This was their court, the Pacers were wearing their jerseys and the ABA players were back
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INDIANAPOLIS — The guys were back — Fritz, Razor, Neto, Smooth, Dr. Dunk, Robo, Flynn and Boo — standing center court on an NBA floor crafted just for them.
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Indiana Pacer players were on the bench watching these men who came before them, who paved the way for the modern NBA game, wearing their old jerseys as the crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse roared as their names were called.
These guys have been here before, many times, on a court with Pacers fans going crazy over them, but that was more than 50 years ago when Freddie Lewis (Fritz), Charles Edge (Razor), Bob Netolicky (Neto), Billy Knight (Smooth), Darnell Hillman (Dr. Dunk), Dave Robisch (Robo), Mike Flynn (Flynn) and Don Buse (Boo) dazzled the city with their flashy moves and fast-paced play.
"This generation needs to know the history of the team, what we meant," Lewis says. "I mean, we were the only thing in town."
The NFL didn't come to Indy until 1984 when the Colts made an overnight exodus out of Baltimore. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Pacers reigned supreme.
These were the city's sports superstars. These were the men of the American Basketball Association who played at a time when, as Hillman puts it, "we just did it for the love of the game. That's it."
There wasn't much money in it, really. Many players had second and, sometimes, third jobs. When Buse got a signing bonus with the Pacers, it was enough to pay off his "little Volkswagen," $3,000, and "that was all I was worried about," Buse says.
"Dang, that's a grand more than I got," Netolicky says, laughing. "Isn't that crazy? How things have changed?"
As part of a season-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the ABA-NBA merger in 1976 (which wasn't so much a merger as a transaction that sent four ABA teams to the NBA as the rest of the league dissolved), the Pacers are celebrating their ABA heritage as one of the four teams that were welcomed into the NBA.
Throughout the season, the team will wear throwback ABA jerseys and play on an ABA-themed court, which celebrates the Pacers three ABA championships in 1970, 1972 and 1973.
And on Sunday, former ABA players were invited back to be honored in the first quarter of the Pacers game against their former ABA rivals the Brooklyn Nets, who were the New York Nets at the time.
"Those were the good old days," says Knight. "I remember battling many times in those uniforms."
After their names were announced to raucous cheers and as they walked off the court to more applause, the eight ABA Pacers made their way to Suite 33 where gift bags, food and drinks awaited them.
They had family and friends all around and a wonderful view of the court. But these guys weren't really here to watch the game. They were here to remember, reminisce and to relish the integral role they played in putting the Pacers on the map.
'They made us feel special'
Not all of the ABA Pacers were back, of course. Some couldn't make it, but many of them are gone. It's been 59 years since the first Indiana Pacers team took the court.
"You do the math," says Netolicky, 84, the second-oldest living Pacer behind Tom Thacker, who is 86.
The ABA Pacers played nearly all their games at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum from 1967 to 1974 when Market Square Arena opened downtown.
"They would turn the lights down in the coliseum, just the floor was lit up," said Buse. "You'd look up in the stands and it was pitch dark." Minus the flash of a lit cigarette, which was allowed back in those days.
A lot of things were different back in those days.
"The fans, they could get autographs any time they wanted them. They walked up, they grabbed our hands and then they gave us hugs," says Lewis. "This made us feel special, you know, to the people. And I'm sure that they felt the same way."
Those Pacers fans of the 1970s were cheering on a team that won three titles in four seasons.
"I can't even tell you how great the fans were, celebrating the three championships," says Lewis. "And then being in the 500 Festival parade, waving to all the people, and the people just loved it. They came out, they supported us all the time."
Edge still has fans who send photos to his home, asking for his autograph. "I sign and I send them back," he says. "Every time. Always."
'It means a lot having them back'
The ABA was, as former ABA announcer-turned legendary sportscaster Bob Costas calls it, "wonderful and wacky."
The basketball was red, white and blue and, when shot into the air, it looked almost like a kaleidoscope. The players dribbling that ball, an unconventional twist to the traditional orange, sported hairstyles just as rebellious – afros six inches tall, bangs hanging over their eyes.
By night, wild player parties lasted into the wee hours of the morning. By day, cheesy, outlandish promotions lured fans to the games.
In 1973, the Denver Rockets held Halter Top Night. Every woman wearing a halter top, accompanied by a paid ticketholder, was admitted free. In 1975, the Pacers brought in a live bear. Victor the Wrestling Bear took on local TV personalities and wrestlers at halftime, with a promise to wrestle fans.
A photo from 1973 gives a revealing glimpse — Mel Daniels inside the Pacers locker room talking to coach Bobby "Slick" Leonard. In one hand, Leonard has a beer and a cigarette.
The American Basketball Association was a different breed of sport, a quirky, magical era of the game. And "the team was family," said David Craig, who was also honored at Sunday's game as the Pacers athletic trainer for 30 years.
"We had more fun," Craig says, "so much fun, so many stories."
"And we all had nicknames," says Edge, known as Razor, a nod to his sharp shooting skills. "Everybody had a nickname."
There were plenty of heated rivalries on the court, including the ABA first round playoffs in 1976, the final season of the league. The Pacers were playing the Kentucky Colonels in a best of 3 series, and it was tied 1-1.
As Game 3 ended, Flynn hit a 3-pointer to put the Pacers up one point with four seconds left to play.
"Then Louie Dampier (Colonels) hits a shot at the buzzer falling down, and they beat us," Flynn says. "I was so mad because I had a big game. And I went in the locker room, and I kicked the concrete wall and broke my toe."
But many of those on-court competitions ended with both teams at a bar drinking the night away together, sometimes at Neto's, a bar owned by Netolicky where players, fans and the famous hung out.
As the former ABA players gathered Sunday in the suite and as the memories flowed, Pacers president and CEO Mel Raines stopped by.
"I mean, what they did in the ABA, and what that means to our franchise is incredible," Raines said. "And all these guys, it means a lot having them back."
Fans can visit Pacers.com/Classic for the ABA commemorative merchandise collection. Visit Lana Sports to buy the officially licensed original ABA ball or to request a tour of its extensive ABA memorabilia collection.
Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Hunsinger on X @danahunsinger33. Reach her via email [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: This was their court, the Pacers were wearing their jerseys and the ABA players were back