Remembering the Charlotte Hornets 30 years later: The very first win

We continue our series looking back at the first 30 years of Charlotte Hornets basketball by turning back the clock to November 8, 1988, a day that saw the Hornets earn its very first win in franchise history over the Los Angeles Clippers.

There's always a first time for everything

After dropping the first two games of the 1988-89 inaugural campaign, the Charlotte Hornets entered that evening's game against the Los Angeles Clippers on the home floor of the Charlotte Coliseum, and as the old saying goes, "There's always a first time for everything."  Many of us remember our first day of school, that first kiss, even getting that first house or card, but for the Hornets they had to get that first win not knowing the fact that George Shinn would suffer a stroke earlier in the day.  It occurred during an interview with the local Charlotte media when they asked about a possible name change for the 3-month old Coliseum on Tyvola Road Extension, and many of the other media members that were there were wondering where was Charlotte, and why this city deserved an NBA team to play in what was once the largest basketball-specific arena in the NBA when it opened back on August 11, 1988, and when the interview ended, Spencer Stolpen, the team's president at the time, was checking into the offices at 100 Hive Drive, and he did not realize that Shinn would suffer a stroke, causing concern for the 18,865 fans that were headed to that evening's game at "The Hive", but as the saying goes, "The Game Must Go On."

Crossing the threshold of victory for the first time

The game did go on, and in that game against the Clippers, fans would witness another first in Charlotte Hornets history, as Kurt Rambis would record the very first double-double in franchise history, as he would finish with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, while adding in 14 rebounds for the first 10+ rebound game in Hornet history, while Kelly Tripucka would lead the way for Charlotte with a game-high 24 points, and when the final horn sounded, the Hornets would taste victory for the very first time, as they would send the 18,865 home happy with a 117-105 win over the L.A. Clippers, and afterwards, the team would sign a ball and presented it to George Shinn to honor that first win in franchise history.

The Charlotte Hornets first win on November 8, 1988 is another in a long and storied chapter of NBA basketball in Charlotte, as we continue to celebrate the 30th anniversary of that first Hornets season back in 1988-89.

Remembering the Charlotte Hornets 30 years later: November 4, 1988, it all begins

This year marks the 30th anniversary of NBA basketball in Charlotte, and today marks the observance of the very first NBA game ever played in the city, as the Charlotte Hornets would mark their debut as the 24th franchise in the National Basketball Association as one of the league's 4 expansion teams.  Their opponent that night was the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have been in the league since 1970, and everyone in this small sleepy Southern town of 350,000 residents at that time were all excited and looking forward to welcoming Charlotte to the big leagues as the Hornets would become the first major-league sports team in the Carolinas. Before that, a lot of things would all come into focus to make it a reality.

One man's vision made it all happen

The vision to bring the NBA to Charlotte was made possible by Kannapolis, North Carolina native George Shinn, who was a self-made millionaire as owner of Rutledge Education Systems, a private for-profit business school, and long before that, he even served as a janitor at Evans Business College, and when that school was facing financial trouble, Shinn would buy the school.  When the NBA decided that it would plan on expanding in the mid 1980's, he would assemble a group to help "Bring the NBA to Basketball Country", by bringing in Felix Sabates, owner of several car dealerships in the Charlotte area, and is still a minority investor in the current Hornets franchise, Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, and the late Cy Bahakel, founder of Bahakel Communications Ltd., the owner of WCCB, Charlotte's CW affiliate and the original television home for Hornets basketball.

A dream and vision achieved

On April 5, 1987, the NBA Board of Governors would announce that the league would be expanding by four teams, with two teams slated to begin play in 1988-89 and two more would join in 1989-90, and interestingly enough, the first of those four teams would be Charlotte, because at the time of the League's plans to expand, the city was already in the process of building the brand new Charlotte Coliseum off of Tyvola Road Extension, which impressed league executives, and the Charlotte group had over 10,000 fans on a waiting list for season tickets for that first campaign in 1988-89.  After Charlotte was awarded an NBA expansion franchise, fans got involved with the effort, which included a "Name-the-Team" contest, as over 9,000 fans sent in suggestions for the team name, and they overwhelmingly selected "Hornets" as the winning favorite.  Along the way, Charlotte's new NBA franchise would see more things come their way, including fashion designer Alexander Julian being picked to design the iconic Hornets uniform, Cheryl Henson, daughter of "Muppets" creater Jim Henson coming up with the design of "Hugo", the team's mascot, and of course Dick Harter being chosen as the first ever coach of the Charlotte Hornets franchise.

The Big Day

November 4, 1988. Opening Night of the Hornets inaugural season. Fans were excited and anxiously waiting for what would go down as one of the biggest days in Charlotte, as well as throughout North and South Carolina, as 23,388 fans would pack the new Charlotte Coliseum, which opened 2 months earlier back on August 11, 1988, mostly in gowns and tuxedos for the Hornets debut.  It was a mixture of what would be a Hollywood premiere or an awards program, as searchlights would light the way for those that were  heading to the game that evening would be in for the night of their lives, even the Charlotte Symphony and Oratorio Singers of Charlotte were even there for the pregame entertainment, as well as the Governors of both Carolinas, South Carolina governor Carroll Campbell and North Carolina governor Jim Martin, were there to all honor George Shinn and his vision to bring a major-league sports franchise to the Carolinas.

After the festivities ended, it was time to play some basketball, and the game would produce two bright spots for the Charlotte Hornets on that night. The first would come when Kelly Tripucka would snatch a rebound from Brad Daugherty and put it in the basket for the very first basket in Charlotte Hornets history, and the Hornets would get what would be their only lead of the night, a 34-32 lead in the second quarter.  But the Cavs would spoil the opening night party for Charlotte as they would cruise to a 133-93 win that night, and when the game ended, some of the 23,388 fans gave the Hornets a standing ovation as they would leave the court on what would be a big night in Charlotte sports.

This is the first in a series of postings looking back at some of the memorable moments during this the 30th anniversary year of NBA basketball in Charlotte, as we look back at where this franchise has been and look ahead to where it will be going in the future.

Hornets Extra: December 23, 1988: A date that will live in Charlotte NBA history.

Today marks a date of historic significance in the 25 year history of Charlotte NBA basketball, as one game would become a turning point in the history of a young franchise back in their inaugural season of 1988-89, as the Charlotte Hornets, who were just 6-17 at the time were preparing to face Michael Jordan, who is of course the owner of the new version of the Hornets, and the Chicago Bulls, who were 13-10 before a sellout crowd of 23,388 at the Charlotte Coliseum and a national television audience on SuperStation WTBS in a game that would put Charlotte on the map as a NBA hotbed.

December 23rd,1988 wasn't your typical Friday in Charlotte, North Carolina, a city of 350,000 residents at the time, as many of us Charlotteans were either out doing some last minute Christmas shopping, or flying in and out of Charlotte-Douglas International Airport to visit our families for the holidays.  For the Charlotte Hornets, a young expansion franchise that was finding it's way around the NBA in its second month of existence, they were hoping to give the fans something to cheer about.

It would come in the form of Michael Jordan playing in his first professional basketball game in his home state as a member of the Chicago Bulls, the Hornets opponent that night at the Coliseum, and believe me, the place was jam packed with those wearing Purple and Teal on that December night in 1988.

The turning point of that night's game was in the final quarter of action, as many of the sellout crowd that were there, while the rest of us were either watching the game on television, or listening to the game on the Hornets flagship radio station at the time, 1110 WBT, whose 50,000 watt signal would reach "From Canada to Cuba", were all wondering what would happen next.  Chicago was up 85-77 at the time, but the Hornets would eventually go on a run of 10-0 to capture the lead at 87-85, as Tim Kempton would come off the bench for Charlotte with his six points to help the cause.

Jordan, who eventually led all scorers with 33 points in his first NBA game back in North Carolina, would make a layup to tie up the game at 101, and with less than 26 seconds left in regulation, everyone inside Charlotte Coliseum was on their feet to find out if the Hornets would send it to overtime, or go for the win. For the team's first head coach, Dick Harter, he knew that if you wanted to send the crowd home happy, go for the win.

Charlotte would get the ball with 26 seconds left in regulation, and with less than three seconds left in the game, Hornets guard Robert Reid would miss his potential game-winning shot, then it would come to forward Kurt Rambis, who would get it off the rim, and he got the ball back when they got a fresh 24 on the shot clock as he would put a stickback basket at the buzzer, to give the Hornets a 103-101 win, sending the 23,388 into a frenzy that night at the Coliseum, as the game would signal the beginning of "Hornets Hysteria", when the Charlotte Coliseum would sellout night after night for the next 364 Hornets games, while going on to lead the league in attendance in 8 out of 10 seasons.

If you're a Hornets fan since that first season in 1988-89, you knew that this game was indeed a memorable one in Charlotte NBA history, when you combine the 14 seasons of the original Hornets franchise, along with the 10 seasons of the Bobcats era, and many of us still have memories of this game to this very day, as this game against Chicago 26 years ago was truly another memorable moment in Charlotte Hornets history.  

For those of you who were wondering who led the Hornets in scoring that night, it was Kelly Tripucka with 30 points.

Hornets Extra: A refresher of firsts in Charlotte NBA history

In less than three days from now, the Charlotte Hornets will officially make their long-awaited return to regular season action for the first time in 12 years as they welcome in the Milwaukee Bucks to Time Warner Cable Arena for opening night on Wednesday.  This season will mark the 25th season of NBA basketball here in Charlotte if you count in the 14 years of the original Hornets(1988-2002), and the 10 seasons of the Charlotte Bobcats(2004-2014), and this give us an opportunity to do a little refresher on some of the regular season "Firsts" from the Hornets first season back in 1988-89 with some of them occurring during the first game against Cleveland back on November 4, 1988, and some of the "Firsts" from the then-Bobcats first season back in 2004-05, since the newly-rebranded Hornets own and have exclusive access to all the statistical history, records, and information of Charlotte NBA basketball, after the franchise officially reclaimed the "Hornets" moniker on May 20th, 2014.

CHARLOTTE HORNETS FIRSTS:

First Game: November 4, 1988 vs. Cleveland(Charlotte Coliseum)
First Win: November 8, 1988 vs. L.A. Clippers(117-105)
First Loss: November 4, 1988 vs. Cleveland(133-93)
First Road Win: November 19, 1988 at San Antonio(107-105)
First Overtime Game: December 10, 1988 at New Jersey(Lost 121-112)
First Overtime Win: January 16, 1989 at Philadelphia(127-122)
First Starting Lineup: Kelly Tripucka(Forward), Kurt Rambis(Forward), Dave Hoppen(Center), Rickey Green(Guard), Robert Reid(Guard) vs. Cleveland(November 4, 1988)
First Point: Kelly Tripucka vs. Cleveland(November 4, 1988)
First Field Goal Attempt: Rickey Green vs. Cleveland(November 4, 1988)
First Field Goal Made: Kelly Tripucka vs. Cleveland(November 4, 1988)
First Free Throw Made: Kelly Tripucka vs. Cleveland(November 4, 1988)
First Three-Point FG Attempt: Kelly Tripucka at Detroit(November 5, 1988)
First Three-Point FG Made: Kelly Tripucka at Atlanta(November 12, 1988)
First Rebound: Kelly Tripucka vs. Cleveland(November 4, 1988)
First Assist: Rickey Green vs. Cleveland(November 4, 1988)
First Steal: Kelly Tripucka vs. Cleveland(November 4, 1988)
First Blocked Shot: Michael Holton vs. Cleveland(November 4, 1988)
First 20-plus points game: 24 by Kelly Tripucka vs. L.A. Clippers(November 8, 1988)
First 30-plus points game: 31 by Kelly Tripucka at San Antonio(November 19, 1988)
First 40-plus points game: 40 by Kelly Tripucka vs. Indiana(December 14, 1988)
First 10-plus rebounds game: 14 by Kurt Rambis vs. L.A. Clippers(November 8, 1988)
First 20-plus rebounds game: 21 by Kurt Rambis vs. Dallas(December 16, 1988)
First 10-plus assists game: 10 by Michael Holton vs. New Jersey(November 15, 1988)
First 20 Point-20 Rebound Game: 25 points-20 rebounds by J.R. Reid vs. Orlando(November 14, 1989)

CHARLOTTE BOBCATS FIRSTS:

First Bobcats Game: November 4, 2004 vs. Washington
First Bobcats Win: November 6 vs. Orlando(111-100)
First Bobcats Loss: November 4, 2004 vs. Washington(103-96)
First Bobcats Road Win: December 22nd at Houston(90-87)
First Bobcats Overtime Game: November 21st at Detroit(Lost in 2OT 117-116)
First Bobcats Overtime Win: December 18th vs. Houston(101-100)
First Bobcats Lineup: Gerald Wallace(Forward), Emeka Okafor(Forward), Primoz Brezec(Center), Brevin Knight(Guard), Jason Kapono(Guard) vs. Washington(November 4, 2004)
First Bobcats Point: Primoz Brezec vs. Washington(November 4, 2004)
First Bobcats Field Goal Attempt: Primoz Brezec vs. Washington(November 4, 2004)
First Bobcats Field Goal Made: Primoz Brezec vs. Washington(November 4, 2004)
First Bobcats Free Throw Made: Primoz Brezec vs. Washington(November 4, 2004)
First Bobcats Free Throw Attempt: Primoz Brezec vs. Washington(November 4, 2004)
First Bobcats Three-Point FG Attempt: Steve Smith vs. Washington(November 4, 2004)
First Bobcats Three-Point FG Made: Steve Smith vs. Washington(November 4, 2004)
First Bobcats Rebound: Emeka Okafor vs. Washington(November 4, 2004)
First Bobcats Offensive Rebound: Emeka Okafor vs. Washington(November 4, 2004)
First Bobcats Defensive Rebound: Emeka Okafor vs. Washington(November 4, 2004)
First Bobcats Assist: Brevin Knight vs. Washington(November 4, 2004)
First Bobcats Steal: Jason Hart vs. Washington(November 4, 2004)
First Bobcats Blocked Shot: Jason Kapono vs. Washington(November 4, 2004)

Hornets Extra: A history of Charlotte's NBA draft picks in the NBA Draft

In 2 days from now, the NBA Draft will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and the draft will have a special significance for the Charlotte Hornets: It will be their first draft appearance in 13 years, as the team continues its transition from the Bobcats back to the Hornets moniker, which became official last month.

Since 1988, Charlotte's NBA teams have participated in the NBA Draft(except the 1997 and 2010 Drafts), and some of the players turned out to be strong players for the original Hornets franchise, and during the then-Bobcats era from 2004-2014, while others, well, let's just not get into this discussion, okay.  The Hornets come into the draft with the 9th and 24th picks in the first round, and the 45th pick in the second round, and we got the 9th pick from the Detroit Pistons back during the Draft Lottery on May 20th, the same day the "Hornets" name officially returned home to Charlotte, and by looking at some of the different mock drafts I've been checking out, the consensus of them have Charlotte taking Doug McDermott out of Creighton at number 9, and P.J. Hairston from the NBA Development League by way of the University of North Carolina at 24, while others have Charlotte taking Nik Stauskas from the University of Michigan, and many believe that some of the mock drafts could possibly hold up come draft night, but it's up to the general managers to decide which player could best fit the franchise.

And for us fans here in Charlotte, it's up to Michael Jordan, General Manager Rich Cho, and head coach Steve Clifford to look for a player that can take the Hornets into the next chapter in their history, after the then-Bobcats coming off a successful 2013-14 season that saw them finish the campaign with a 44-38 record, before being swept in 4 straight games by the Miami Heat in the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs.

Back to the story about the history of the Hornets/Bobcats picks in the NBA Draft.  The draft has produced a lot of top talent for the original Hornets franchise(1988-2002), and the Bobcats era from 2004-2014, and with the draft coming up in 2 days, this give us time to do a refresher on all of the draft picks that Charlotte's NBA teams have had in the NBA Draft dating back to the original Hornets first year in 1988.

CHARLOTTE HORNETS DRAFT HISTORY(1988-2002)

1988 NBA Draft

First Round: Rex Chapman(8th overall pick, University of Kentucky)
Second Round: Tom Tolbert(34th overall pick, Arizona)
Third Round: Jeff Moore(58th overall, Auburn; Never played in NBA)

1989 NBA Draft

First Round: J.R. Reid(5th overall pick, University of North Carolina)
Second Round: Dyron Nix(29th overall pick, University of Tennessee)

1990 NBA Draft

First Round: Kendall Gill(5th overall pick, University of Illinois)
Second Round: Steve Scheffler(39th overall pick, Purdue University)

1991 NBA Draft

First Round: Larry Johnson(1st overall pick, UNLV; Rookie of the Year in 1991-92)
Second Round: Kevin Lynch(28th overall pick, Minnesota; Hornets acquired the selection from Denver)

1992 NBA Draft

First Round: Alonzo Mourning(2nd overall pick, Georgetown University)
Second Round: Tony Bennett(35th overall pick, Wisconsin-Green Bay; now head coach at the University of Virginia)

1993 NBA Draft

First Round: Greg Graham(17th overall pick, Indiana University); Scott Burrell(20th overall pick, UCONN)

1994 NBA Draft

Second Round: Darrin Hancock(38th overall pick, Kansas)

1995 NBA Draft

First Round: George Zidek(22nd overall pick, UCLA)

1996 NBA Draft

First Round: Kobe Bryant(13th overall pick, Lower Merion HS; traded to L.A. Lakers for Vlade Divac); Tony Delk(16th overall pick, University of Kentucky)
Second Round: Malik Rose(44th overall pick, Drexel University)

1997 NBA Draft: No picks

1998 NBA Draft

First Round: Ricky Davis(21st overall pick, Iowa)
Second Round: Andrew Betts, Long Beach State; Never played a game in the NBA)

1999 NBA Draft

First Round: Baron Davis(3rd overall pick, UCLA)
Second Round: Lee Nailon(43rd overall pick, TCU)

2000 NBA Draft

First Round: Jamaal Magloire(19th overall pick, University of Kentucky)

2001 NBA Draft

First Round: Kirk Haston(16th overall pick, Indiana University)

CHARLOTTE BOBCATS DRAFT HISTORY(2004-2014; BOLD denotes player is still with franchise)

2004 NBA Draft

First Round: Emeka Okafor(2nd overall pick, UCONN, 2004-05 Rookie of the Year)

Second Round: Bernard Robinson(46th overall pick, Michigan)

2005 NBA Draft

First Round: Raymond Felton(5th overall selection, University of North Carolina); Sean May(13th overall selection, University of North Carolina)

2006 NBA Draft

First Round: Adam Morrison(3rd overall selection, Gonzaga University)

Second Round: Ryan Hollins(50th overall selection, UCLA)

2007 NBA Draft

First Round: Brandan Wright(8th overall selection, University of North Carolina; Traded to Golden State in exchange for Jason Richardson); Jared Dudley(22nd overall selection, Boston College)

2008 NBA Draft

First Round: D.J. Augustin(8th overall selection, Texas); Alexis Ajinca(20th overall selection, France)
Second Round: Kyle Weaver(38th overall selection, Washington State)

2009 NBA Draft

First Round: GERALD HENDERSON(12th overall selection, Duke University)
Second Round: Derrick Brown(40th overall selection, Xavier University); Robert Vaden(54th overall selection, UAB; Never played in the regular season and playoffs)

2010 NBA Draft: No picks

2011 NBA Draft

First Round:BISMACK BIYOMBO(acquired from Sacramento with 7th overall pick, Congo); KEMBA WALKER(9th overall selection, UCONN); Tobias Harris(19th overall selection, Tennessee; traded to Milwaukee
Second Round: Jeremy Tyler(39th overall selection, Tokyo Apache; rights traded to Golden State)

2012 NBA Draft

First Round: MICHAEL KIDD-GILCHRIST(2nd overall selection, University of Kentucky)
Second Round: JEFFERY TAYLOR(31st overall selection, Vanderbilt)

2013 NBA Draft

First Round: CODY ZELLER(4th overall selection, University of North Carolina; made the NBA All-Rookie third team in 2013-14 season)

Hornets Extra: The evolution of the Charlotte Hornets uniform

There's a certain saying that goes "Clothes make the man", but when it comes to sports, there's an expression that goes like this: "Clothes make the team".  Many teams uniforms tell a story about a team's history, legacy, and tradition to a city where they call home, such as the New York Yankees and the iconic pinstripes, the Dallas Cowboys, with their legendary "Blue Star" logo, and the legendary teams of the NBA, including the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, and the New York Knicks.  But no team in the NBA has a unique history, legacy, and tradition than that of the Charlotte Hornets.

Tomorrow morning, the Hornets will introduce their new uniforms the team will wear starting next season, and the uniforms will be slightly different than the ones we grew up seeing on the floor during the original Hornets era from 1988-2002, and the uniforms were hands down, one of the most popular jerseys in NBA history, and the connection to the uniforms was that they were designed by a native North Carolinian, Alexander Julian.  

Kelly Tripucka(left) models the Charlotte Hornets road jersey, designed by
Alexander Julian back in 1988.

He was the first fashion designer to design uniforms for an NBA team, and during the design process, he suggested that one of the colors would be pink, but then-owner George Shinn was not fond of that decision at the time he announced that Julian would be the one responsible to design the original Hornets uniforms.  So, with that being said, he would come up with a color we would never see before, and that would be the color teal.  He said "Teal was idea to use because it was fresh and new and exciting and looked good on every color of skin tone."  Julian said in an interview last year with Charlotte Magazine.  

Julian also realized that purple would be one of the team's colors as well, to match the team's "Dribbling Hornet" logo, designed by Jerrell Caskey of Hendrick Sportswear and unveiled on November 12, 1987, and he added in some Royal Blue, Kelly green and Carolina Blue to round out the unique pinstripe design for the Hornets uniforms, which made its debut on July 20th, 1988 in both, New York City and at the Belk location at SouthPark Mall here in Charlotte, with Kelly Tripucka modeling the uniforms, and the teal jerseys would also be historic as well for the Hornets, as they became the first team to wear that jersey on the road full time.

And what did Alexander Julian get in return for designing the uniforms? 5 pounds of North Carolina barbecue that Shinn sent to his home in Connecticut, according to Julian.

In 1994, the Hornets unveiled the purple alternate jersey, and in time for the team's 10th anniversary season, they would get updated jerseys for the remainder of the team's run in Charlotte as they would get two pinstripes on the jerseys to mark the team 10 years of existence in Charlotte.

Of course, Julian was not picked to design the new Hornets jerseys this time around, as the team decided to stick with Jordan Brand throughout the uniform design process, and many of us fans are hoping that the new designs that will be unveiled tomorrow morning at 11:30 a.m. would possibly be somewhat of a combination of honoring the team's past while looking ahead to the future, as the new uniforms will absolutely be fresh and new for the Hornets when they hit the court in 2014-15.

Remembering the Charlotte Hornets 25 years later: The game that signaled the birth of "Hornets Hysteria"

As we continue to look back at some of the memorable moments from the Charlotte Hornets first season 25 years ago, we'll be looking back at an historical moment that changed the team, and the city of Charlotte forever 25 years ago yesterday, as "Hornets Hysteria" would be born with a game against North Carolina's native son, who would eventually be the man that would own our current NBA team and the driving force behind our city bringing the "Hornets" name back next season.

The game that marked the birth of "Hornets Hysteria"

It wasn't a typical Friday in Charlotte on that day back on December 23rd, 1988, it was just 2 days before Christmas, and thousands of people living here at that time were just busy getting their Christmas shopping done, while others were either flying in or flying out of Charlotte-Douglas International Airport to visit family and friends, and for the Charlotte Hornets, who were 6-17 at the time, they were hard at work preparing for their match-up against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in what would be Jordan's first professional game in his home state before a crowd of 23,388 at the Charlotte Coliseum and a national television audience on SuperStation TBS.

The Hornets were down 85-77 to the Bulls, who were led in scoring by Jordan, who had 33 points, but forward Tim Kempton would provide a little spark for Charlotte off the bench, as his six points would give the Hornets an 87-85 lead with 6:23 left in the game, and with time running out, everyone inside the Coliseum was hoping for a little early-Christmas present, and head coach Dick Harter would come up with a game plan, as Charlotte was tied with Chicago at 101-101 after a Jordan layup, setting the stage for a thrilling finish at "The Hive", and to simply put it, it was truly alive and well that night with just a few seconds left in regulation, as both teams, and those attending the game, watching it on television, or hearing the game on the radio, were on pins and needles as the Hornets needed just one shot to win the game or settle it in overtime, but Rambis was all in, and he wanted to go for the win.

With 26 seconds left in regulation, the Hornets would have the ball, as Robert Reid's jumper attempt was no good with time winding down, and Rambis was right on the spot to recover the loose ball and would stick it in at the buzzer, for the first last-second win in franchise history, and everyone inside the Coliseum would shout in jubilation and the team was jumping for joy, as the Hornets would get what would become one of their signature wins in their first season in Charlotte, defeating the Bulls 103-101, with Kelly Tripucka leading the way with 30 points in the victory for Charlotte. In his post-game press conference,  Harter would give the fans that were there that evening a lot of praise, quoting that "Charlotte, this is your Christmas present." and from that game on, "Hornets Hysteria" was everywhere throughout Charlotte and the Carolinas, as the game that night would make the Charlotte Hornets a household name, while the Charlotte Coliseum would be packed night in and night out for 364 consecutive games.

The way I see it, "Hornets Hysteria" was simply put, something this city needed that day, as it would be an early-Christmas present for the residents of 350,000 people living here at that time who were busy preparing for the holidays, and it was all over our city, as fans wore everything purple and teal and talked about it at work, in sports bars, and everywhere else around our city, as well as throughout North and South Carolina, as people finally took notice about the Charlotte Hornets and adopting them as their hometown NBA team during the first season, and that is something that we are looking forward to recreating next season, when the Bobcats officially change its name to the Hornets for the 2014-15 season and beyond.

"Hornets Hysteria" was indeed another great moment in the first season of the 1988-89 Charlotte Hornets, as we continue to look back at some of the moments from the team's first season 25 years ago and looking ahead to the return of the Hornets next season.

Remembering the Charlotte Hornets 25 years later: A night to remember

In the 7th and final installment of our series looking back at the 25th Anniversary of the Charlotte Hornets first game, we'll look back at the big day, a day that will live on in the hearts of sports fans in Charlotte, and the Carolinas.

November 4th, 1988.  A day that will live in Charlotte and Carolina sports history forever.  It was more than just a typical day in Charlotte, North Carolina, a city of 350,000 people at the time as this city was about to hit it big on what may be considered an historic day for Charlotte and the Carolinas, it was a day that NBA basketball came to town.  A culmination of 3 1/2 years of planning was all going to become a reality on this night as the Charlotte Hornets took on the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first game in franchise history.

The game wasn't just any regular game, it was more like an Hollywood premiere combined with a gala or awards ceremony, if you get the picture, as the men were all dressed up in tuxedos, while the women wore gowns, and if you were driving down Tyvola Road, you may have saw the searchlights lighting up the sky to lead you to the new Charlotte Coliseum, which was opened 3 1/2 months ago back on August 11, 1988, with the now-infamous scoreboard crash coming a day later on August 12, 1988 and yes, the red carpet was indeed rolled out to welcome the 23,388 attendees to the first game.

Even the Charlotte Symphony was there to provide the pregame entertainment.  It was a festive atmosphere as North Carolina governor Jim Martin, and South Carolina governor Carroll Campbell, both made the journey to honor the man responsible for making the dream of bringing NBA basketball to the Carolinas a reality, George Shinn.

When the pregame festivities all wrapped up, they finally got to the starting lineups, the Cleveland Cavaliers were going to be introduced first, but when the team's first Public Address announcer, John Edwards said "And now, the starting lineups for the Cleveland Cavaliers.....", the Cavaliers remained in the locker room not knowing that the pregame ceremonies all wrapped up.  The Hornets and Cavaliers were getting ready for tip-off, and everyone took out their cameras to capture the moment that would be a memorable one indeed on a night to remember.

The two bright spots that the Charlotte Hornets would have in the game that night was the first basket ever scored in Hornets history as Kelly Tripucka would snag a rebound from Cavaliers center Brad Daugherty and he would put it in the basket with 10:09 left in the opening frame to make it a 4-2 game, and the lone lead of the night for the Hornets would be a 34-32 lead in the second quarter, giving the crowd something to cheer about, in a building that was truly electric, and when I talked to Gerry Valliancourt, the former sports director at the Hornets television flagship at the time, WCCB, and currently the host of "The Gerry V Show" on 730 The Game(WZGV-AM) in 2008, he said that the crowd noise was indeed a factor.  "The noise was a factor and I couldn't hear myself during the broadcast." quoted Valliancourt.

Another of the bright spots from opening night was the public debut of the team's official mascot, Hugo the Hornet, which was created by Cheryl Henson, the daughter of famed Muppets creator Jim Henson, as he would receive rave reviews from the sellout crowd on Opening Night.

But in the end, the Cavs would spoil the inaugural game for the Charlotte Hornets, going on a 34-10 run in the second quarter, and evenutally putting it away as they would roll on to a 133-93 win, and when the game ended, the Hornets would receive a standing ovation from the crowd acknowledging their support in the first game, despite being on the losing end of the scoreboard, to cap off a very special night in history.

The next morning, Ron Green, Sr., the long-time sports writer for The Charlotte Observer, would give his own take on the Hornets first game, stating that "It was a good day, the most exciting in Charlotte sports history.  As fine a day a city like this can hope to experience."  Experience was indeed the word of that night in November of 1988, and for those of us that were here at the time, or for those that weren't around, the night that the Charlotte Hornets took the floor for the first time would always be a special moment for all of us Charlotte and Carolina sports fans alike.  And if you're wondering who led the Hornets in the loss on November 4th, 1988, it was Tripucka and Kurt Rambis that scored 16 points each for Charlotte.

Remembering the Charlotte Hornets 25 years later: Who are these guys?

Over the last 6 days, we have been chronicling the early years of the Charlotte Hornets franchise as we approach the 25th Anniversary of the team's first game. This time around, we'll talk about the most important thing a franchise needs, a head coach and some players that would make up the 1988-89 edition of the Charlotte Hornets.

Scheer begins an extensive hunt for a coach

Carl Scheer, who was hired as the first Vice President and General Manager of the Charlotte Hornets on June 25, 1987, would have a plan to look for a head coach that would roam the sidelines of the new Charlotte Coliseum for the Hornets first season, and after an extensive search, he would select Dick Harter, who was an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers at the time, to be the very first head coach in Charlotte Hornets history on June 3, 1988.  Harter had a background as an college and NBA coach, first breaking into the head coaching capacity at Rider University for a season, before leaving there to be the coach at Penn, where he spent 5 1/2 years as their coach.  His best years came during his time at the University of Oregon, where his teams were known as the "Kamikaze Kids" from 1971 until the time he left for Penn State University as it's head coach from 1978-83.

Harter made his NBA coaching debut as an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons in 1983 and served in that capacity until the 1986 season, where he moved to Indiana to serve as a Pacers assistant coach.  The extensive background that Harter had coaching in college and in the NBA was exactly what Carl Scheer and owner George Shinn had in mind during the search.  With the coach in place, the next thing the Hornets would add on to their list of needs to make the team work, a list of players, in the expansion draft and in the 1988 NBA Draft, and for Scheer and Director of Player Personnel Gene Littles, they would hit the ground running to build that first roster to take the floor of the Charlotte Coliseum.

Who are these guys?

On June 23, 1988, the Hornets, along with the Miami Heat, led by a group headed by Broadway producer Zev Buffman and former NBA player/coach and Charlotte native Billy Cunningham, participated in the 1988 NBA Expansion Draft.  The players that the Hornets and Heat were going to get came from previous established teams in the league.  Charlotte won the coin toss, allowing Miami to select first in the expansion draft, and Miami would take Arvid Kramer from the Dallas Mavericks.  Charlotte had the next pick in the draft, and the Hornets would select the player that would have a huge impact on basketball in Charlotte, Dell Curry, who was with the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Another player that would be an integral part of the Hornets was Tyrone "Muggsy" Bogues, who was picked 6th by Charlotte.  There was a few draft day trades during the expansion draft, and the Hornets were involved in one, as they sent Mike Brown, who was picked 8th by Charlotte, to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Kelly Tripucka.

In all, the Hornets picked 11 players in the expansion draft, and in the NBA Draft, held on June 28th, 1988, Charlotte used the 8th pick in the draft to select Rex Chapman out of the University of Kentucky, to set up the roster for the expansion Charlotte Hornets to take the floor for its inaugural campaign in 1988:

1988-89 Charlotte Hornets inaugural season roster

Forwards(6):

• Kurt Rambis(Signed as a Free Agent on July 28, 1988)
• Tim Kempton(Signed as a Free Agent on August 17, 1988)
• Robert Reid(Acquired from Houston in exchange for Bernard Thompson on July 18, 1988)
• Brian Rowsom(Signed as a Free Agent on October 6, 1988)
• Tom Tolbert(Selected 34th by Charlotte in 1988 NBA Draft)
• Kelly Tripucka(Acquired by Charlotte from Utah in exchange for Mike Brown in 1988 Expansion Draft)

Guards(7):

• Muggsy Bogues(Selected in Expansion Draft)
• Rex Chapman(Drafted 8th by Charlotte in 1988 NBA Draft)
• Dell Curry(Selected in Expansion Draft)
• Rickey Green(Selected in Expansion Draft)
• Michael Holton(Selected in Expansion Draft)
• Ralph Lewis(Selected in Expansion Draft)
• Sidney Lowe

Centers(3):

• Earl Cureton(Signed as a Free Agent on July 20, 1988)
• Dave Hoppen(Selected in Expansion Draft)
• Greg Kite

The roster is set, the coaching staff has been assembled, and for the Charlotte Hornets, there was only one more thing left to do....play some basketball.  In the 7th and final chapter of this series, we will look back at the day that would live in Charlotte and Carolina sports history forever, as the Charlotte Hornets would hit the floor of the Charlotte Coliseum for the first time as a team, as Charlotte would finally make the big time at last on that Friday night in November of 1988.

Remembering the Charlotte Hornets 25 years later: The Name Game

This upcoming Monday will mark the 25th anniversary of the Charlotte Hornets first game back on November 4, 1988, and we are looking back at some of the important and interesting milestones from the franchise's birth.  In the first chapter, we talked about how George Shinn went from being a janitor at a business school, to making millions as owner of Rutledge Education Systems, and to assembling a group of investors in a quest to bring an NBA team to Charlotte, and in part 2, we talked about how his speech to the NBA Board of Governors led up to the phone call from commissioner David Stern back in 1987.

Today, we'll discuss about how one name didn't warm up to those of us that were growing up here during that time, and how Shinn wanted to give the fans what the wanted to look for in a name for an NBA franchise.


What's in a Name?

"Lakers", "Yankees", "Cowboys", "Celtics", "Red Sox". Those are some of the legendary nicknames that we have come to known as sports fans, but during our quest to bring the NBA to Charlotte, it was a tale of 2 nicknames, one that was somewhat a bad decision, while the other would be all about a connection to our city's history.  Shortly after the NBA awarded Charlotte an expansion franchise, George Shinn and his group already selected a name for the new expansion team, called the Charlotte "Spirit"?  When that was first announced, some of the fans said "What kind of nickname was that?" 

Well, according to legend, Shinn wanted to choose the name "Spirit" as a reflection of the city and it's people, and many said that the choice for the name wasn't pretty, given the fact that some of the fans would associate the name with "The PTL Club", which was a christian television program that was based in Charlotte and was hosted by Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and it was a subject of an investigative report by The Charlotte Observer, the city's newspaper back in 1987 uncovering the organization's fundraising activities that would lead to the eventual downfall of the Bakkers and the PTL ministries as a whole, and The Charlotte Observer would go on to win the coveted Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the PTL investigations in 1988, but it was part of a marketing campaign the Charlotte group had in 1986 titled "Bring the NBA to Basketball Country", and that drew a lot of outrage from the fans saying that it was a bad choice for a team nickname in the NBA, so it was back to the drawing board for George Shinn to come up with a way to give the fans what they want.

And he did, as Shinn realized that the "Spirit" name wasn't taking off with the hometown fans in Charlotte, he would give the fans what they want the team to be called in something he would call "Spirited Voting".  So in April of 1987, he enlisted the help of The Charlotte Observer for a "Name-the-Team" contest, which drew over 9,000 Charlotte Observer readers, and fans, to send in their suggestions for what the team should be called, and it was pretty obvious that both, Observer readers and fans wanted a team name that can reflect the city's history and heritage, and in the end, 2,916 of those fans that took part in the Name-the-Team contest overwhelmingly chose "Hornets" as the winning nickname for the team, over the "Knights", "Cougars", "Spirit", "Crowns", and "Stars".

The meaning of the Hornets nickname

When Shinn officially announced that the Charlotte Hornets would become the team's name on June 5, 1987, team officials would have do a lot of research to dig up some history behind the team's name, as well as the historic significance and connection to Charlotte itself.  According to legend, the origins of the "Hornets" namesake trace to the Revolutionary War, and one of those battles that occurred was the Battle of the Bees, which occurred on October 3, 1780. In that battle, an estimated 450 British troops were attempting to load up on some supplies from McIntyre's Farm in the Northeast end of Mecklenburg County, but they were met by a group of 14 American patriots after the British Redcoats turned over several hornets nests, causing the British soldiers to elude from them, and along the way, the hidden American patriots saw their chance to strike and open fire, causing the British to retreat in the hopes that they were under attack from a significantly larger force.  After British general Charles Cornwallis left Charlotte on October 12, 1780, he would go on to say that Charlotte was "A veritable hornet's nest of rebellion."

The "Hornets" nickname was used by our city's minor-league baseball teams from 1901-73, and it was also the nickname of our city's short-lived World Football League franchise during the 1970's.  There was a lot of reasons why the "Hornets" nickname would be a good fit for the team, and they wanted to choose it to reflect the city's history, and I did a post about the history of the Hornets name back in July, when the city's current NBA team, the Charlotte Bobcats, was on the verge of reclaiming the Hornets name again, and you can read more about it here.

In our next installment of our series leading up to the 25th Anniversary of the Hornets first game, we'll talk about how Alexander Julian wanted to design the uniforms for some good-old fashioned North Carolina barbecue, and how the daughter of famed "Muppets" creator Jim Henson got into the act of designing and building a loveable mascot we would all fall in love with.

NOTE: One of the nicknames that was considered in the "Name the Team" contest, was the "Knights", and it would eventually become the nickname of Charlotte's minor-league baseball team when Shinn bought the Charlotte O's from the Crockett family in 1987.

Remembering the Charlotte Hornets 25 years later: The call that changed a city forever

As we continue to countdown to the observance of the 25th anniversary of the Charlotte Hornets inaugural game this upcoming Monday, we are taking a look back at the birth of the franchise, and how the city fell in love with the Hornets.  In part 1 of this six part series, we talked about how George Shinn made his millions as a self-made entrepreneur and how he assembled a band of renegades back in 1985 that would set out on a journey to bring Charlotte an NBA franchise.  In part 2 of this series, we'll talk about how Shinn impressed the NBA Board of Governors, and the call that would change the city forever on April Fool's Day, 1987.

How Shinn sold the NBA on Charlotte

After announcing his intentions to pursue an NBA expansion franchise, George Shinn and his group would have to do a lot of hard work in order for Charlotte to secure the bid. After Shinn traveled to New York to present the league with a $100,000 check to make Charlotte's bid official on June 23, 1986, the next step in the process would have to be a presentation to the NBA Board of Governors on October 20, 1986 in Phoenix, Arizona.  Commissioner David Stern knew that he wanted Charlotte to be in the fold for an expansion franchise.  At one point, there was 11 cities that were in the running, and Charlotte was always last in the pickings, according to Shinn.

Then, came the 30-minute presentation to the NBA Board of Governors, and in that speech, Shinn addressed the Board of Governors about why he and his group wanted Charlotte to have an NBA team in the first place, and the reasons why fans wanted to support the team when it would begin play in the 1988-89 season.

In the speech, which was interrupted by applause on two occasions, Shinn would say that Charlotte was on the rise as one of the fastest-growing cities in America with it's rapid population, and realizing that the one thing that Charlotte was lacking was a major-league sports franchise with the minor-league Charlotte O's baseball team(Shinn would later acquire the team in 1987), NASCAR, and UNC Charlotte's athletic teams being the only games in town back then. He would later say that the Charlotte group had over 10,000 ticket deposits, from those in Charlotte that signed up to be on a waiting list to purchase season tickets for that first season, after the group launched its ticket drive in July of that year, with former Charlotte mayor Harvey Gantt being the first to purchase two season tickets at a Charlotte City Council Meeting on July 23, 1986 to kickoff the drive, and in the runup to the presentation, they reached the goal of 7,500 season tickets with more than 900 sold for a total of 8,412 tickets sold.

Shinn stated that Charlotte was already building the new Charlotte Coliseum, a modern-day state-of-the-art facility that would serve the franchise as it's major tenant, and during discussions he had earlier in the process with Martin Brackett, who oversaw the Charlotte Auditorium-Coliseum-Convention Center Authority as it's Chairman, Paul Buck, who was the Managing Director of the Auditorium-Coliseum-Convention Center Authority before his retirement in 1988, and city officials, they all agreed on terms after 5 months of negotiations on a lease for the new Coliseum for only $1 per game for the first five years, and he would go on to say that having a NBA team as the major tenant for a new facility would put the city on the map, as well as generating revenue for the new Coliseum as a whole. It was his experience as an author and a public speaker that would turn out to be the turning point in that meeting that would be a key moment in the city's bid for an NBA franchise.

And when the speech came to its conclusion, hall of fame coach Red Auerbach stood up and applauded, and he would hug him after he made his speech to the Board of Governors on that night in Phoenix.  A day later after the speech to the NBA Board of Governors, a columnist for The Sacramento Bee said that "The only franchise Charlotte is going to get is one with Golden Arches", referring to the famed logo for McDonald's. With Shinn's speech to the Board of Governors in the rear view window and the reasons why the league should consider giving Charlotte an NBA expansion team, all that was left was for commissioner Stern to decide if the "Queen City of the South" would make the cut for an expansion franchise to join the National Basketball Association for the 1988-89 season.

The new Charlotte Coliseum first opened it's doors on August 11, 1988, and it's 23,388 seating capacity would be one of the largest seating capacities in the NBA at that time.

Some of the NBA experts that covered the league during the mid to late-1980's knew that Charlotte would have a legitimate long shot to be in the running for an NBA expansion franchise, with the city being on the verge of the birth of the banking industry during that time with the city being the home of First Union(later Wachovia and is now Wells Fargo) and NCNB(later NationsBank and now Bank of America) and with the city's rapid growth in its population, making it one of the fastest-growing cities in the country during the mid 1980's, and in his speech to the NBA Board of Governors, Shinn did mention that his group had an "Ace in the Hole", and that was Charlotte was already in the process of building the "New" Charlotte Coliseum, a $52 million dollar state-of-the-art 23,000 seat facility located on Tyvola Road Extension in the western end of the city just off Billy Graham Parkway and minutes away from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, at the time during the city's pursuit of an NBA expansion franchise.

Work on the new Coliseum began with a groundbreaking ceremony at the site on August 12, 1985, after Charlotte voters approved a bond referendum one year earlier in November of 1984, given the fact that the original Charlotte Coliseum(now Bojangles Coliseum), which opened in 1955 on East Independence Boulevard was beginning to show its age at the time of construction, knowing that it was lacking a lot of amenities such as an outdated sound system, concession space, luxury skyboxes, and lack of parking spaces, and when the building was completed in time for it's grand opening on August 11th, 1988 before a sold-out crowd, with an opening ceremony that featured a dedication by the reverend Billy Graham, and of course, the infamous scoreboard crash the following day on August 12, 1988, the new Charlotte Coliseum would have three unique distinctions that would set things apart from all of the other NBA arenas in that time: 

• The Charlotte Coliseum's seating capacity of 23,388 would be one of the largest seating capacities for an NBA team. 
• It would be the largest basketball-specific arena ever to serve as a full-time home for an NBA franchise.
• The new Charlotte Coliseum would have the distinction of not only being the largest sports and entertainment venue in North and South Carolina, but it would also have the distinction of being the largest sports and entertainment venue in the Southeast when it opened its doors in August of 1988.

The Call that wasn't no April Fool's prank

It was April Fool's Day, 1987, and it was the moment of truth for the people of Charlotte, and for George Shinn.  The culmination of a dream and a vision to bring an NBA franchise to Charlotte would be decided with just one phone call.  Then, out of the blue, David Stern called George's son, Chad Shinn and he would give the phone to his dad when he said "It's David.", and commissioner Stern said that "George, this is April Fool's Day, but this is no April Fool, you have been selected Number one." As that call by commissioner Stern would officially seal the deal for the City of Charlotte to finally welcome a major-league sports franchise to not only the city, but also to the states of North and South Carolina, as George Shinn's lifelong dream of bringing pro basketball to the "Tar Heel State" finally came true.

The other 3 cities that made the cut for expansion by the NBA along with Charlotte, North Carolina were Miami, Florida; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Orlando, Florida, as approved by the NBA Board of Governors on April 22, 1987 in New York City. Charlotte and Miami would be the first 2 teams to play in the 1988-89 season, while Minnesota and Orlando would begin play in the 1989-90 season.

I forgot to mention this in part one of our series about the Carolina Cougars role in Charlotte's hunt for an NBA franchise, that many of us here at the time thought we didn't have a chance to land an NBA team, but for those who grew up during the 1960's and into the 1970's we were one of three cities that served as the home for the old Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association, along with Raleigh and Greensboro, and it was one of the key parts of why George Shinn and his group wanted the NBA to have Charlotte in the picture of getting an NBA team.

In the next chapter of our series, we'll explain about why the "Spirit" name didn't turn out to be a good choice at first for the franchise and how Alexander Julian came into the fold to design the uniforms for the team.