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Baltimore Claws

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The Baltimore Claws were an American basketball team which was supposed to appear in the 1975–76 season in the American Basketball Association . The team collapsed before the season started, playing only three exhibition games, all losses, in its brief history.

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45-783: The team that eventually became the Baltimore Claws had earlier competed in the ABA as the New Orleans Buccaneers from 1967 through 1970, as the Memphis Pros from 1970 through 1972, as the Memphis Tams from 1972 through 1974 and as the Memphis Sounds during the 1974–75 season. The Memphis franchise had struggled through the years and in its last season there it had relied on the league itself to handle some of its bills. The Sounds began

90-516: A consortium of seven Maryland businessmen led by David Cohan bought the troubled Sounds for $ 1 million and relocated it to Baltimore . In August 1975, new ABA Commissioner Dave DeBusschere suddenly awarded the franchise to another group in Memphis due to apparent financial problems involving the Baltimore owners. The Memphis group backed out the very next day, and the franchise reverted to Baltimore after

135-743: A dispersal draft. Dave Robisch and Paul Ruffner ended up going to the Spirits of St. Louis . Stew Johnson was sent to the San Diego Sails (who also folded, just a few weeks later). Claude Terry was sent to the Denver Nuggets. Chuck Williams was sent to the Virginia Squires. Scott English was sent to the Indiana Pacers . Joe Hamilton was sent to the Utah Stars. George Carter also ended up with

180-492: A high credit score and good repayment history to meet the eligibility criteria for getting an unsecured line of credit. Since the unsecured credit line is not backed with collateral, if the borrower defaults on payments, the lenders cannot recover their losses. Hence, the lenders can minimize their risk by charging high-interest rates and restricting the credit line limit. Besides the HELOC, another relatively common form of secured LOC

225-443: A lender might lend up to 80% of the value of a bond, but only 50% of the value of a stock. It's important to note that these LOCs are designated as non-purpose, meaning the proceeds cannot be used to purchase additional securities, unlike a margin loan . Because of this, the loan to value ratios are typically higher than a margin loan, although, since the financial institution can set their own LTVs, this does not necessarily have to be

270-423: A repayment period, where they can no longer draw money and are required to make monthly payments. A cash credit is a short-term cash loan to a customer. A bank provides this type of funding only after the required security is given to secure the loan. In cash credit, the bank advances a cash loan up to a specified limit to the customer against a bond or other security. Once a security for repayment has been given,

315-450: Is home equity lines of credit (HELOC) , which are secured by the equity in homes. Secured lines of credit offer the lender the right to seize the asset in case of non-payment. Because their risk is lower, secured lines of credit typically come with a higher maximum credit limit and significantly lower interest rate. On the other hand, unsecured lines of credit have higher interest rates than secured lines of credit. A borrower must have

360-413: Is a running account (i.e., payable on demand) with cheque book facility. But unlike ordinary current accounts, which are supposed to be overdrawn only occasionally, the cash credit account is supposed to be overdrawn almost continuously. The extent of overdrawing is limited to the cash credit limit that the bank sanctioned. This sanction is based on an assessment of the maximum working capital requirements of

405-412: Is access to a $ 60,000 line of credit and $ 30,000 is taken out, access to the remaining $ 30,000, if necessary, remains. If all $ 30,000 is paid back, there is access to the entire $ 60,000 without having to reapply, one of the biggest benefits of a line of credit. The bank or financial institution will normally charge a fee for setting up a line of credit. The fee would typically cover the cost of processing

450-481: Is effectively a source of funds that can readily be tapped at the borrower's discretion. Interest is paid only on money actually withdrawn. Lines of credit can be secured by collateral , or may be unsecured. Lines of credit are often extended by banks, financial institutions and other licensed consumer lenders to creditworthy customers (though certain special-purpose lines of credit may not have creditworthiness requirements) to address fluctuating cash flow needs of

495-484: Is the Securities Backed Line of Credit (SBLOC). This is also commonly referred to as a Pledged Asset Line. In this version, the borrower pledges securities (typically stocks, bonds, etc.) to the lender as collateral. The lender will typically lend less than the full value of the securities pledged, applying various "haircuts," depending on the lenders' assessment of how risky the pledged security is. For example,

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540-814: The Detroit Pistons from 1960–1965. The Buccaneers finished the season in first place in the Western Division with 48 wins and 30 losses, putting them two games ahead of the Dallas Chaparrals and three games ahead of the Denver Rockets . The Buccaneers then defeated the Denver Rockets 3 games to 2 in the Western Division semifinals and then defeated the Dallas Chaparrals 4 games to 1 to win

585-662: The NFC South division. On December 10, 2008, in a game against the now Charlotte Hornets, then Charlotte Bobcats , the Buccaneers were for the first time "revived" by the New Orleans Pelicans, then New Orleans Hornets , the city's current NBA franchise, who played the game in 1967–68 styled Bucs throwback jerseys. The team's cheerleading squad was also dressed in Bucs throwback outfits, Bucs video highlights were played throughout

630-744: The Virginia Squires . The Squires won 131–121; attendance was reported at 1,150. Two days later the Claws lost to the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers 103–82 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey , in front of a capacity crowd of 1,213 at East High School. On October 16, 1975, the Claws played the Squires again, this time at Knott Arena , Mt. St. Mary's College , Emmitsburg, Maryland . Virginia won again, 100–88, in front of approximately 500 spectators. Due to mounting financial problems,

675-640: The Western Division championship . The Buccaneers then advanced to the first ever ABA Championship series, facing the Pittsburgh Pipers . The Buccaneers and Pipers split the first six games but the Pipers won the decisive seventh game 122–113 to win the 1968 ABA championship . Prior to the season the Buccaneers traded away Larry Brown and Doug Moe to the Oakland Oaks in exchange for Steve Jones and Ron Franz . New Orleans' Red Robbins and Steve Jones played in

720-522: The $ 500,000 never arrived. When Colonels owner John Y. Brown, Jr. found out the money hadn't arrived, he stormed into a Claws board meeting and announced Issel was being sold to the Denver Nuggets . To make the move look like a trade between Denver and Baltimore, the Nuggets sent forward Dave Robisch to the Claws. The Claws' owners protested, claiming that three more players should have come to Baltimore in

765-536: The 1974–75 season with a win followed by several losses; fan interest waned but the team rallied to finish in fourth place in the ABA's Eastern Division. In the playoffs they lost in the Eastern Division semifinals to the eventual league champion Kentucky Colonels , 4 games to 1. Of the Sounds' draft picks that season, two ( Lonnie Shelton and Terry Furlow ) remained in college and the third ( Rich Kelley ) signed with

810-550: The ABA All Star Game. The Buccaneers finished the season with a record of 46 wins and 32 losses which put them in second place in the Western Division, 14 games behind the Oakland Oaks who had posted a remarkable 60-18 (.769) record. The Buccaneers drew an average of 2,834 fans per home game. The Buccaneers met the Dallas Chaparrals in the Western Division semifinals and prevailed in a close series, 4 games to 3. Advancing to

855-635: The ABA All Star game and Babe McCarthy coaches the West team in the game. Larry Brown was the Most Valuable Player of the inaugural ABA All Star game and led the ABA in assists that season en route to being named Second Team All ABA. Doug Moe was named First Team All ABA and Jimmy Jones made the ABA All Rookie Team. The Buccaneers recruited Jackie Moreland , originally from Minden , who had played for

900-573: The ABA would merge with the NBA in the summer of 1976. New Orleans Buccaneers The New Orleans Buccaneers were a charter member of the American Basketball Association . After three seasons in New Orleans, Louisiana , the franchise moved to Memphis, Tennessee , where it became the Pros , Tams , and Sounds for four years before an abortive move to Baltimore in 1975. With

945-512: The Claws on October 20, 1975, less than a week before the regular season began. The league issued a statement noting that it had been prepared to enter the 1975–76 season with "nine solid teams." League officials added that the Claws' backers had been unable to get their affairs in order despite being given extra time to do so. The Claws' office at the Baltimore Civic Center was padlocked by arena management due to unpaid bills. (Incredibly,

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990-744: The Claws were just one of four Baltimore "major league" franchises that vanished in 1975, the others being the Baltimore Banners of World Team Tennis , who folded in February; the Baltimore Blades of the World Hockey Association ; and finally the North American Soccer League 's Baltimore Comets , who shifted to San Diego just a few days before the Claws officially folded.) The Claws threatened to seek an injunction delaying

1035-428: The Claws' banks had yanked its line of credit . DeBusschere responded with an ultimatum: deposit $ 500,000 with the league as a "performance bond" within four days to cover expenses or be shut down. The Claws got together half of the money but could not raise the rest. Reportedly, the remaining money, plus an additional $ 70,000, was being held in escrow by the city, to be released only if Cohan resigned. The ABA disbanded

1080-523: The Cohan-led group made a $ 250,000 down payment. The team was initially named the Baltimore Hustlers , but league and public pressure forced them to rename it the Claws. In September the Claws gained attention early by gaining the rights to superstar Dan Issel of the reigning ABA champion Kentucky Colonels. The Colonels were supposed to receive center Tom Owens and $ 500,000 in cash for Issel, but

1125-517: The NBA's New Orleans Jazz . At the close of the 1974–75 season league commissioner Tedd Munchak issued an ultimatum to the Sounds if they wanted to stay in Memphis: sell 4,000 season tickets, line up new investors and get a better lease at the Mid-South Coliseum . When none of the conditions were met, the league took control of the franchise and put it on the market. Prior to the 1975–76 season,

1170-475: The Stars despite not being picked in the dispersal draft; Utah would become the ABA's third casualty of the season, suspending operations in early December. The Claws' best known player, Mel Daniels, was disappointed at the Claws' fate and retired rather than play for another team. In Terry Pluto 's book on the ABA, " Loose Balls ", Daniels recalled that the Claws' players were allowed to take equipment and furniture from

1215-434: The West team. The Bucs finished at .500 with 42 wins and 42 losses. This placed the team in fifth (last) place in that season's highly competitive Western Division, keeping the Buccaneers out of the playoffs. (In the Eastern Division that season that record would have tied them for third place and put them in the playoffs.) For the season, New Orleans averaged 2,599 fans per home game. The team picked up Wendell Ladner in

1260-608: The Western Division finals, the Buccaneers fell to the Oakland Oaks 4 games to none. The Buccaneers moved their home games to Tulane Gym (now known as Devlin Fieldhouse ) and the Municipal Auditorium for the season. Jimmy Jones suffered a knee injury in December that limited his action for the season; he was still selected to play in the ABA All Star game along with teammates Steve Jones and Gerald Govan. Babe McCarthy again coached

1305-414: The application, performing security checks, legal fees, arranging collateral, registrations, besides other things. Normally, no interest is payable under the line of credit until the customer actually draws on a part or all of the credit facility. There may also be a fee for keeping the credit facility open, which may be a monthly, quarterly or annual fee. This may be called an “unused line fee”, which often

1350-404: The business that receives the loan can continuously draw from the bank up to a certain specified amount. a, banks offer cash credit accounts to businesses to finance their working capital requirements. These are usually to buy raw materials or current assets , as opposed to machinery or buildings (which would be called fixed assets ). The cash credit account is similar to current accounts as it

1395-573: The case. Depending on the LTV required, a borrower can sometimes use a margin loan to achieve the same objective as an SBLOC, since they can use the proceeds of their margin loan to purchase good and services other than securities. Borrowers, should be wary of these financial instruments, however, since they could be subject to a margin call, similar to what can happen with a margin loan, if the value of their pledged securities falls too low. Lenders also typically structure these LOCs as demand loans, meaning they have

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1440-456: The customer. The maximum amount of funds a customer is allowed to draw from a line of credit is typically called the credit limit or overdraft limit. The term credit limit is commonly used for credit cards whereas the term overdraft limit is more commonly used for bank accounts. Most personal lines of credit are unsecured. This means the borrower does not promise the lender any collateral for taking an unsecured line of credit. One exception

1485-531: The draft and rechristened itself the Louisiana Buccaneers, planning to play its home games throughout the state during the 1970–1971 season including in New Orleans, Shreveport , Lafayette , Monroe and Baton Rouge . Like most ABA teams, the Bucs were never on strong financial ground, and the move to the smaller Tulane Gym combined with the marked dropoff in their play caused revenue to dry up. It

1530-522: The first freshman to make the Atlantic Coast Conference all-conference first team. But Wise (a native of Baltimore) chose not to return to Clemson for his sophomore year, instead signing a five-year, $ 700,000 no-cut contract with the Claws. The Baltimore Claws played only three games in their history, all preseason exhibitions. The first was on October 9, 1975, in Salisbury, Maryland , against

1575-400: The founding of the ABA on February 2, 1967, a charter franchise was awarded to a group of seven investors, including Morton Downey, Jr. The group obtained their franchise for $ 1,000 as opposed to the $ 30,000 fronted by most other original teams. Charles G. Smither , one of the seven owners, served as team president; another of the investors, Maurice M. Stern , was operations manager. The team

1620-460: The game, and many of the team's past players and coaches were honored at halftime. The Pelicans would win the game 105–89. The Pelicans wore their Buccaneers throwback jerseys once again in a road game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 16, 2009, with Cleveland coming out on top 92–78. Notes: Note: W = wins, L = losses, % = win–loss % The Buccaneers' road uniform

1665-653: The organization, minus the margin. The organization finances the margin amount from its own funds. Generally, a cash credit account is secured by a charge on the current assets (inventory) of the organization. The kind of charge created can be either pledge or hypothecation . A business line of credit is quite similar to personal lines of credit. The financial institution grants access to a specific amount of financing. A business line of credit can be unsecured or secured (typically, by inventory, receivables or other collateral). Lines of credit are often referred to as revolving and can be tapped into repeatedly. For instance, if there

1710-465: The right to demand full repayment of the loan at any time. A revolving line of credit allows a borrower to repeatedly draw money, up to their credit limit. It has a monthly payment and works similarly to a credit card. A closed-end line of credit, on the other hand, has a fixed term. The term is divided into a draw period, where the borrower can draw money from the LOC as needed up to their credit limit, and

1755-459: The second loss to the Squires ended up being the Claws' final game. Players and coaches were going unpaid and not even getting their per diem meal money. Only 300 season tickets had been sold. The players were still wearing old red Sounds uniforms with a green patch placed on it saying "Claws", along with unaltered red Sounds warmups. Their practice T-shirts had rips under the arms. On October 16, 1975, ABA Commissioner DeBusschere got word that one of

1800-434: The start of the season until Baltimore were reinstated, citing a provision in the rules requiring ten days notice before any team could be shuttered. However, after both the ABA and the city threatened to file their own legal actions, the Claws quietly folded; the league felt the ten-day rule was trumped by a larger obligation to ensure that its franchises were being run in a professional manner. The Claws players were put into

1845-477: The team office in lieu of payment. The league's assertion that they had "nine solid teams" quickly proved to be incorrect, as both the San Diego Sails and the Utah Stars ceased operations early in the season. The wobbly Virginia Squires franchise did manage to finish the 1975-76 campaign, but with an awful 15–68 record played in front of small crowds; they too folded, leaving the ABA with only six teams. Finally,

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1890-452: The trade. They threatened to fold the team if the other players didn't arrive, but the league ruled against them. The Claws then sent another good player, Rick Mount , to the Utah Stars in another trade. The Claws entered the preseason under coach Joe Mullaney with a roster that included Mel Daniels and Stew Johnson . The Claws also suited up guard Skip Wise , who the previous year was

1935-710: Was featured in NBA Live 07 as a hidden jersey. Line of credit A line of credit is a credit facility extended by a bank or other financial institution to a government, business or individual customer that enables the customer to draw on the facility when the customer needs funds. A financial institution makes available an amount of credit to a business or consumer during a specified period of time. A line of credit takes several forms, such as an overdraft limit, demand loan , special purpose, export packing credit, term loan, discounting, purchase of commercial bills, traditional revolving credit card account, etc. It

1980-477: Was hoped that becoming a "regional" franchise would provide more capital. However, on August 21, 1970, the franchise was purchased by a new owner and ten days later it was moved to Memphis, Tennessee and renamed the Memphis Pros . The Buccaneers nickname was picked up by a new NFL expansion team in 1976. Since 2002, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints have competed against each other in

2025-591: Was named the New Orleans Buccaneers and former Mississippi State University head coach Babe McCarthy was signed as its first coach. Among the team's first players were Doug Moe , Larry Brown , Gerald Govan , Jimmy Jones and Red Robbins . The Buccaneers played their home games at the Loyola University Fieldhouse during their first season and averaged 2,337 fans per game there. Doug Moe, Red Robbins, Larry Brown and Jimmy Jones played in

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