San Diego Conquistadors (1972-1975)

American Basketball Association (1972-1975)

Tombstone

Born: July 28, 1972 (ABA Expansion franchise)¹
Rebranded: July 28, 1975 (San Diego Sails)²

First Game: October 13, 1972 (L 109-100 vs. Denver Rockets)
Last Game: April 3, 1975 (L 148-121 @ Denver Nuggets)

ABA Championships: None

Arenas

Peterson Gymnasium (1972-1973)
Opened: May 1961³

Golden Hall (1973-1974)
Opened: September 13, 1965⁴

San Diego Sports Arena (1974-1975)
Opened: November 17, 1966⁵

Marketing

Team Colors: ⁶
1972-1975: Red, yellow, ad white

Ownership

Ownership:

Leonard Bloom (1972-1975)
Frank Goldberg & Bud Fischer (1975)

Background

The San Diego Conquistadors of the American Basketball Association (ABA) were established in 1972 as that league’s only expansion team. Six weeks before the franchise was awarded to local dentist Larry Bloom, two of the league’s other teams, the Pittsburgh Condors and The Floridians (based in Miami), folded. When the dust settled, the ABA had gone from an 11-team loop to a 10-team circuit.

Two weeks after joining the league, the team announced its problematic, even by 1970s standards, nickname. The mascot was a caricature of the Spanish explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo⁷ Three days later, the new team selected two players from each of the nine surviving clubs and assembled a fairly solid roster.⁸ The next step was to secure an arena. The logical choice was the San Diego Sports Arena, home, at the time, of the San Diego Gulls of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The building had previously hosted the NBA San Diego Rockets between 1967 and 1971, before they moved to Houston.

Arena issues

However, the man who ran the arena, Peter Graham, had also been in the running for the expansion franchise and had lost out at the last minute.⁹¹⁰ In turn, he decided to charge the Conquistadors an outrageous sum to rent the arena, reportedly triple what area college teams were being asked to pay. That forced the Q’s to take up residence on the campus of San Diego State University and use that school’s Peterson Gymnasium as its home court.¹¹

The cozy confines didn’t have an adverse effect on the new team, though, as they got off to a fast start. A season-opening loss to the Denver Rockets in front of 2,248 onlookers at Peterson Gymnasium was followed by a five-game winning streak.¹² Unfortunately, that was followed by a four-game skid. It was up and down, mostly the latter, from there as in late November and early December, the Q’s suffered 10 straight losses. They finished their inaugural season 30-54, good for fourth place in the ABA’s Western Division and the final playoff spot. They were swept by the Utah Stars in four games.

Wilt Chamberlain joins the Conquistadors

The following season found the Q’s with a new coach and a new home court, though a lease at the Sports Arena still eluded them. As for their new coach, basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain signed a three-year, $600,000 contract to be a player-coach¹³, prompting his former employers, the Los Angeles Lakers, to sue. A judge ruled that Chamberlain could not play for anyone but the Lakers without violating the contract he had signed with his former team. He could coach, however, and that’s what he did.

The position was largely symbolic as Chamberlain left most of the coaching duties to his assistant, Stan Albeck. Both the players and Albeck had great respect for the superstar, though they found him somewhat disinterested at times. In March, he disappeared for several days¹⁴, reportedly to attend a book signing for his autobiography.

Another year, another arena

Still unable to cut a deal with Graham and the Sports Arena, and unhappy with their set-up at tiny Peterson Gym, the team moved into Golden Hall, a part of the San Diego Concourse complex. The league, though, didn’t think this was a viable solution and asked Bloom to consider moving the club to Los Angeles.¹⁵ The Q’s, however, stayed put. Ironically, the NBA Clippers would later make that move in 1984.

The Chamberlain-led Qs finished 37-47, tied for the final playoff spot in the ABA’s Western Division. They downed the Denver Rockets in a one-game playoff, then lost to the Utah Stars in six games in the quarterfinals.

As the regular season was winding down, Chamberlain floated the idea of playing if the Lakers were eliminated from the NBA playoffs.[Chamberlain To Play In Playoffs, AP via The Robesonian, Mar. 17, 1974[/mfn]The legality of that was never tested, as the Qs were eliminated from the ABA playoffs the day after the Lakers bowed out of the NBA postseason.

Over the summer, it was reported that Chamberlain was set to return to the NBA, as he had an option to walk away from his deal with the Conquistadors. However, he opted to retire from the game entirely on October 1, 1974.[Wilt Chamberlain Retiring, AP via The Herald-Journal, Oct. 1, 1974[/mfn]

The team finally secured a lease at the San Diego Sports Arena¹⁶, but that was the only bright spot in the 1974-75 season. On the court, the team dropped to 31-53 and failed to make the playoffs. For most of the season, Bloom was looking for local investors to help pay the team’s bills, but none came forward. At the end of February 1975, the ABA relieved Bloom of the franchise.¹⁷

In mid-June, the team was sold to San Diego furniture dealer Frank Goldberg and fellow local businessman Bud Fischer.¹⁸ The two had previously owned the ABA’s Denver Nuggets. On July 28, seeking a fresh start, they rebranded the team the San Diego Sails. The new nickname was probably more reflective of modern-day San Diego and replaced one that was problematic even by 1970s standards. The Sails didn’t last long, though, and played only 11 games of the 1975-76 season before folding.

Conquistadors and Sails

San Diego ABA Apparel

When it comes to T-Shirts, hats, and replica jerseys, we turn to our friends at Royal Retros, who put extraordinary detail into their fully customizable basketball apparel, including gear from the ABA’s San Diego Conquistadors (1972-1975), who later became the Sails (1975). Free Customization included on jerseys.

Each jersey individually handmade
Any name and number
Sewn tackle twill crest, numbers & letters
100% polyester
Heavyweight fabric made to game standards

Relive the days of the San Diego’s wild ABA basketball years, in apparel from Royal Retros. Multiple styles and colors available

In Memoriam

Wilt Chamberlain passed away on October 12, 1999 at the age of 63¹⁹

Links

American Basketball Association Media Guides

American Basketball Association Programs

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San Diego Conquistadors (1972-1975)

Tombstone

Arenas

Marketing