The Wizards and Bulls, what a long strange trip
Phillip Crivellone
Issue date: 4/26/05 Section: Sports
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Washington's lead scorer Gilbert Arenas was three months old the last time the "Wizards" won a playoff series. In Wizards terms, that's only one name-change ago - back then, they were known as the Washington Bullets. In May of 1997 owner Abe Polen changed the name because it was deemed too violent in a time where high-profile shooting deaths were becoming the norm. That was the last of five name changes in Wizards history - a history, believe it or not, that has more to do with Chicago even before His Airness shocked us all and donned that hideous teal jersey.
Before Ben Gordon; before Michael Jordan.
Before Horace Grant; before the "three-peat" chant.
Before Dennis Rodman and his crazy hair; before Johnny "Red" Kerr and Norm Van Lier.
Before the logo of that mean, horned heifer;
We had another hoops team, those old Chicago Zephyrs.
For both teams, this is where it all starts: Chicago. The Zephyrs, as they were called in the 1962-63 NBA season, were actually the renamed version of the expansion Chicago Packers who came into being the previous season ('61-'62). The team changed its name to the Zephyrs. In Greek mythology Zephyr was the god of the west wind - wind, Windy City, get it?
For an expansion team the Packers/Zephyrs weren't very good, posting 18-62 and 25-55 records respectively. The team packed it up and moved to Baltimore in 1963.
In Baltimore the Zephyrs became the Bullets, receiving their trademark from the city's first NBA team which also called the Baltimore Bullets because they played in an armory. After four seasons in Baltimore, the Bullets - who since the Chicago days played in the NBA's Western Division - were forced to move into the Eastern Division because of the emergence of league's newest expansion team, the Chicago Bulls, already this town's third NBA team; before the Bulls and the Zephyrs, there was the Chicago Stags, a team which played four seasons in the late 40's but dispersed in 1950.
Before Ben Gordon; before Michael Jordan.
Before Horace Grant; before the "three-peat" chant.
Before Dennis Rodman and his crazy hair; before Johnny "Red" Kerr and Norm Van Lier.
Before the logo of that mean, horned heifer;
We had another hoops team, those old Chicago Zephyrs.
For both teams, this is where it all starts: Chicago. The Zephyrs, as they were called in the 1962-63 NBA season, were actually the renamed version of the expansion Chicago Packers who came into being the previous season ('61-'62). The team changed its name to the Zephyrs. In Greek mythology Zephyr was the god of the west wind - wind, Windy City, get it?
For an expansion team the Packers/Zephyrs weren't very good, posting 18-62 and 25-55 records respectively. The team packed it up and moved to Baltimore in 1963.
In Baltimore the Zephyrs became the Bullets, receiving their trademark from the city's first NBA team which also called the Baltimore Bullets because they played in an armory. After four seasons in Baltimore, the Bullets - who since the Chicago days played in the NBA's Western Division - were forced to move into the Eastern Division because of the emergence of league's newest expansion team, the Chicago Bulls, already this town's third NBA team; before the Bulls and the Zephyrs, there was the Chicago Stags, a team which played four seasons in the late 40's but dispersed in 1950.