Manchester Giants (1975–2001)
| Manchester Giants | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||
| League | British Basketball League | ||
| Established | 1973 | ||
| Folded | 1987-1989 (existed as Manchester Eagles) 2001 |
||
| History |
Manchester Giants 1973–2001 |
||
| Location | Manchester, Greater Manchester | ||
| Team colours | Dark Green, White and Black | ||
| Ownership | Montgomery Sports Ltd. | ||
| Uniforms | |||
|
|||
Manchester Giants was a professional basketball team based in Manchester, England. During its existence, the team won the Trophy in 1999 and the BBL Championship in 2000. The tenure of American coach Nick Nurse, which included those two seasons, was the most successful period in the club's history. The franchise folded 9 games into the 2001–02 season.
A revival effort headed by former player and coach Jeff Jones to return the Giants name to the British Basketball League was put together in 2011. The bid was formally accepted on June 19, 2012, marking a return of the Giants and Manchester-based professional basketball for the first time in 11 years. The newly re-created Manchester Giants started playing in the 2012–13 season.
The original Manchester Giants were based in Sale, developing out of Stretford Basketball Club and were sponsored for many years by ATS. They were the first northern team to challenge the southern dominance of the early national league years competing in the league for the first time during the 1973–74 National Basketball League season and later becoming league runners up in 1976-77.
Home grown talent at this time include Steve Latham, Dick Powell, Ken Walton and John Nono. Amongst the US stars to play for the Giants was Jeff Jones, who took to the court for the first time in that 1976 season and regularly netted over 400 points, after a successful college career at BNC Oklahoma. He quickly set about developing junior talent in the area. At that time Giants were the second best attended club in the league, averaging 550 people a game in the cramped Sale venue. Other early imports included Vince Lackner, Mark Badger, John Miller and Steve Irion.
Outgrowing Sale Leisure Centre, the club moved first to Stretford and then to Altrincham Leisure Centre where they had many successful years. Other notable imports over the years included Vince Brookings and Craig Robinson (brother of US First Lady Michelle Obama).
...
Wikipedia