Today in Sports History: The Start of the Sixers
How much do you think the Philadelphia 76ers franchise cost to start? The answer is $5,000. With a 5K check sent to the NBA League office - in Chicago at the time - the Sixers were born. Except that they weren't the Sixes. They were the Syracuse Nationals.
In 1949 the Nationals were absorbed into the NBA (they were part of the National Basketball League before the absorption), and stayed there until 1963. That's when it all changed.
On August 6th, 1963 the Syracuse National became the Philadelphia 76ers after a buyout of owner Danny Biasone by Irv Kosloff and Ike Richman. They moved to Philadelphia to fill the void left by the Philadelphia Warriors who jumped coasts to go to San Francisco.
The name was popular, and originated from the date that the Declaration of Independence was signed (1776).
The Sixers then drafted Wilt Chamberlain in 1964 and the rest is history. Big names have come through and donned the Sixers jersey, including Chamberlain, Hal Greer, Billy Cunningham, Julius "Dr.J" Erving, Moses Malone, Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson, and now the duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
Despite all the names - and history - surrounding the franchise, they have only won three championships, in 1955, 1967 and 1983. The 1966-67 Championship team was voted the best team in league history during the NBA's 35th anniversary celebration.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more!