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They played the game flamboyantly, with style.  

Huge afros and cool nick-names, from Darnell "Dr. Dunk" Hillman to Juilius "Dr. J" Erving   drew in fans by word of mouth.   One Guiness Book of Records-style afro sported by Colonels' star Artis Gilmore, raised his height from 7'2" to 7'6".

The names of the players peel easily off the pages of history: Willie Wise, Doug Moe, Connie Hawkins, Billy Paultz, Bill Melchionni, and Marvin Barnes were just a few of the ABA stars who changed the tone and the pace of the game forever.

The ABA was so confident about the action that Lou Carnesecca, coach of the New York Nets, called Spencer Haywood,   "the most exciting player in the country."

The Beginnings of the "Fan Friendly" Movement

To bring in fans, the ABA used revolutionary, albeit weird and wacky techniques that baseball and basketball are slowly adopting today to broaden their audiences.

To get bodies into seats, teams used promotions or publicity stunts ranging from Dime Beer Night at San Antonio's HemisFair Arena to the Floridians (1968-72) "Free Pantyhose" night, where   the first five hundred women into the arena received a pair of pantyhose from the famed Floridian "Ball Girls," who were often a larger attraction than the game on the court.

Scrapping and Scraping for Survival

Off the court, the ABA's business bled red ink through the cracks of every line of ABA history.  

The league struggled through its share of shuck and jive franchises.   Many owners voiced the familiar litany of promises.   Yet many of the ABA teams wallowed in a quagmire of mediocrity because their owners failed to invest in the talent that would make the league the true rival of the NBA.  

Consequently, flaccid franchises with weak rosters felt their sagging strain drag down attendance and fan interest.

There were also the inexplicable management moves that made the ABA look shaky and unstable.

The Pittsburgh Pipers won the first ABA championship (1967-1968), averaging a survivable 3,143 fans per game.   Then, unexpectedly, they moved to Minnesota.   The relocation was particularly odd as a franchise had already played and failed there.  

The relocation failed.   The Minnesota Pipers returned, tails tucked between their legs, to Pittsburgh.   The fan reception at the Pittsburgh homecoming was colder than a Minnesota North-country winter.   Eventually, the league folded the franchise.

The Houston Mavericks (1967-1969) played in an arena where padded numbers couldn't cover-up the queasy sight of empty seats.   In February and March of 1969, they averaged a slim 355 spectators.   The attendance for their final game was almost smaller than the staff and teams on the sidelines at a mere 89.

The next year, Houston transplanted to North Carolina, becoming basketball's first regional franchise by playing in Greensboro, Raleigh, and Charlotte.  

Despite a solid fan base, where the club averaged   5,889 over five years (1969-1974),   rumors ripped through the 1973-1974 season like a hurricane that the team was up for sale and could be moved.   

As the last ball cleared the net in North Carolina, the team was sold, and landed in St. Louis.

The New Orleans Buccaneers sailed north against the Mississippi River's current to Memphis after the 1970-1971 season with a nifty twist:   In a bewildering austerity move, they kept their Big Easy jerseys.  

 

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