Florida Flamingos
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|
| Sport | Team tennis |
|---|---|
| Founded | May 22, 1973 |
| Folded | February 1, 1975 |
| League | World TeamTennis |
| Division | Western |
| Team history | Florida Flamingos (1974) |
| Based in | Miami Beach, Florida |
| Stadium | Miami Beach Convention Center |
| Colors |
Red, Hot Pink |
| Owner(s) | Ted Cohen (majority) Butch Buchholz (minority) |
| President | Ted Cohen |
| Head coach | Frank Froehling |
| Championships | None |
| Division titles | None |
| Playoff berths | None |
Red, Hot Pink
The Florida Flamingos were a charter franchise of World Team Tennis (WTT) founded by Ted Cohen and Butch Buchholz. The Flamingos played only one season before folding after the 1974 season. The Flamingos had 19 wins and 25 losses and finished in third place in the Gulf Plains Section, missing the playoffs.
The Flamingos were founded as WTT's charter franchise for St. Louis, Missouri in 1973, by Pittsburgh businessman Ted Cohen and former tennis player Butch Buchholz. Before the team ever had a name in St. Louis, the owners decided, with WTT approval, to have the team play its home matches in Miami Beach, Florida at the Miami Beach Convention Center starting with the league's inaugural season in 1974 season and name it the Florida Flamingos. The move from St. Louis to Miami Beach was approved by July 25, 1973, when WTT announced the order for its inaugural draft in which the Flamingos, then still nameless and referred to by WTT as the Miami franchise, had the top selection.
Once the decision had been made to play in Miami Beach, Flamingos president Ted Cohen secured the services of Frank Froehling as player-coach. Flamingos minority-owner Butch Buchholz was the player-coach for the Chicago Aces.Cliff Drysdale was selected in the draft and signed by the team as its primary men's singles player. While many WTT teams were signing female stars but having trouble signing their top male draft choices, the Flamingos had the opposite problem. Their top female draft pick (and the number 1 overall selection in the draft) was Chris Evert who was from nearby Fort Lauderdale, Florida. At the time, Evert was engaged to marry Jimmy Connors and had not decided on a wedding date. Connors had already signed with the Baltimore Banners, and Evert wanted to be free to spend time with him in Baltimore if the two got married during the WTT season. In February 1974, Cohen said that his odds of signing Evert appeared to be 50–50. When the season started, Evert hadn't signed with the Flamingos, and her relationship with Connors ended before they ever got married.
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