Sports

KamaAina

(78,249 posts) Thu Apr 30, 2015, 04:02 PM Apr 2015

Why the “Golden State” Warriors? Well that’s a crazy story…

http://blog.sfgate.com/thebigevent/2015/04/30/why-the-golden-state-warriors-well-thats-a-crazy-story/

By the time I was old enough to say “Al Attles” – my parents thought I was babbling, but I’m claiming those were my first words – the team was called the Golden State Warriors. The logo already had that weird Frontier Village font above the state of California. It wasn’t until years later that I discovered there once was a team called the San Francisco Warriors, with a much cooler jersey – and even shorter shorts.

I didn’t question the “Golden State” moniker until I was older, and moved to Oakland. At what point did someone decide this was a good idea? Could the Chronicle archives provide the answer?...

Under a so-crazy-it-might-work plan by Franklin Mieuli, word leaked that the Warriors were pursuing a deal to play approximately half their games in Oakland, and the other half in San Diego, which had just lost its NBA team to Houston. So basically, our team would become the professional sports version of divorced parents passing off the kids at a Kettleman City McDonald’s. (Honey, is it our week for the Warriors? I thought the judge’s order said we get Nate Thurmond for Christmas this year?)

I have never heard of such a thing in professional sports anywhere, ~~and have no idea if it’s allowed~~. (Updated: Readers in the comments and on Twitter pointed out multiple examples, including the Omaha/KC Kings in the early 1970s, and the New Orleans/OKC Hornets in the 2000s) But the story played out, with the media acting like the Oakland/San Diego split was close to a done deal, for more than two weeks. Finally, on August 1, 1971, the Warriors announced a favorable deal to play all games at their current home in Oakland. But the name, and the logo, remained.