Oakland Oaks (ABA)

Oakland Oaks
Oakland Oaks logo
ConferenceNone
DivisionWestern Division
Founded1967
HistoryOakland Oaks
1967–1969
Washington Caps
1969–1970
Virginia Squires
1970–1976
ArenaOakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena
LocationOakland, California
Team colorsGreen and Yellow
   
Head coachBruce Hale (1967–1968)
Alex Hannum (1968–1969)
OwnershipPat Boone
S. Kenneth Davidson
Dennis A. Murphy
Championships1 (1969)
Division titles1 (1969)

The Oakland Oaks were a charter member of the original American Basketball Association and the first West Coast basketball team to win a major professional championship. Formed in February 1967, the team played in the ABA during the 1967–68 and 1968–69 seasons at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. The team colors were green and gold.

On February 2, 1967, longtime entertainer and business entrepreneur Pat Boone, S. Kenneth Davidson and Dennis A. Murphy (who would later co-found the World Hockey Association) were awarded a team in exchange for $30,000. Initially, Boone received a 10 percent share of the franchise to serve as president, but he had limited involvement in team operations and rarely attended home games because of his outside interests.

An earlier Oakland Oaks basketball team played in the American Basketball League in 1962, along with a baseball team that had played for nearly a half century in Oakland, with the latter and the ABA Oaks both using the oak tree and the acorn on its logos.