Richard L. Bloch, a Southern California investment broker/real estate developer and former Tucson resident (no relation to the Richard Bloch who was the co-founder of tax preparation provider H&R Block).
Karl Eller, owner of a major outdoor advertising company and one of the Phoenix area's most influential business leaders at that time. He was a former football player for The University of Arizona;
Donald Pitt, a Tucson-based attorney;
Don Diamond, Tucson-based real estate investor who eventually replaced Eller on the ownership managing team.
All four men were alumni of The University of Arizona. Other investors in the Suns included Block's entertainment law firm Rosenfeld, Meyer & Susman, along with several of their prominent entertainer clients, including Andy Williams, Henry Mancini, Bobbie Gentry, Ed Ames and others. The new Suns ownership group hired former Chicago Bulls executive Jerry Colangelo to be general manager (28 years of age when he took the position).
The Suns began at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Colangelo in turn hired Johnny "Red" Kerr to be the first head coach of the Suns. The Suns finished their first season with a humiliating 16-66 record - their worst ever. Kerr was forced to resign midway through the 1969-70 season, and Colangelo himself coached a few games. Cotton Fitzsimmons replaced Colangelo as Suns coach for the 1970-71 season. He took the team to their first winning season, with a final record of 48-34.
In the 1970s the Suns experienced mild success, combining the talents of such players as Dick Van Arsdale (The Original Sun), his twin brother Tom Van Arsdale, Hall-of-Famer Connie Hawkins, Leonard "Truck" Robinson, Alvan Adams, and center Neal Walk. In 1976, the year the movie Rocky was released, the Suns proved to be a real-life basketball version of Rocky.
Currently, the Suns franchise owns the fourth-best all-time winning percentage among NBA teams. They trail only the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs; not counting their win-loss record in the original ABA, and the Boston Celtics in win-loss percentage. The Suns are also the winningest franchise without a NBA championship, despite their two Finals appearances.
In 1992, the Suns moved into their new arena in downtown Phoenix, the America West Arena (now US Airways Center).
The beginning of 2004 saw the departure of the face of Suns management since the team's inception, when Jerry Colangelo announced that the Phoenix Suns were to be sold to an investment group headed by San Diego-based business executive (and Tucson native) Robert Sarver for $401 million.
For the 2000-01 season, the Phoenix Suns introduced three new logos. Two of these were merely updates to existing logos, modernizing the themes and adding the gray color. The logo pictured here incorporates the mythical phoenix bird into the existing Suns' theme. It illustrates the team's hometown by picturing the bird it was named after rising out a ball with an abbreviation for Phoenix.
Of the team's three logos, this is the one that adorns the hardwood at center court. There is a media dispute over the usage of the logo, as many TV networks use the new one, but many video games and websites still use a secondary logo that had been the team's main logo of the 1990s.
Since the 2000-2001 season, the Suns have used the same home and road uniforms. In 2003-2004, an alternate uniform was introduced that is used at a minimum, five games a year. This orange uniform is used both at home and on the road. For the 2006-2007 season the Suns removed the uniform number from the side of the shorts, replacing it with the same sun logo that is found on the other side.
For the first eleven seasons of their existence in the NBA, the Suns had no official mascot. An early attempt was made involving a sunflower costume, but it never caught on. In the winter of 1980, a singing telegram from Eastern Onion was sent to the arena in a gorilla costume. Security saw him and suggested to him to stay for a while to entertain the fans during the breaks. He kept coming to games until officially invited to be the Suns' mascot.
Legendary broadcaster Al McCoy has covered the team ever since the 1971-72 season. McCoy's unique, folksy style of calling the games, including his signature catchphrases such as "Shazam!" for a three-point shot, endeared him to thousands of Suns fans across Arizona, the Southwest, and nationwide. McCoy was honored in March of 2007 by the Suns, who named their soon-to-be renovated media center at US Airways Center in his honor. McCoy was partnered for many years with legendary coach Cotton Fitzsimmons.
Karl Eller, owner of a major outdoor advertising company and one of the Phoenix area's most influential business leaders at that time. He was a former football player for The University of Arizona;
Donald Pitt, a Tucson-based attorney;
Don Diamond, Tucson-based real estate investor who eventually replaced Eller on the ownership managing team.
All four men were alumni of The University of Arizona. Other investors in the Suns included Block's entertainment law firm Rosenfeld, Meyer & Susman, along with several of their prominent entertainer clients, including Andy Williams, Henry Mancini, Bobbie Gentry, Ed Ames and others. The new Suns ownership group hired former Chicago Bulls executive Jerry Colangelo to be general manager (28 years of age when he took the position).
The Suns began at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Colangelo in turn hired Johnny "Red" Kerr to be the first head coach of the Suns. The Suns finished their first season with a humiliating 16-66 record - their worst ever. Kerr was forced to resign midway through the 1969-70 season, and Colangelo himself coached a few games. Cotton Fitzsimmons replaced Colangelo as Suns coach for the 1970-71 season. He took the team to their first winning season, with a final record of 48-34.
In the 1970s the Suns experienced mild success, combining the talents of such players as Dick Van Arsdale (The Original Sun), his twin brother Tom Van Arsdale, Hall-of-Famer Connie Hawkins, Leonard "Truck" Robinson, Alvan Adams, and center Neal Walk. In 1976, the year the movie Rocky was released, the Suns proved to be a real-life basketball version of Rocky.
Currently, the Suns franchise owns the fourth-best all-time winning percentage among NBA teams. They trail only the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs; not counting their win-loss record in the original ABA, and the Boston Celtics in win-loss percentage. The Suns are also the winningest franchise without a NBA championship, despite their two Finals appearances.
In 1992, the Suns moved into their new arena in downtown Phoenix, the America West Arena (now US Airways Center).
The beginning of 2004 saw the departure of the face of Suns management since the team's inception, when Jerry Colangelo announced that the Phoenix Suns were to be sold to an investment group headed by San Diego-based business executive (and Tucson native) Robert Sarver for $401 million.
For the 2000-01 season, the Phoenix Suns introduced three new logos. Two of these were merely updates to existing logos, modernizing the themes and adding the gray color. The logo pictured here incorporates the mythical phoenix bird into the existing Suns' theme. It illustrates the team's hometown by picturing the bird it was named after rising out a ball with an abbreviation for Phoenix.
Of the team's three logos, this is the one that adorns the hardwood at center court. There is a media dispute over the usage of the logo, as many TV networks use the new one, but many video games and websites still use a secondary logo that had been the team's main logo of the 1990s.
Since the 2000-2001 season, the Suns have used the same home and road uniforms. In 2003-2004, an alternate uniform was introduced that is used at a minimum, five games a year. This orange uniform is used both at home and on the road. For the 2006-2007 season the Suns removed the uniform number from the side of the shorts, replacing it with the same sun logo that is found on the other side.
For the first eleven seasons of their existence in the NBA, the Suns had no official mascot. An early attempt was made involving a sunflower costume, but it never caught on. In the winter of 1980, a singing telegram from Eastern Onion was sent to the arena in a gorilla costume. Security saw him and suggested to him to stay for a while to entertain the fans during the breaks. He kept coming to games until officially invited to be the Suns' mascot.
Legendary broadcaster Al McCoy has covered the team ever since the 1971-72 season. McCoy's unique, folksy style of calling the games, including his signature catchphrases such as "Shazam!" for a three-point shot, endeared him to thousands of Suns fans across Arizona, the Southwest, and nationwide. McCoy was honored in March of 2007 by the Suns, who named their soon-to-be renovated media center at US Airways Center in his honor. McCoy was partnered for many years with legendary coach Cotton Fitzsimmons.
© 2006 by "DiscoveringArizona Inc." · All Rights Reserved · E-Mail: jayq@discoveringarizona.com
The Phoenix Suns a professional basketball team, is based in Phoenix. On January 22, 1968, the NBA awarded expansion franchises to an ownership group from Phoenix and one from Milwaukee. The primary investors in the Phoenix franchise at its inception had close ties to Tucson, Arizona's second largest city. They were:
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