Hawaii Leis
 |
|
| Sport | Team tennis |
|---|---|
| Founded | May 22, 1973 |
| Folded | November 10, 1978 |
| League | World TeamTennis |
| Division | Western |
| Team history |
San Diego Swingers Never played Hawaii Leis 1974–1976 Sea-Port Cascades 1977 Seattle Cascades 1978 |
| Based in | Seattle, Washington |
| Stadium |
Seattle Center Coliseum Mercer Arena |
| Colors |
Midnight Blue, Cadet Gray |
| Owner(s) | Don Kelleher Rudy Tulipani Howard Leendersten et al |
| President | Don Kelleher |
| Head coach | Tom Gorman |
| Championships | None |
| Division titles | None |
| Playoff berths |
1977 (as Sea-Port Cascades) 1978 (as Seattle Cascades) |
Midnight Blue, Cadet Gray
The Seattle Cascades were a charter franchise of World Team Tennis (WTT). The team first played as the Hawaii Leis in the league's inaugural 1974 season, before becoming the Sea-Port Cascades for the 1977 season, when it played half its home matches in Seattle, Washington and the other half in Portland, Oregon. The team left Portland in 1978, and played nearly all its home matches in Seattle. The Cascades announced the team would fold following the 1978 season.
The Cascades were founded as WTT's charter franchise for San Diego, California in 1973, by orthodontist Dr. Leonard Bloom. The team adopted the name San Diego Swingers.
The top 10 draft choices of the Swingers in the WTT inaugural draft were
None of these players were on the Leis' opening day roster.
Before ever playing in San Diego, Bloom sold the team on February 15, 1974, to San Rafael, California lumber sales executive Don Kelleher who relocated the team to Honolulu, Hawaii. Rudy Tulipani was Kelleher's minority partner. After a contest was held to name the team, and more than 600 entries were submitted, the Swingers were renamed the Hawaii Leis. The Leis played nine of their 22 homes matches at the Honolulu International Center and the other 13 at the Student Council Gymnasium on the campus of President William McKinley High School during the league's inaugural in 1974 season.
After moving to Hawaii, the team was active in the trade market. The Leis acquired Dennis Ralston and Ann Kiyomura in trades with the San Francisco Golden Gaters and Valerie Ziegenfuss and Ross Case in a trade with the Los Angeles Strings. Other players opening the season with the Leis were Brigitte Cuypers, Mike Machette and Kristy Pigeon. Ralston was the team's player-coach.
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