Tombstone
Born: 1985 TeamTennis expansion franchise
Folded: December 3, 1986
First Match:
Last Match:
Team Tennis Championships: None
Arena
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena
Opened: 1966
Marketing
Team Colors: Green & Gold
Ownership
Owner: Roy Eisenhardt
Attendance
Attendance data for the 1980’s-era TeamTennis seasons is hard to come by. We have this press report of Aces team average attendance for the 1985 and 1986 seasons, but don’t have league-wide figures (yet) to show comparison or determine attendance ranks.
Source: NO BYLINE. “SIDE LINES; Oakland Aces deal themselves out”. The Press-Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA). December 5, 1986
Background
The Oakland Aces were a brief entry in World Team Tennis in 1985 and 1986. (Technically the league was known as “Domino’s Pizza TeamTennis during the two seasons the Aces existed thanks to a reported $5 million, three-year sponsorship with the pizza chain).
The owner of the Aces was Oakland A’s President Roy Eisenhardt. The team shared its green & gold uniform colors with the Major League Baseball club.
The summertime league attracted no big names during this era, as it had in the past and would again in the future, due to the low pay on offer. The 32 players who competed in TeamTennis in 1985 received no base pay and competed for their share of a $400,000 league incentive pool that paid out for wins.
The Aces 1985 roster included Marty Davis, Chris Dunk, Sharon Walsh and Pete & Barbara Jordan.
Crowds were meager in the NBA-sized Oakland Coliseum. The Aces averaged 958 fans per match in 1985 and 670 fans per match in 1986. The Aces lost a reported $100,000 over two seasons and Roy Eisenhardt folded the club in December 1986.1NO BYLINE. “SIDE LINES; Oakland Aces deal themselves out”. The Press-Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA). December 5, 1986
World Team Tennis Shop
Links
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