GOLDEN BEGINNINGS CALIFORNIA’S BAY BRIDGE CONNECTS THE CITIES OF SAN FRANCISCO AND OAKLAND GOLDEN BEGINNINGS 8
Before 1848 California was sparsely populated and valued primarily for basic resources such as furs and lumber Then near a sawmill owned by John Sutter gold was discovered and prospectors from all walks of life swarmed on California hoping to strike it rich Many came by sea and the small coastal settlements of San Francisco and Oakland soon boomed and became synonymous with dreams of a better life Today the vast Bay Area is still known for its diversity and progressive thinking and it includes some of the most affluent areas in the United States About a century after the California Gold Rush began and on the opposite side of the country a professional basketball team called the Philadelphia Warriors was among the founders of the new Basketball Association of America BAA Although other professional leagues WILT CHAMBERLAIN 9
ED MR BASKETBALL GOTTLIEB FAR RIGHT PUT TOGETHER A WINNING PHILADELPHIA TEAM already existed the BAA was the first to focus on major cities and huge arenas The idea was grand but it meant that clubs had high overhead costs The Warriors struggled to turn a profit in Philadelphia Pennsylvania and in 1962 they hoped to change their fortunes by heading west to California’s alluring Bay Area Fittingly the team eventually became known as the Golden State Warriors In 1946 Edward Gottlieb a stout man more and head coach Gottlieb quickly demonstrated an eye for talent signing revolutionary forward Joe Fulks from Kentucky’s Murray State University In the BAA’s inaugural season Fulks led the league in scoring with 23 2 points per game He made one-handed shots jump shots right-handed and left-handed set shots from a distance driving shots hooks with his right or left hand said Gottlieb He was also basketball’s first jump shooter accustomed to organizing and promoting sporting events than to running a team became the Philadelphia Warriors first manager Jumpin Joe was paired with fellow rookie forward Howie Dallmar one of the league’s top assist men The duo led the Warriors to the first 10
A Perfect Start It’s always best to make a good first impression and that’s just what the Warriors did when they won the Basketball Association of America’s very first league championship The BAA started up in 1946 with 11 teams including the newly created Philadelphia Warriors The players on the Warriors roster had little to no experience playing professional basketball but in such a new league they didn’t need a lot Jumpin Joe Fulks a 25-year-old rookie forward out of Murray State University led the league in scoring with 23 2 points per game his total of 1,389 points was nearly one-third of the total points scored by the Warriors all season After finishing second in the Eastern Division with a 35 25 record Philadelphia defeated the St Louis Bombers in the first round of the playoffs They then trounced the New York Knicks in the second round to advance to the first-ever BAA Finals where they rolled over the Chicago Stags four games to one In winning the inaugural BAA title the team that became today’s Golden State Warriors got off to the perfect start COURTSIDE STORIES A Perfect Start NEIL JOHNSTON 11
