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1966–67 Chicago Bulls season

NBA professional basketball team season (inaugural season) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1966–67 Chicago Bulls season was the first for the expansion franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA) after failed attempts by the Chicago Stags and Packers-turned-Zephyrs to bring pro basketball to the second-largest market in the country. While not an artistic success -- the team routinely played to half capacity at the 9,000-seat International Amphitheater on the near South Side -- the debut proved to be memorable and even historic just the same.

Head coachJohnny "Red" Kerr
General managerDick Klein
OwnerDick Klein
ArenaInternational Amphitheatre
Quick facts Chicago Bulls season, Head coach ...
1966–67 Chicago Bulls season
Head coachJohnny "Red" Kerr
General managerDick Klein
OwnerDick Klein
ArenaInternational Amphitheatre
Results
Record33–48 (.407)
PlaceDivision: 4th (Western)
Playoff finishDivision semifinals
(lost to Hawks 0–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
TelevisionWGN-TV
(Jack Brickhouse, Vince Lloyd)
RadioWGN
(Lou Boudreau, Vince Lloyd)
1967–68 >
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General manager-team owner Dick Klein and his staff assembled a scrappy bunch whose style reflected the blue-collar nature of the city itself. Not only did the so-called "Baby Bulls" finish with a 33–48 record, the best ever by an NBA expansion team at the time, but they also were the first in professional sports to secure a post-season berth on its first try.

Draft picks

Main article: 1966 NBA draft

Note: This is not an extensive list; it only covers the first and second rounds, and any other players drafted by the franchise that played at least one NBA game.

More information Round, Pick ...
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team
1 10 Dave Schellhase G  United States Purdue
2 20 Erwin Mueller F/C  United States San Francisco
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Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...
1966–67 Chicago Bulls roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
F 19 Bob Boozer 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1937-04-26 Kansas State
C 12 Nate Bowman 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1943-03-19 Wichita State
F 16 Barry Clemens 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1943-05-01 Ohio Wesleyan
F 15 Keith Erickson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1944-04-19 UCLA
F 9 Don Kojis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 1939-01-15 Marquette
F 18 McCoy McLemore 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1942-04-03 Drake
C 14 Erwin Mueller 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1944-03-12 San Francisco
G 5 Guy Rodgers 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1935-09-01 Temple
G 8 Dave Schellhase 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1944-10-14 Purdue
G 4 Jerry Sloan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1942-03-28 Evansville
G 6 Gerry Ward 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1941-09-06 Boston College
F 7 Jim Washington 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1943-07-01 Villanova
C 17 George Wilson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1942-05-09 Cincinnati
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Updated: November 25, 1966

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Regular season

While the expansion draft left them with untested and aging athletes, head coach Johnny "Red" Kerr and assistant-former teammate Al Bianchi achieved some success. First-rounder Dave Schellhase was benched, but Erwin Mueller made a contribution among the 10 draft picks. As a Chicago native and former NBA player with the Syracuse Nationals, Philadelphia 76ers and Baltimore Bullets, Kerr had never coached at the pro level previously, but he was well-received by fans and media.[citation needed]

The Bulls earned their first victory on October 15, a 104–97 win over the St. Louis Hawks on the road that raised eyebrows around the league. Beforehand, Hawks coach Richie Guerin had predicted the expansion club would not win more than 20 games the entire season. The starting lineup on opening night included center Len Chappell, forwards Bob Boozer and Don Kojis and guards Jerry Sloan and Guy Rodgers, a three-time All-Star and most established player on the roster. Rodgers led the way with a game-high 37 points in the inaugural victory.

The Bulls extended their record to 2–0 in a 119-116 victory over the San Francisco Warriors at the Amphitheater. Behind 34 points and 18 assists by Rodgers, they extended the win streak to three games in a 134–124 triumph over the defending Western Division champions Los Angeles Lakers at home. A lack of star power and inside presence brought the team down to the Earth before long, but not before it surprised the basketball world with a postseason berth.

Kerr was named Coach of the Year, while Mueller earned a spot on the All-Rookie Team. Rodgers led the league in assists with 11.2 per game (including a club record 24 against the New York Knicks on December 21) and paced the team in scoring at 18.0 points per game. Rodgers and Sloan represented the team in the NBA All-Star Game.

Postseason

The first appearance for the Bulls in the playoffs was a brief one. The more talented and experienced St. Louis Hawks swept them in three games. Their only home date in the series (Game 3) was moved from the International Amphitheater to the Chicago Coliseum because of a schedule conflict.

Season standings

More information W, L ...
Western Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-San Francisco Warriors 4437.543–18–1011–1915–824–12
x-St. Louis Hawks 3942.481518–1112–219–1021–15
x-Los Angeles Lakers 3645.444821–1812–203–714–22
x-Chicago Bulls 3348.4071117–199–177–1217–19
Detroit Pistons 3051.3701412–189–199–1414–22
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Game log

1966–67 game log
#DateOpponentScoreHigh pointsRecord
1October 15@ St. Louis104–97Guy Rodgers (36)1–0
2October 18San Francisco116–119Jerry Sloan (26)2–0
3October 19Los Angeles124–134Guy Rodgers (34)3–0
4October 20N San Francisco121–111Guy Rodgers (26)3–1
5October 21@ Los Angeles108–101Keith Erickson (20)4–1
6October 23New York124–105Bob Boozer (20)4–2
7October 27N Boston100–123Jerry Sloan (25)4–3
8October 28N Detroit129–117Bob Boozer (31)4–4
9November 1San Francisco137–121Erwin Mueller (31)4–5
10November 2Baltimore94–102Erwin Mueller (26)5–5
11November 3N Boston108–137Guy Rodgers (16)5–6
12November 5@ Cincinnati113–99Jerry Sloan (22)6–6
13November 6St. Louis102–134Keith Erickson (22)7–6
14November 8Boston112–101Jerry Sloan (21)7–7
15November 9New York103–98Guy Rodgers (36)7–8
16November 11@ Philadelphia113–126Bob Boozer (22)7–9
17November 13Philadelphia132–126Guy Rodgers (35)7–10
18November 15@ St. Louis99–107Bob Boozer (18)7–11
19November 17@ Baltimore102–120Guy Rodgers (24)7–12
20November 18N Philadelphia145–120Barry Clemens (16)7–13
21November 19@ New York104–116Bob Boozer (19)7–14
22November 23@ Los Angeles130–154Guy Rodgers (25)7–15
23November 25@ Los Angeles121–117Bob Boozer (17)8–15
24November 26@ San Francisco129–131Don Kojis (24)8–16
25November 29N San Francisco108–101Bob Boozer (19)8–17
26December 3@ Detroit98–104Bob Boozer (29)8–18
27December 6@ Philadelphia119–129Keith Erickson (28)8–19
28December 7Philadelphia117–103Jim Washington (20)8–20
29December 8N Baltimore132–120Bob Boozer (30)9–20
30December 10@ Boston110–125Jerry Sloan (25)9–21
31December 13N Baltimore94–122Jerry Sloan (30)9–22
32December 14N Detroit87–93Jerry Sloan (17)10–22
33December 16N Cincinnati120–128Jerry Sloan (30)11–22
34December 17@ Baltimore110–106Jerry Sloan (27)12–22
35December 19N St. Louis97–102Jerry Sloan (24)13–22
36December 21New York107–110Boozer, Kojis (22)14–22
37December 23Detroit103–102Guy Rodgers (27)14–23
38December 25@ New York132–133Bob Boozer (40)14–24
39December 26Baltimore96–108Guy Rodgers (34)15–24
40December 30Boston110–106Bob Boozer (26)15–25
41January 3Cincinnati111–116Guy Rodgers (39)16–25
42January 4@ Philadelphia115–136Boozer, Mueller (20)16–26
43January 6@ Detroit135–126Guy Rodgers (30)17–26
44January 7@ Cincinnati112–125Erwin Mueller (25)17–27
45January 8Philadelphia117–108Erwin Mueller (26)17–28
46January 11Cincinnati106–102Jerry Sloan (28)17–29
47January 13@ Boston102–122Bob Boozer (19)17–30
48January 14Los Angeles121–122Guy Rodgers (39)18–30
49January 15New York116–131Bob Boozer (33)19–30
50January 17Boston109–101Jerry Sloan (28)19–31
51January 18N San Francisco107–111Jim Washington (19)20–31
52January 19N Philadelphia127–102Don Kojis (17)20–32
53January 20Detroit124–125 (OT)Bob Boozer (27)21–32
54January 22Baltimore114–118Bob Boozer (26)22–32
55January 24Detroit108–95Guy Rodgers (21)22–33
56January 25St. Louis103–102Boozer, Sloan (18)22–34
57January 29Los Angeles142–122Bob Boozer (29)22–35
58February 3Cincinnati113–118Don Kojis (23)23–35
59February 4@ St. Louis111–119Jerry Sloan (18)23–36
60February 5San Francisco142–141 (OT)Bob Boozer (32)23–37
61February 7Detroit98–90McCoy McLemore (23)23–38
62February 8N New York106–103Boozer, Sloan (25)23–39
63February 10N New York122–121Jim Washington (21)23–40
64February 11St. Louis104–98Jerry Sloan (24)23–41
65February 12@ Los Angeles121–129Don Kojis (42)23–42
66February 16N San Francisco125–124Bob Boozer (22)23–43
67February 19@ Los Angeles133–119Jerry Sloan (31)24–43
68February 22N New York103–117Bob Boozer (23)25–43
69February 26@ Baltimore106–124Don Kojis (18)25–44
70March 1N Philadelphia122–129Jerry Sloan (22)26–44
71March 2N Boston108–114Bob Boozer (20)26–45
72March 4@ St. Louis125–122Boozer, Mueller (20)27–45
73March 5Cincinnati106–113Guy Rodgers (29)28–45
74March 7Boston114–117Guy Rodgers (22)29–45
75March 10Baltimore115–132Don Kojis (22)30–45
76March 11@ Cincinnati119–147Guy Rodgers (16)30–46
77March 13Cincinnati133–117Bob Boozer (29)30–47
78March 14St. Louis111–98Jerry Sloan (30)30–48
79March 15@ Detroit98–91Jerry Sloan (32)31–48
80March 17San Francisco117–120Erwin Mueller (27)32–48
81March 19Los Angeles109–122Bob Boozer (24)33–48

Playoffs

More information 1967 playoff game log, Game ...
1967 playoff game log
Division semifinals: 0–3 (home: 0–1; road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 March 21 @ St. Louis L 100–114 Kojis, Boozer (18) Bob Boozer (13) Rodgers, Clemens (2) Kiel Auditorium
4,704		 0–1
2 March 23 St. Louis L 107–113 Bob Boozer (25) Kojis, Boozer (11) Guy Rodgers (11) International Amphitheatre
3,739		 0–2
3 March 25 @ St. Louis L 106–119 McCoy McLemore (18) Bob Boozer (11) Guy Rodgers (5) Kiel Auditorium
7,018		 0–3
1967 schedule
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Awards and records

References

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