Exploring the Universe
 

Wlecome to our rockets Archive. Have fun browsing!

 

(Browse for more articles)

 

Houston Rockets - The Early Years

The Rockets, along with the Seattle city's attention, and in the Spring of
SuperSonics, entered the NBA in 1967 as 1973, following the Rockets 10th straight
an expansion team based in San Diego. loss, Winter was relieved of his duties.
They selected Pat Riley with their first In 1975, with Coach Johnny Egan's
draft pick in 1967. They went on to guidance and Tomjanovich, Murphy, and
produce a then-NBA record 67-loss season. Mike Newlin leading the way, the Rockets
In 1968 the Rockets won the coin toss made their first appearance in the
versus the Baltimore Bullets, giving them playoffs since arriving in Houston. The
the first overall pick in the 1968 NBA Rockets defeated the New York Knicks (led
Draft. They selected Elvin "the Big E" by Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe) in the
Hayes from the University of Houston. first round, but lost to the Boston
Hayes led the team to the franchise's Celtics in the Eastern Conference
first ever playoff appearance in 1969. Semi-finals.
The Rockets lost in the Western At the start of the 1977 season, the
divisional semi-final to the Atlanta Rockets negotiated a trade with the
Hawks two games to four in a Buffalo Braves to acquire Moses Malone,
best-of-seven series. who as a high school star made the
The 1970 NBA Draft brought Calvin Murphy unprecedented decision of bypassing
and Rudy Tomjanovich to the Rockets - college basketball to sign on as a
both significant to the franchise after professional with the Utah Stars of the
their playing careers were over. ABA in 1974. The Rockets defeated the
Coached by Jack McMahon and Alex Hannum, Washington Bullets in the 1977 Eastern
the Rockets tallied a 119-209 record over Conference semi-final, but lost to the
their tenure in San Diego. Philadelphia 76ers in the Conference
In 1971, real estate broker Wayne Finals. Malone made an impressive showing
Duddleston and banker Billy Goldberg against Washington's Elvin Hayes and
bought the franchise for $5.6 million and waning star Wes Unseld.
relocated the team from San Diego, where On December 9, 1977, in a game against
fans were more disposed to the Los the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Kunnert got
Angeles Lakers than the Rockets. The into a fight with the Lakers' Kermit
Rockets originally had been named for San Washington. As Tomjanovich approached the
Diego slogan, "A City in Motion," but altercation, Washington turned and threw
with the move to Houston their name took a punch, landing squarely in the face of
on even greater relevance. Houston is an approaching Tomjanovich, causing
home to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space extensive structural damage to his
Center and Mission Control, which cranium. The shocking scene became the
received national attention during defining moment of the Rockets' 1977-78
Project Apollo. season as well as the playing careers of
The Rockets began playing at various Tomjanovich and Washington. Tomjanovich
venues in Houston, including the spent the next five months in
Astrodome, AstroHall, and Hofheinz rehabilitation and returned to appear in
Pavilion. They also played games at the 1978 All-Star Game. A book by John
HemisFair Arena in San Antonio and in Feinstein recording the events
Waco. However, fan support was weak in surrounding this event and the different
the football and baseball-dominated city, paths that Tomjanovich and Washington
and the Rockets averaged less than 5000 have taken since that day is entitled
fans per game during their first Houston "The Punch."
season. It was mused that the local Malone received the 1979 MVP Award. Not
churches in Waco drew more attendance exceptionally big or quick, he used
than the Rockets. footwork and positioning to become a
Before the start of the 1971 season, successful center in the NBA. Malone,
Coach Alex Hannum left for the Denver Murphy, and Tomjanovich all played in the
Nuggets of the American Basketball 1979 NBA All-Star Game. Rick Barry was
Association. Tex Winter was hired as the signed for the 1979 season from the
new coach shortly before the team was Golden State Warriors in exchange for
sold. Coach Winter applied a triple-post John Lucas. Barry averaged a modest 13.5
offensive system that contrasted with the points and set a new NBA record, posting
offensive style to which Hayes was a .947 free-throw percentage for the
accustomed. Houston soon traded Hayes to season. He would play one more year for
the Baltimore Bullets for Jack Marin. the Rockets before retiring in 1980.
Lack of success did little to capture the




www.rogueaerospace.com keyword stats [2007-10-07-2007-10-07]



Other search engines trends:



Other search phrases:

nasa launch rockets rocket city rc
rocket dog joint houston rockets dance team
houston rockets jacket discount rocketry
houston rockets radio station houston rocket game
nasa rocket fuel scale model rocketry
rockets in houston huston rockets
multi stage model rockets nasa rocket launch
solid fuel model rockets model rocket information
estes rockets engine houston rockets lakers
gamesville bottle rocket houston rockets official
model rocket launch pad 50cc crotch rocket
y2k crotch rocket nasa new rocket
water bottle rocket design





1- A- B- 2- 3- 4- 5- 6- 7- 8- 9- 10- 11- 12- 13- 14- 15- 16- 17- 18- 19- 20- 21- 22- 23- 24- 25- 26- 27- 28- 29- 30- 31- 32- 33- 34- 35- 36- 37- 38- 39- 40- 41- 42- 43- 44- 45-