By: Tim Wendel

Tim Wendel — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:02:29 +0000

Sheri:
You’re right about Irv Levin. What I find remarkable about the whole Braves-Celtics franchise swap is that the old-new Celtics hung on to Larry Bird’s rights, too. Talk about stacking the deck.
Tim

By: Sheri

Sheri — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:59:09 +0000

I look forward to getting my hands on one of your books. I’m writing in because I stumbled across your site and read all the old posts, and I wanted to clear up what I thought appeared to be confusion about the franchise swap. I have always felt the NBA (and pro ball in general) in the 1970’s has always gotten short shrift as a forgotten decade, and it shouldn’t. It first should be understood that John Y. Brown needed no “Buffalo doesn’t support us” excuses to do what he did; he had a history of self-serving, bottom-line behavior when it came to destroying pro franchises. See the ABA Kentucky Colonels, the franchise Brown just dismantled rather than move or sell. It all began when he sold Kentucky legend Dan Issel in a contract dump immediately after they won the championship and then couldn’t seem to figure out why he became a pariah in his own state afterward. He only bought them as a toy for his wife to fool with anyway. A couple of things you said in previous posts suggested you thought John Y. Brown moved the Braves/Clippers to San Diego; he didn’t, Irv Levin did. The franchise swap was just a way to acquire a third pro franchise to destroy on the cheap because Celtics owner Irv Levin was desperate. Levin had been hammered in Boston –he was booed unmercifully on national TV at John Havlicek’s retirement ceremony–because Red Auerbach had let it be known that some odd moves that caused the Celtics’ team chemistry to fall apart had been due to cost-cutting moves by Levin, who did not understand how to build a team. Levin wanted to get out of town and go back to San Diego (where he was a mogul) but the NBA Board of Governors was not about to let him move the Celtics there. The swap enabled Brown to acquire another toy to leave out in the rain and Levin to escape tar and feathers. He thought he he’d fleeced Levin but wound up with a much worse them than he thought, because he certainly didn’t know how to build a better team than Auerbach could! Auerbach had rebuilt a pretty good team and wound up overnight with players who could not play together (Dave Cowens and Bob McAdoo together on the floor for every game? Too much alike). The Clippers were actually better despite not having McAdoo–and if Elgin Baylor could coach, their record would have been even better yet. It was Auerbach who managed, very adroitly, to get John Y. Brown ridden out of town on a rail just ahead of the pitchforks and swords. Brown liked to wheel and deal, and Red KNEW what he had in 2nd-round junior-eligible draft pick Larry Bird before anybody had seen Bird on a national level. He was afraid he might lose Bird. Imagine if Brown had traded that draft pick in the franchise swap instead of the first pick, Freeman Williams!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: cwendel

cwendel — Fri, 29 May 2009 12:34:10 +0000

Aaron,
I picked up the books from the printer yesterday in Michigan and just arrived in Buffalo with them. Distirbution begins today. Local orders can be picked up tomorrow (Saturday May 30th) at our book release event at New Era Cap Co., or still mailed out if you can’t make the event.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:49:31 +0000

When are the pre-ordered books being shipped?

Comments on: Buffalo News’ Jerry Sullivan on new Braves book

By: Tim Wendel

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