The ABA had numerous odd and colorful teams. This sweet David "Big Daddy" Lattin shooting shirt in bright gold and green team colors captures the essence of it all. From the 1972-73 season, this is Lattin's Memphis Tams model.
The proper "Rawlings [size] 48" tag is in the collar, with "Lattin 22" taped over the manufacture's tag. The front of this eye catching piece reads TAMS in large letters, with MEMPHIS on the back. We also have a LOA from Lattin and photo of Lattin signing it in bold black marker. The shirt exhibits solid wear throughout.
Along with Lattin's NBA and ABA career, Lattin is notable in basketball history, as he was a star player for Texas Western's NCAA championship team that beat Kentucky in the 1966 finals, which became the subject of the popular film, "Glory Road." Lattin had two thunderous dunks in the early moments of the game that set the tone for the Miners victory.
The Tams story and the team colors boldly displayed on this shooting shirt is very unique. The franchise, originally known as the Memphis Pros, was struggling financially and was bought by Charles O. Finley in 1972. Finley was the eccentric owner of the Oakland A's major league baseball dynasty (the A's won the World Series in 1972, 1973 and 1974).
Finley promised the Memphis fans that he would provide the financial support needed to make Memphis a strong ABA franchise. To spark renewed interest in the team, Finley held a contest to find a new team nickname. The winner collected a $2,500 prize for coming up with the odd nickname, "TAMS." Finley thought the new nickname was appropriate because the Memphis franchise supposedly had fans in [T]ennessee, [A]rkansas, and [M]ississippi. Finley wasted no time in making the Tams the most "colorful" team in the league. The green, white and gold colors were meant to mimic the colors of the Oakland A's (and the NHL Golden Seals). Finley wanted a consistent color image for his sports empire. However, after just two seasons Finley lost interest and the Tams were taken over by the league and became the Memphis Sounds.
There are not many artifacts from this long-defunct squad. What a cool retro look and piece of sports and basketball history!