It didn’t take long for changes to arrive in Memorial Auditorium. Only a few days after the end of the 1976 playoffs, Jack Ramsey left the organization on May 3. It was a mutually agreeable parting, but it’s mostly remembered for a quote from the team’s public relations director, Mike Shaw, about the departure: “He wasn’t fired, he just wasn’t re-hired.” The Braves won 137 games in the previous three seasons; only Boston, Golden State and Washington won more.
Tates Locke was hired to replace Ramsey on May 6. Locke was a convenient choice, since he had served as an assistant coach and scout for the team. He also had an interesting basketball pedigree. Locke was the head coach at Army who hired an assistant by the name of Bobby Knight. Locke went on to Miami (Ohio) and then to Clemson University. That team had success but at a price: The Tigers went on NCAA probation for several violations, and Locke’s reputation was damaged along the way. Locke’s time at Clemson is said to be part of the inspiration for the movie “Blue Chips,” which starred Nick Nolte.
Locke received some help for his roster at the NBA draft. Buffalo had the sixth pick in the first round as a result of the trade with Phoenix the previous year, and it used it on Adrian Dantley of Notre Dame. Dantley had received national attention for his college play, but there were some questions about how well he’d do in the pro game. He was a 6-foot-5 forward who mostly played close to the basket. Would he be able to do that in the pros? Was he quick enough to be an NBA small forward? Dantley was the extent of the draft’s contributions to the roster, as most of the other good picks had been traded away.
With peace with the ABA finally arriving, the franchise would have Dantley in uniform for Opening Night. But what would that uniform say on the front? Owner Paul Snyder had tried to jumpstart a season-ticket drive that summer. When the results didn’t meet his standards, Snyder gave Irving Cowan the option of buying 100 percent of the Braves for $6.1 million. The deal was announced on June 14, shortly before the NBA meetings. Cowan was a former Broadway producer whose wife’s family owned the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Florida. He was planning to move the team to a 15,000-seat arena in Hollywood. The “Sportatorium” would have needed some severe upgrading to meet NBA standards. It opened in 1970 and didn’t have air conditioning until 1976.
At the time there was some speculation that the deal might not have gained approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors. However, the next day the city of Buffalo had filed a $48 million anti-trust suit against the NBA, and a breach of contract suit in State Supreme Court against the team. An injunction against the move was granted. Cowan stayed away from basketball after that, moving into horse racing in the 1980’s. Even though the Braves signed a 15-year lease within a month, it’s fair to say that the proposed move didn’t fill anyone in Western New York with confidence about the future of the team. Besides there were escape clauses tied to the sale of season tickets. And the anxiety level only increased with the next major announcement, that Snyder had sold 50 percent of the team to John Y. Brown.
