When the Stars Came to Town

    The Indiana Pacers were one of the original members of the American Basketball Association, when that league began play in 1967. On February 1, 1969 the Pacers were scheduled to host the Los Angeles Stars at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum. The Pacers were fresh off a game with the Oakland Oaks where a league recod was set for most points in a game. After the first quarter where the Pacers outscored the Stars 45-26. Many in the arena knew that record was already in jeopardy. The game did seem to settle down a bit as the two teams scored 37 points each to give the Pacers an 82-63 lead at the half. The third quarter was similar in that the Pacers outscored the visitors by a score of 39-34 to widen their lead. It all broke loose in the fourth quarter when the locals poured in 51 points to take a 172-141 win over the Oaks. The Pacers had broken their own record. Roger Brown lead the Pacers with 34 points, after going 17 of 18 at the foul line. The Pacers went 60 of 70 as a team at the foul line.    

   Amazingly, both clubs won their respective divisions and it was the Oaks with a regular season record of 60-18 that went on to win the league title by taking 4 out of 5 games from the Pacers including a 144-117 win at Indianapolis.

   Tommorow we will look at the oldest professional sports league still standing, the National League.