Minnesota Buckskins
Sport | Team tennis |
---|---|
Founded | May 22, 1973 |
Folded | November 26, 1974 |
League | World TeamTennis |
Division | Western |
Based in | Bloomington, Minnesota |
Stadium | Met Center |
Colors | English Violet, Golden Yellow |
Owner | Burt McGlynn |
President | Burt McGlynn |
Head coach | Owen Davidson |
Championships | None |
Division titles | None |
Playoff berths | 1974 |
Section titles | 1974 |
The Minnesota Buckskins were a charter franchise of
Team history
The Buckskins were founded by Lee Meade, Len Vannelli and John Finley as a charter member of WTT in 1973.[1][2]
Prior to the inaugural WTT draft, each franchise was entitled to sign a player in advance and then use its first-round draft selection on that player. Before the team even had a name, the Minnesota franchise made an aggressive play for
Minnesota's top 10 draft choices in the WTT inaugural draft were[5]
Round | No. | Overall | Player chosen |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 11 | 11 | Linda Tuero |
2 | 6 | 22 | Owen Davidson |
3 | 11 | 43 | Stan Smith |
4 | 6 | 54 | Pat Walkden-Pretorius |
5 | 11 | 75 | Bob Hewitt |
6 | 6 | 86 | Brenda Kirk |
7 | 11 | 107 | Patrick Proisy |
8 | 6 | 118 | Corrado Barazzutti |
9 | 11 | 139 | Nathalie Fuchs |
10 | 6 | 150 | Sue Stap |
Just before the start of the season, Meade, Vannelli and Finley sold the Buckskins to
The first match in Buckskins' history was a 30–28 loss to the Houston E-Z Riders at home on May 7, 1974, in front of 2,317 fans. The Buckskins drew a crowd of 9,300 for their home match against King and the Freedoms.[7]
The Buckskins featured player-coach
The Buckskins finished the season with 27 wins and 17 losses and were the Gulf Plains Section Champions. They were matched up with the E-Z Riders in the Western Division Semifinals.[4][15]
WTT playoff series in the division semifinals and division championship series in 1974, were played over two legs, one match on the home court of each team. The team with the best aggregate score over the two matches was the winner. The higher seed had the right to choose whether to play the first or second match at home. The Buckskins chose to open at home and lost the first match to the E-Z Riders, 28–19. The Buckskins went to
Following the division semifinal victory over the E-Z Riders, it was reported that WTT had taken over the Buckskins and paid players six weeks of back salaries.[18]
The Racquets chose to open the series at home won the first match in Denver, 29–18. Françoise Dürr of the Racquets beat Haydon-Jones, 6–1, in women's singles and then teamed with Kris Kemmer Shaw to beat Turnbull and Schallau in women's doubles by the same 6–1 score.[13] The Buckskins came back at home to win the second match, 26–25.[19] It was not enough as the Racquets won the Western Division title by a cumulative score of 54–44 and ended the season for Minnesota.[4][15]
Despite the Buckskins' success on the court and the large crowd for the match against the Freedoms, the team was unable to generate enough revenue for McGlynn to consider it viable. He tried to sell the Buckskins to local investors after the season ended. On November 6, 1974, McGlynn announced that the local interests in the Buckskins had dried up, and the team would either fold or be sold and moved. He mentioned that there was interest from investor groups in
Hall of Fame players
The following players who are enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame played for the Minnesota Buckskins:
1974 roster
The Minnesota Buckskins roster for the 1974 season was
- Owen Davidson, Player-Coach
- Shari Barman
- Ann Haydon-Jones
- Bob Hewitt
- Terry Holladay
- David Lloyd
- Mona Schallau
- Wendy Turnbull
See also
References
- ^ "Next in Pittsburgh Pro Sports—'Triangles': Net Loop Begins Play Next May". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. May 23, 1973. p. 30. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- Sporting News.
- ^ a b "Buckskins' Offer Turned Down: Billie Jean Said No to $2 million". Winona Daily News. June 2, 1974. p. 23.
- ^ a b c d e "Steve Dimitry's Extinct Sports Leagues: World Team Tennis (1974–1978)". Steve Dimitry. 1998. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
- ^ "World Team Tennis Draft Gets Newcombe, King First". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. August 4, 1973. p. B2. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ "Burt McGlynn of McGlynn Bakeries Dies". Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. January 1, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
- ^ .
- ^ a b "34: Owen Davidson". World TeamTennis. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
- ^ Plus, Patrick (July 19, 2014). "Wait to Attend a Soccer Game in Town was Worth It". Star Tribune. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
- ^ "LTA to Honor Ann Jones". 10sBalls.com. May 2, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
- ^ "Shari Barman". Barman International Enterprises, Ltd. 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
- ^ "Newcombe Ace for E-Z Riders". The Beaver County Times. May 14, 1974. p. B2. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
- ^ a b "Racquets Rip Bucksins". Daily Review. Hayward, California. August 23, 1974. p. 34.
- ^ a b "Billie Jean Drafts Bobby Riggs". Bangor Daily News. November 27, 1974. p. 18. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
- ^ a b c "World Team Tennis Life Events". World TeamTennis. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
- ^ "WTT Roundup". Hattiesburg American. August 21, 1974. p. 14.
- ^ "Four Teams Score Wins in Net Play". Spokane Daily Chronicle. August 21, 1974. p. 16. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ "Racquets Host Bucksins in WTT Playoff Semifinals". Greeley Daily Tribune. August 22, 1974. p. 35.
- ^ "Racquets Make WTT Playoff Finals". Greeley Daily Tribune. August 24, 1974. p. 16.
- ^ "Buckskins out of WTT?". The Argus. Fremont, California. November 7, 1974.
- ^ "Billie Jean Picks Riggs in WTT Draft". The Bakersfield Californian. November 27, 1974. p. 18.