichita State
PG 12 Henry Logan 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) March 14, 1946 Western Carolina
SF 34 Doug Moe 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) September 21, 1938 North Carolina
SG 40 Mel Peterson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) March 23, 1938 Wheaton College
Head coach
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster

Season standings

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Team W L PCT. GB
Oakland Oaks 60 18 .769 -
New Orleans Buccaneers 46 32 .590 14
Denver Rockets 44 34 .564 16
Dallas Chaparrals 41 37 .526 19
Los Angeles Stars 33 45 .423 27
Houston Mavericks 23 55 .295 37

Playoffs

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Western Division Semifinals[2]

Game Date Location Score Record Attendance
1 April 5 Oakland 129–99 1–0 2,358
2 April 6 Oakland 119–122 1–1 1,580
3 April 8 Denver 121–99 2–1 5,062
4 April 10 Denver 108–109 2–2 5,431
5 April 12 Oakland 128–118 3–2 3,156
6 April 13 Denver 115–126 3–3 6,481
7 April 16 Oakland 115–102 4–3 5,123

Oaks win series, 4–3

Division Finals[2]

Game Date Location Score Record Attendance
1 April 19 Oakland 128–118 1–0 2,848
2 April 21 Oakland 135–124 2–0 1,749
3 April 23 New Orleans 113–107 3–0 4,253
4 April 25 New Orleans 128–114 4–0 3,583

Oaks win series, 4–0

ABA Finals[2]

Game Date Location Score Record Attendance
1 April 30 Oakland 123–114 1–0 3,290
2 May 2 Oakland 122–150 1–1 4,171
3 May 3 Indiana 134–126 (OT) 2–1 8,467
4 May 5 Indiana 144–117 3–1 7,133
5 May 7 Oakland 135–131 (OT) 4–1 6,340

Oaks win championship series, 4–1

For scoring 21.5 points per game with 9.7 rebounds per game during the playoffs, rookie guard Warren Jabali was named Playoffs MVP.

Awards, records, and honors

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References

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  1. ^ "1968-69 Oakland Oaks Roster and Stats".
  2. ^ a b c "Remember the ABA: 1968-69 Regular Season Standings and Playoff Results". Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
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