Long Beach Chiefs
November 15, 2021
The Long Beach Chiefs were a professional basketball team that played at Long Beach Arena during November & December of 1962. The Chiefs were members of the American Basketball League (ABL), a wanna-be rival to the NBA formed by Harlem Globetrotters promoter Abe Saperstein the previous year. The team started out as the Hawaii Chiefs during the ABL’s debut season of 1961-62. Owner Art Kim moved the franchise to Long Beach for the league’s second season. But the league folded on New Year’s Eve 1962 without completing its schedule, taking the Chiefs down with it.
