ABA remembers George Mikan
Published on June 3, 2005 under American Basketball Association (ABA) News Release
GEORGE MIKAN 1924-2005 Dick Tinkham, co-founder of the original ABA remembers the "gentle giant."
"There were two groups trying to put together a new basketball league. One was on the east coast and the other on the west coast. At a meeting in New Orleans in 1967, Mikan was brought in as the proposed commissioner. He not only put the two groups together, he immediately called on friends and acquaintences around the country whose participation as owners upgraded the financial ability and image of the league in the ABA cities and across the country. He was never critical of the NBA but simply wanted new rules and a different style of play which he thought would make the game more fun. He recommended the three point play which had been used in the ABL and introduced the red, white and blue ball because he thought it would be easier to see on TV. All of the owners genuinely like him. The ABA would not have lasted more than one season without him. His total focus was to make the game more fun and fan friendly. We will miss him."
Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.
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