THE BULLETS ARE BACK--NBA RETURNS TO BALTIMORE
by Rick Benson
After a ten-year absence, pro basketball returned to Baltimore in 1963 as the Chicago Zephyrs; only two years in existence made the move to Charm City. Paying tribute to the city’s previous entry, the team took the name Bullets after the original team that played at the old Baltimore Coliseum. Unlike the original Bullets, who took home the league’s second championship in 1948, the new Bullets were essentially an expansion team that was going through the hard climb to respectability.
Baltimore featured two previous Rookie of the Year winners (Walt Bellamy and Terry Dischinger, who played for college rivals Indiana and Purdue), future long-time Bullet Gus Johnson (who like Bellamy would become a Hall-of-Famer) and a veteran local kid named Gene Shue who would later coach the Bullets during their most successful stretch during the late 60s and early 70s. Baltimore’s first draft pick was guard Rod Thorn, a two-time All-American from West Virginia, who average 14.4 points per game in his rookie season.
Making the trip from Chicago as well was veteran broadcaster Jim Karvellas; who produced, directed and announced Zephyr games—literally a one-man crew. Joining Karvellas on the new Bullets broadcasts was local veteran broadcaster Vince Bagli, a Loyola College grad who also worked Baltimore Orioles pre and postgame shows and Baltimore Colts radio broadcasts.
The Bullets made their debut in the brand new Baltimore Civic Center on October 16, 1963 against the Boston Celtics. Despite a 32 point effort from Bellamy and 26 points from Dischinger, Baltimore couldn’t overcome the John Havlicek led Celtics; falling 109-95 as Johnson was held to just eight points before fouling out. Under coach Slick Leonard, the Bullets finished fourth in the NBA’s Western Division with a 31-49 record as Bellamy (27.0 ppg) and Dischinger (20.8 ppg) continued to develop as one of the best scoring duos in the NBA. Leonard only lasted one season in Baltimore but went on to win three American Basketball Association titles with the Indiana Pacers.
The Bullets replaced Leonard with Buddy Jeanette, who was a player-coach for the original Bullets. Prior to their second season in Baltimore the Bullets pull off a blockbuster trade sending Dischinger, Rod Thorn, and Don Kojis to the Detroit Pistons for Bailey Howell, Don Ohl, Bob Ferry, and Wally Jones. Howell, also a future Hall of Famer, played a key role in helping Baltimore make the playoffs. The Bullets upset the St Louis Hawks to advance to the Western Division finals before falling in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers. Another year, another coach as Paul Seymour became the third Bullets coach in year three and Baltimore shocked the basketball world by trading Bellamy to the Knicks a few games into the season. Don Ohl picked up some of the scoring slack and the Bullets surprisingly improved to a second place finish but got bounced in three games straight in the opening playoff round by St. Louis.
The wheels came off in year four as Baltimore lost 13 games in a row en route to a league worst 21-61 record. Jeanette came back to coach after Mike Farmer was fired. Shue finished the dismal 1966/67 season; which gave the Bullets the first pick in the 1967 draft that was used to select future Hall of Famer Earl “The Pearl” Monroe. This marked the turning point for the Bullets as Monroe was worth more than the price of admission. His 24.3 ppg led Baltimore as six other Bullets also averaged double figures. Shue built a strong team around his star guard with Johnson (19.1 ppg, 13.0 rpg) Ohl (14.8 ppg), Ray Scott (16.4 ppg, 13.7 rpg), Jack Marin (13.5 ppg, .796 Ft%) and Leroy Ellis (12.4 ppg). Playoffs and championship runs were soon to be common as the Bullets joined The Colts and the Orioles in the City of Champions.
