Washington Caps

Washington Caps
Washington Caps
	Washington Coliseum
Location	Washington, D.C.
Team colors	Green and yellow;
Head coach	Al Bianchi

The Washington Caps were an American Basketball Association team from 1969 through 1970. The franchise had previously been the Oakland Oaks. From 1970 through 1976 the team played as the Virginia Squires.

Origins

With the formation of the ABA in February 1967 a team was awarded to

Steve Jones and Levern Tart. Barry, however, was prevented from playing in the ABA due to a lawsuit brought by his former NBA team (regarding enforcement of the reserve clause in his contract), so he spent the season as an Oaks radio announcer instead of as a player. The Oaks won the very first ABA game in 1967 (a 132–129 victory against the Anaheim Amigos on October 3, 1967. After Barry returned in the 1967–68 season, they breezed through the regular season then won the 1969 ABA Championship over the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs. However, the Bank of America was threatening to foreclose on a $1.2 million loan to the team and in August, 1969, a group of investors led by real estate attorney Earl Foreman

bought the team and moved it to Washington, D.C., for the upcoming season.

The one season (1969–70)

With the move came a new identity for the team as the green and gold clad Washington Caps.

Warren Armstrong

participated in the ABA All Star game, but injuries limited their playing time for the season.

In March 1970 the

ABA-NBA merger

appeared close at hand under conditions that would have required the Washington Caps to relocate, but a subsequent lawsuit derailed the merger until June 1976.

In defiance of all geographic reality, the Caps assumed the Oaks' place in the Western Division despite their move to the Eastern Seaboard. This kept them constantly on the road at faraway venues (their nearest divisional rivals, the

1968 race riots. Fears that the neighborhood wasn't safe dragged down attendance. Due to the long travel distances involved in divisional play, the Caps played some home games in places like Wichita, Kansas and even Mexico City, Mexico

but did not fare well in those supposed home games.

However, due to a solid record in their real home games, the Caps finished the season with 44 wins and 40 losses. The Caps' record put them in third place in the Western Division, 7 games behind the

Denver Rockets and one game behind the Dallas Chaparrals. In the 1970 ABA Playoffs

the Caps faced the Denver Rockets in the Western Division semifinals and took the series to seven games before losing 143–119 in the finale in Denver.

Basketball Hall of Famers

Washington Caps Hall of Famers
Players
No.	Name	Position	Tenure	Inducted
24	Rick Barry	F	1969–1970	1987

Season-by-season

Note: W = wins, L = losses, % = win–loss %

Season	W	L	%	Playoffs	Results
Washington Caps
1969–70	44	40	.524	Lost Division Semifinals	Denver 4, Washington 3

Virginia Squires

After the conclusion of the 1969–1970 season the Caps were forced to move once again. At the time,

Baltimore Bullets, Abe Pollin, wanted to move his team to Washington, and didn't want the Caps there. The other ABA owners persuaded Foreman to move the Caps for the second time in as many seasons. (However, the Caps name would be somewhat revived, this time for a National Hockey League expansion team called the Washington Capitals - also owned by Pollin - in 1974. Since then, the Capitals have been co-tenants with the Bullets/Wizards franchise at the Capital Centre and Capital One Arena

.)

Foreman decided to make the Caps a regional franchise, the

Roanoke Civic Center

. However, Roanoke was dropped from the list of "home" cities after only one season. The Squires' colors were red, white, and blue.

The Squires would continue to play in every ABA season through 1976. At the conclusion of the 1975–1976 season the Squires, having fallen on hard times, were unable to make a league-mandated financial assessment. The Squires were disbanded after the season but just prior to the

ABA-NBA merger

in June 1976.

External links

Remember the ABA Washington Caps page