G.S. Warriors Hoop Memories, and the Evolution of the NBA

Dad took me to my first S.F. Warriors’ game in 1962, and seeing Wilt Chamberlain was like seeing a man playing against boys. I will attempt to summarize my past 60+ years as a Warrior fan, the highs and lows. Along the way, I will try to relate the miraculous ’75 Championship, being a team employee in ’77, attending with my youth teams during the down years, and finally seeing Steph launch the dynasty…

Al Attles-the Patron Saint of the Warriors franchise. Gritty player from the 50s-70s, coach of the ’75 Title team, member of the organization until his passing in 2024. He may have helped invent small-ball, the two-team concept, and “chemistry”. He was a nice, solid guy, but known to fight bigger men when crossed (and his voice was about an octave lower than anyone else’s), so he carried substantial gravitas. Classy and beloved by everyone.

I was seven years old when Dad drove us from the dreary Central Valley farm country to the magical city of San Francisco, to see the newly-relocated SF Warriors. I believe the game was played at the University of San Francisco Gym (most games were played at the Cow Palace that first year, the place where people also showed their prized farm animals). Wilt Chamberlain was the big attraction, and watching him play was like seeing a man playing among boys. He seemed to dunk or get a rebound on every possession. But at this point, let me point out some other notable things about the old NBA: 1) There were only 9 teams in the league (which was only in its 17th year), 2) Most of the players were white, and 3) Dunking the basketball had only recently become popular, with players like Russell and Chamberlain “stuffing” often (dunking centers also began to report gifts of ladies’ undies in the mail, a mysteriously related phenomenon beyond the scope of this…