Dick Klein (basketball) - Founding of The Chicago Bulls

Founding of The Chicago Bulls

The late 1940s through early 1960s were a low point for professional basketball in Chicago. The American Gears suddenly folded in 1947 due to poor financial decisions by owner Maurice White Three years later, the Chicago Stags of the early National Basketball Association disbanded due to lack of fan interest. The NBA returned to Chicago with the Chicago Packers in 1961, but their poor first season record (18-62) turned off many fans, and the team was sold to a group of Maryland investors in 1962.

The Chicago Packers were scheduled to relocate to Baltimore by the fall of 1963. In the meantime, the team adopted a new nickname, the Chicago Zephyrs. Hoping to keep the Zephyrs in Chicago, Dick Klein tried to purchase the team in 1963, but he failed, and the team left the city after posting a 25-55 second season record. However, Klein was determined to bring professional basketball back to Chicago, and started recruiting local businessmen to help him found an expansion team.

Most investors were skeptical of Klein’s venture, given the failure of the Zephyrs and their predecessors. A turning point occurred when Klein received the support of the American Broadcasting Company, who was negotiating with the NBA for television rights. ABC believed a successful Chicago team would help boost ratings, and once Klein had their backing, he was able to attract more partners. On January 26, 1966, his group was finally awarded an NBA expansion franchise at a cost of $1.6 million, and Klein was named general manager.

Klein’s first task was to coin a nickname for the new Chicago team. He wanted a name that evoked images of the Chicago stockyards, which were close to the stadium where the team was expected to play. According to Klein, he had originally considered Matadors or Toreadors, but when his youngest son dismissed these prospective nicknames as “a bunch of bull,” he decided to name the team the Chicago Bulls. He then recruited a neighbor to design the Bulls’ familiar team logo. He chose the colors red and black from his former alma mater, Fort Madison High School, where he went to school and played basketball from 1934 to 1938.