> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.grumpybuck.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The 5 Funkiest Team Names in ABA History - URL: https://www.grumpybuck.com/the-5-funkiest-team-names-in-aba-history/ - Published: 2026-10-13T12:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-13T10:28:56.000Z - Description: The ABA tipped off on Friday the 13th, 1967. From the Memphis Tams to the Spirits of St. Louis, the 5 funkiest names in league history, plus its 10 greatest players. - Author: Brad Riddell - Tags: Sports History, Top 5, Basketball The American Basketball Association played its first game on Friday the 13th. On Oct. 13, 1967, the Oakland Oaks beat the Anaheim Amigos 134-129 in front of 4,828 fans at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. Oaks owner Pat Boone sang the national anthem. Rick Barry, the league's biggest signing, watched in street clothes because a court order kept him off the floor for a year. The teams combined for 10 three-pointers, a shot the NBA wouldn't adopt for another 12 years, and they did it with a red, white and blue ball. That was the ABA in a nutshell: loud, broke, ahead of its time, and never short on ideas. Especially when it came to naming teams. The league lasted 9 seasons and churned through more than two dozen franchise names. These are the 5 funkiest. ![The Santa Ana Register's story on the first game in ABA history, Oct. 14, 1967.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/01-first-game-oaks-top-amigos-santa-ana-register-1967-10-14.jpg) The Santa Ana Register's story on the first game in ABA history, Oct. 14, 1967. ![The 1967-68 Anaheim Amigos, the Oakland Oaks' opponent in the first game in ABA history.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/amigos.jpg) The 1967-68 Anaheim Amigos, the Oakland Oaks' opponent in the first game in ABA history. ## 5\. Kentucky Colonels (1967-76) The name tipped its cap to Kentucky's honorary title of "colonel." The mascot was something else entirely: Ziggy, a prize-winning Brussels Griffon owned by original owners Joe and Mamie Gregory. Ziggy had his own courtside seat and showed up in the team's early logo. ![Artis Gilmore (53) of the Kentucky Colonels battles the Indiana Pacers.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/colonels_iii.jpg) Artis Gilmore (53) of the Kentucky Colonels battles the Indiana Pacers. On Nov. 27, 1968, the Colonels put a jockey in uniform. Penny Ann Early, the first licensed female jockey, wore No. 3 against the Los Angeles Stars, inbounded the ball once, and headed back to the bench after a timeout. She's still the only woman to play in an ABA or NBA game. !["Penny's Pro Basketball Career Lasts One Second," in the Louisville Courier-Journal, Nov. 28, 1968.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/04-colonels-penny-ann-early-one-second-courier-journal-1968-11-28.jpg) "Penny's Pro Basketball Career Lasts One Second," in the Louisville Courier-Journal, Nov. 28, 1968. The Colonels could play, too. They went 68-16 in 1971-72, the best record in ABA history, won the 1975 title behind Artis Gilmore, and won more games (448) than any other ABA franchise. Then the merger left them out. Owner John Y. Brown took $3 million to fold the team and used it to buy the NBA's Buffalo Braves. ![The 1975 ABA champion Kentucky Colonels.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/colonels.jpg) The 1975 ABA champion Kentucky Colonels. ## 4\. San Diego Conquistadors (1972-75) The "Q's" are best remembered for their coach. In 1973 they signed Wilt Chamberlain to be a player-coach, on a contract the Escondido Times-Advocate reported at about $600,000 a year. The Lakers went to court, and Chamberlain was barred from playing, so he could only coach. He reportedly once skipped a game for a book signing. !["Look who'll be a Q": the Escondido Times-Advocate on Wilt's arrival, Sept. 27, 1973.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/05-conquistadors-wilt-look-wholl-be-a-q-escondido-times-advocate-1973-09-27.jpg) "Look who'll be a Q": the Escondido Times-Advocate on Wilt's arrival, Sept. 27, 1973. ![The Conquistadors' team magazine and its cartoon conquistador.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/conquistadors_iii.jpg) The Conquistadors' team magazine and its cartoon conquistador. The Q's first home gym held about 3,200 people. They later became the San Diego Sails, played 11 games, and folded in November 1975. ## 3\. Anaheim Amigos (1967-68) The other half of the ABA's first game got its name from a fan contest, and its emblem was a flamenco hat. The Amigos played across the street from Disneyland, and one regular fan dressed as a bandit and fired a pistol loaded with blanks whenever the team made a run. They even played 3 "home" games in Honolulu. ![Owner Art Kim and a model wearing the Amigos' emblem, in the Santa Ana Register, May 26, 1967.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/07-amigos-name-anaheim-cagers-amigos-santa-ana-register-1967-05-26.jpg) Owner Art Kim and a model wearing the Amigos' emblem, in the Santa Ana Register, May 26, 1967. ![The Amigos' home in Anaheim, with the team's name on the sign out front.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/amigos_iii.jpg) The Amigos' home in Anaheim, with the team's name on the sign out front. The name lasted one season. The franchise moved to Los Angeles as the Stars, then to Salt Lake City as the Utah Stars, where it won the 1971 ABA championship and folded in December 1975. ## 2\. Spirits of St. Louis (1974-76) Not "St. Louis Spirits." The Spirits of St. Louis, after Charles Lindbergh's plane. The team was as unusual as the name. Rookie Marvin Barnes went missing early in his first season and was found at a pool tournament in Dayton, Ohio. A 22-year-old Bob Costas called their games on the radio. And in 1975 they upset Julius Erving's Nets in the playoffs, 4 games to 1. !["Incredible Spirits Again Haunt Perplexed Nets": the Post-Dispatch after Game 4 of the 1975 series, which put the Spirits up 3 games to 1.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/06-spirits-haunt-perplexed-nets-st-louis-post-dispatch-1975-04-14.jpg) "Incredible Spirits Again Haunt Perplexed Nets": the Post-Dispatch after Game 4 of the 1975 series, which put the Spirits up 3 games to 1. ![The Spirits of St. Louis' home uniform, with the team name in script.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/spirits_ii-2.jpg) The Spirits of St. Louis' home uniform, with the team name in script. The best part came after. When the ABA merged with the NBA in 1976, the Spirits weren't invited. Owners Ozzie and Daniel Silna agreed to fold in exchange for a share of the 4 surviving teams' TV money, forever. Before the NBA finally bought them out in 2014, the deal paid them an estimated $750 million or so, for a team that never played a game in the NBA. ## 1\. Memphis Tams (1972-74) Charlie Finley, the Oakland A's owner who pushed for orange baseballs, bought the Memphis franchise in 1972 and held a name-the-team contest. About 22,000 entries came in. The winner, worth $2,500 to William B. Barrett of West Point, Miss., was "Tams," for **T**ennessee, **A**rkansas and **M**i**s**sissippi, the 3 states around Memphis. It was also a nod to Robert Burns' poem "Tam O'Shanter." The logo was a tam-o'-shanter, the floppy Scottish cap. At the Tams' first home game, the Commercial Appeal reported, tams were "cocked to the side of numerous fans' heads." Finley also offered $300 to any player who grew a mustache. The Tams went 24-60 and 21-63. !["Mid-South, Greet Your New ABA Team: The Tams," in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, July 16, 1972.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/03-tams-name-mid-south-greet-your-new-aba-team-commercial-appeal-1972-07-16.jpg) "Mid-South, Greet Your New ABA Team: The Tams," in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, July 16, 1972. ![The 1973-74 Memphis Tams media guide, with the tam logo.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/tams_v-2.jpg) The 1973-74 Memphis Tams media guide, with the tam logo. ![Randy Denton's Memphis Tams basketball card.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/tams_i-2.jpg) Randy Denton's Memphis Tams basketball card. ## Honorable mentions - **The Floridians:** They dropped "Miami" from their name, had bikini-clad ball girls, and once gave away live turkeys. - **Memphis Pros:** Reportedly chosen because it fit the 4 letters on a set of old "BUCS" jerseys. ![Charlie Williams of the Memphis Pros, the franchise's name before Finley made it the Tams.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/tams_iii-2.jpg) Charlie Williams of the Memphis Pros, the franchise's name before Finley made it the Tams. - **Pittsburgh Condors:** The fan-contest winner was "Pioneers," until Point Park College, whose teams were already the Pioneers, objected. - **Dallas Chaparrals:** Named after the hotel's Chaparral Club room, where the owners met. - **Baltimore Claws:** The Memphis Sounds moved to Baltimore in 1975 and wanted to be the Hustlers. The league said no. As the Claws, they played their preseason games in old Memphis uniforms with patches sewn on, went 0-3, and were expelled from the league on Oct. 20, 1975, without playing a regular-season game. ## The 10 greatest ABA players The names were funky. The players were the real thing. All 10 of these were named to the ABA's All-Time Team in 1997, and all 10 are in the Hall of Fame. (Points per game are ABA only.) 1. **Julius Erving:** 28.7 points per game, 3 MVPs, 2 titles with the Nets, and the winner of the first pro dunk contest in 1976, when he took off from the free-throw line. 2. **Artis Gilmore:** 22.3 points and 17.1 rebounds per game. Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season, 1972, and a 1975 champion with Kentucky. 3. **Mel Daniels:** The only player to win 2 ABA MVPs, a 3-time champion with Indiana and the league's career rebounding leader. 4. **Dan Issel:** 25.6 points per game, the scoring champion as a rookie, and No. 2 on the ABA's career scoring list. 5. **George McGinnis:** 25.2 points per game, co-MVP in 1975, and 2 titles with Indiana. 6. **Rick Barry:** 30.5 points per game, the highest of anyone on this list, in only 226 ABA games. 7. **Roger Brown:** 3 titles with the Pacers and the MVP of the 1970 playoffs. 8. **Louie Dampier:** The ABA's all-time leader in both points (13,726) and assists. 9. **Connie Hawkins:** The league's first MVP, in 1968, and a champion with Pittsburgh that same year. 10. **George Gervin:** 21.9 points per game for Virginia and San Antonio before he became the Iceman in the NBA. ![Artis Gilmore with the Kentucky Colonels.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/gilmore_colonels.jpg) Artis Gilmore with the Kentucky Colonels. **Just missed:** Moses Malone, who skipped college and went straight to the ABA's Utah Stars at 19, and averaged 17.2 points and 12.9 rebounds in 2 seasons; Spencer Haywood, who averaged 30 points and 19.5 rebounds and won MVP and Rookie of the Year in his only ABA season; and Charlie Scott, whose 34.6 points per game in 1971-72 is still the ABA's single-season record. What's the best name the ABA ever came up with? Tell us in the comments.