Milwaukee Hawks (1951-1955)

Retired Numbers:
SEE ATLANTA HAWKS

Nickname:
Team's named shortened from Blackhawks to Hawks upon moving to Milwaukee, named in honor of Blackhawk war

Colors:
Blue
White
Black

Played As:
Tri-Cities Blackhawks* 1946/47-1950/51

Milwaukee Hawks
1951/52-1954/55

St. Louis Hawks 1955/56-1967/68

Atlanta Hawks 1968/69-Present

*-Played in NBL 1946/47-1948/49

First Game Played November 3,1951
Last Game Played March 14, 1955
Moved to St. Louis in 1955

Coaches: (3)

Doxie Moore 1951/52
Adrew Levane 1952/53-1953/54
Red Holzman 1953/54-1954/55

Arenas: (1)

Milwaukee Arena 1951/52-1954/55

Historical Moments:

1951/52: Upon moving from Tri-Cities to Milwaukee the tam shortens its nickname from Blackhawks to Hawks. Playing in the larger Milwaukee Arena better known as The Mecca the Hawks played lackluster basket ball, posting a horrid league worse 17-49 record, with Mel Hutchins, who tied for seconnd in rebounding with 13.3 boards per game the team's lone highlight.

1952/53: Despite winning ten more games the Hawks continued to dwell in the last place in the Western Division posting a record of 27-44.

1953/54: The Hawks continued to flutter in last place as they finished 19 games out of third place while posting a terrible record of 21-51. As the season wound down William "Red" Holzman was hired as the team's new coach replacing Andrew Levane.

1954/55: The Hawks finally got a superstar in Bob Pettit who was drafted out of Louisiana State. In his first season Pettit would earn Rookie of the Year honors while finishing fourth in scoring a 20.4 ppg. However it would not be enough to lift the Hawks out of last place as they posted a record of 26-46. Following the season Owner Ben Kerner announced he was moving the team to St. Louis, after four last place seasons in Milwaukee.

1955-1968: The city of Milwaukee get another shot at the NBA 13 years later when they were awarded an expansion team named the Bucks in 1968. The Bucks would be an instant hit winning the NBA title in just their third year.

NBA Champions:
None

NBA Finals:
None

NBA Division Finals:
None

NBA Division Champions:
None

NBA Playoff Appearences:
None

�MMXII Tank Productions. Stats researched by Frank Fleming, all information, and team names are property of the National Basketball Association. This site is not affiliated with the Milwaukee Hawks or the NBA. This site is maintained for research purposes only. All logos used on this page were from Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page.
Page created on March 10, 2003. Last updated on December 3, 2011 at 11:05 pm ET.
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