 Minnesota Muskies 1967-68   Miami Floridians 1968-72 |
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Player info Numbers Rosters and Photos Standings | Team info Floridians Minnesota Muskies | Stats Heat-to-Head |
Quick facts:
Founded: 1967
Folded: 1972
Arena: Metropolitan Sports Center (1967-68)
Miami Beach Convention Center (1968–1972)
Dade County Junior College (1968–1972)
Dinner Key Auditorium (1970–1972)
Curtis Hixon Hall (1970–1972)
Bayfront Center (1970–1972)
Jacksonville Coliseum (1970–1972)
Titles: 0
Playoffs: 4
Worst Trade in ABA History:
While the Minnesota Muskies were successful on the court, they were not successful not successful off the court. The team was losing a lot of money and were in danger of going bankrupt. That is when a group of Florida businessmen stepped in an offered to buy the team. Muskies owner Larry Shields agreed to sell the team to the Florida group on one condition, the team was able to sell Rookie-of-the-Year Mel Daniels to the Indiana Pacers to cover the outstanding debts in Minnesota. The Florida group agreed and Daniels was sent to Indiana.
The Muskies now renamed the Miami Floridians played mediocre basketball in the Sunshine State for four years before folding. Daniels went on to be one of the greatest ABA players in history and lead the Pacers to three ABA championships.
Daniels would play 8 seasons in the ABA, 6 of them with Indiana, and average over 20 points a game and 15 rebounds in most seasons.
Barnstorming:The Floridians were basically a barnstorming franchise. The team played in multiple cities in Florida, but mostly Miami, Tampa, and Jacksonville, but other games were hosted in Tallahassee, St Petersburg, Gainesville, and Key West. Oddly enough, there are no records of any games being played in the Orlando area. Orlando would get an NBA team in 1989.
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The Baltimore Claws were one of the shortest-lived franchises in professional basketball history. The team existed during the turbulent final months of the American Basketball Association and played only three preseason exhibition games before being expelled from the league in October 1975. The collapse of the Claws was not an isolated event. It was an early warning of the financial disaster that overwhelmed the ABA during its final season. Within weeks, the San Diego Sails and Utah Stars also ceased operations. The Virginia Squires barely completed the regular season before folding, leaving only six teams to finish the ABA's final campaign. By the summer of 1976, the struggling league could no longer survive independently. Four ABA franchises joined the NBA, two others folded during the merger negotiations, and the original ABA disappeared after nine seasons
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