History of the Memphis Pros

The Memphis Pros represented Memphis, Tennessee, in the American Basketball Association for two seasons from 1970 to 1972. The team emerged from the relocation of the New Orleans Buccaneers and helped introduce major professional basketball to Memphis before becoming the Memphis Tams in 1972.

Although the Pros struggled financially, they reached the ABA playoffs during their first season and featured several notable players. Their brief history established the foundation for the Memphis Tams and Memphis Sounds teams that followed.

Relocation from New Orleans

The franchise began in 1967 as the New Orleans Buccaneers, one of the ABA's original teams. The Buccaneers reached the first ABA Finals in 1968 but struggled to attract enough fans and generate consistent revenue in New Orleans.

Following the 1969-70 season, the franchise moved to Memphis. Because the relocation happened with little time to organize the club, the team adopted the simple name Memphis Pros.

The Pros played their home games at the Mid-South Coliseum, giving Memphis its first major professional basketball franchise.

Community Ownership

The Memphis Pros were operated by Memphis Area Sports, Inc., a locally organized ownership group created to keep the relocated franchise operating in the city. The organization included numerous community investors and business leaders who hoped professional basketball could succeed in Memphis.

The community-backed ownership arrangement helped save the franchise, but the team remained underfunded. The Pros regularly faced difficulties covering operating costs, player salaries, travel expenses, and other financial obligations.

Despite those problems, the team completed both of its seasons in Memphis under the Pros name.

The 1970-71 Season

The Memphis Pros began play during the 1970-71 ABA season under head coach Babe McCarthy. McCarthy had previously enjoyed a successful coaching career at Mississippi State and gave the new team an experienced leader with strong regional connections.

Memphis finished its inaugural season with a 41-43 record, placing third in the ABA Western Division. Although the Pros ranked last in the league in scoring at 109.2 points per game, they allowed only 109.9 points per contest, the best defensive average in the ABA.

The roster included several players who had previously competed for the New Orleans Buccaneers. Important contributors included Steve Jones, Jimmy Jones, Wil Jones, Gerald Govan, Wendell Ladner, Charlie Williams, and Ron Franz.

The Pros qualified for the 1971 ABA playoffs and faced the Indiana Pacers in the Western Division Semifinals. Indiana defeated Memphis four games to none and later advanced to the ABA Finals.

Despite the first-round defeat, reaching the playoffs gave the new Memphis franchise a respectable beginning.

Financial Struggles

The Pros' competitive first season did not solve the organization's financial problems. Attendance at the Mid-South Coliseum was not strong enough to provide the revenue necessary to operate a stable professional franchise.

The locally supported ownership group conducted fundraising campaigns and sought additional investors to keep the team alive. Players and coaches continued working amid uncertainty about the franchise's future.

The Pros survived long enough to return for a second season, but the team's limited financial resources made it difficult to improve the roster or build a successful marketing operation.

The 1971-72 Season

Babe McCarthy returned as head coach for the 1971-72 season, but the Pros were unable to repeat their playoff appearance. Memphis finished with a 26-58 record and placed fifth in the ABA Western Division.

The team averaged 107.5 points per game while allowing 113.0. Memphis finished near the bottom of the ABA offensively and missed the playoffs for the first time in the franchise's five-year history.

Wil Jones emerged as one of the team's most dependable players and represented Memphis in the 1972 ABA All-Star Game. Other significant contributors included Charlie Williams, George Thompson, Gerald Govan, Johnny Neumann, Ron Franz, and Randy Denton.

On January 14, 1972, the Pros scored an ABA-record 52 points in the fourth quarter of a loss to the Indiana Pacers. The game was played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto as part of an ABA doubleheader organized to test Canadian interest in the league.

Memphis struggled badly during the final portion of the season, winning only three of its final 25 games. The disappointing finish brought the Pros era to an end.

Charles O. Finley Purchases the Team

Following the 1971-72 season, the financially troubled franchise was sold to Charles O. Finley, the colorful owner of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics.

Finley renamed the team the Memphis Tams. The Tams name represented Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi, the three-state region from which the franchise hoped to attract supporters.

The team also adopted green, gold, and white colors and introduced a tam-o'-shanter hat as its logo. The change officially ended the two-season history of the Memphis Pros.

Memphis Pros Season Records

Memphis Pros Timeline

Legacy

The Memphis Pros completed their two seasons with a combined record of 67-101 and one ABA playoff appearance. Although financial instability prevented the organization from achieving long-term success under the Pros name, the team introduced professional basketball to Memphis and kept the former New Orleans franchise alive.

The Pros also began a five-season period of ABA basketball at the Mid-South Coliseum. The franchise later competed as the Memphis Tams and Memphis Sounds before relocating to Baltimore in 1975.

Today, the Memphis Pros are remembered as an important part of the city's basketball history and as an example of the community-backed ownership efforts that helped several ABA franchises survive during the league's unpredictable early years.