Archives Hashtag Party: Artifact
This week, the Milwaukee Bucks clinched the NBA’s best record, giving them the league’s top mark for the first time since the 1973-74 season. That season was also the last in which the Bucks claimed the league’s Most Valuable Player award (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and the last time the team appeared in the NBA Finals. This year’s Bucks hope to repeat both of those feats in the months to come. In the meantime, enjoy this team-signed ball from the 1973-74 Bucks, which was presented to Mayor Henry Maier by the team and can be found the Maier Papers at the UWM Archives (Milw SR 44, Box 259).
The ball includes 12 signatures: Head coach Larry Costello, future Hall of Famers Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson, and players Lucius Allen, Bob Dandridge, Mickey Davis, Terry Driscoll, Russ Lee, John McGlocklin, Curtis Perry, Cornell Warner, and Ron Williams.
The 1973-74 Bucks finished the season with a 59-23 record and lost to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, four games to three.
