The Baltimore Banners were a charter franchise of

World Team Tennis World TeamTennis (WTT) was a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally took place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA would ...

(WTT) founded in 1974. The Banners lasted only one season but made a big splash by signing

Jimmy Connors James Scott Connors (born September 2, 1952) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 2 ...

to a contract for $100,000 which obligated Connors to play in 22 of their 44 matches. Despite the presence of Connors, the Banners had 16 wins and 28 losses, and finished in third place in the Atlantic Section missing the playoffs. The Banners were contracted by WTT on February 1, 1975.

Team history

The Banners were founded as WTT's charter franchise for

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

in 1973, by

Gary Davidson Gary L. Davidson (born August 13, 1934) is an American lawyer and businessman who is based in Orange County, California. Davidson co-founded and served as the first president of the World Hockey Association and served as a president of the Amer ...

. Before the team ever had a name in Phoenix, Davidson sold it to Howard Fine, Gerald Klauber, Joseph Rivkin and Robert E. Bradley Jr. The new owners relocated the team to

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

with a plan to have it play its home matches at the

Baltimore Civic Center CFG Bank Arena is a multipurpose arena in Baltimore, Maryland. This venue is located about one block away from the Baltimore Convention Center on the corner of Baltimore Street and Hopkins Place in downtown Baltimore. With a seating capacity ...

starting with the league's inaugural season in 1974 season and name it the Baltimore Banners. The first 10 draft choices in the WTT inaugural draft made by what was at that time still the Phoenix franchise were The first match in Banners history was a 35–20 home victory against the

Hawaii Leis Hawaii ( ; ) is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, th ...

on May 8, 1975. The Banners started the season strong and had a record of 5–3 after eight matches. However, after a quarter of the season had passed, the Banners lost 23 of their final 33 matches to finish with 16 wins and 28 losses, third place in the Atlantic Section. Banners superstar

had the highest game-winning percentage in men's singles for the 1974 WTT season. Connors was not allowed to participate in the

1974 French Open The 1974 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 3 June until 16 June. It was the 73th staging of the French Open, and the second Grand S ...

due to his association with WTT. His exclusion from the French Open denied him the opportunity to become the first male player since

Rod Laver Rodney George Laver (born 9 August 1938) is an Australian former professional tennis player. Laver was ranked as the World number 1 ranked male tennis players, world number 1 professional player indisputably for five years from 1965 to 1969, ...

to win all four Major singles titles in a calendar year. The Banners struggled mightily to draw fans at home. Only 761 people showed up for their second home match of the season. The attendance for their final home match of the season was just 1,065. At the WTT owners meeting on February 1, 1975, each team was required to post a $500,000

letter of credit A letter of credit (LC), also known as a documentary credit or bankers commercial credit, or letter of undertaking (LoU), is a payment mechanism used in international trade to provide an economic guarantee from a creditworthy bank to an exp ...

. The Banners failed to do so and were contracted by WTT. A dispersal draft was conducted to distribute the players among the remaining teams in the league.

Roster

Don Candy Don Candy (31 March 1929 – 14 June 2020) was an Australian tennis player who was mainly successful in doubles. At the Grand Slam tournaments he reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Championships singles event in 1952 and 1959. In the s ...

, Player-Coach *

Bob Carmichael Bob "Nails" Carmichael (4 July 1940 – 18 November 2003) was an Australian tennis player and coach. As a player, Carmichael won one singles title and 12 doubles titles, and achieved a top-ten ranking in 1970. Partnering Allan Stone, he reac ...

* Joyce Hume *

Kathy Kuykendall Kathy Kuykendall (born November 23, 1956) is a former American tennis player. She was ranked sixth in the United States in 1974, seventh in 1975, and tenth in 1976. She reached the quarterfinals in the singles event of the French Open in 1976 ...

Audrey Morse Audrey () is a feminine given name. It is rarely a masculine given name. Audrey is the Anglo-Norman form of the Anglo-Saxon name ''Æðelþryð'', composed of the elements '' æðel'' "noble" and '' þryð'' "strength". The literal definition of ...

Jay Mukerjea Jays are a paraphyletic grouping of passerine birds within the family Corvidae. Although the term "jay" carries no taxonomic weight, most or all of the birds referred to as jays share a few similarities: they are small to medium-sized, usually ...

Betty Stöve Betty Flippina Stöve (born 24 June 1945) is a Dutch former professional tennis player. She is best known for reaching the ladies' singles final, the ladies' doubles final and the mixed doubles final during the same year at Wimbledon in 1977. S ...

Jimmy Connors was the only Banners player to have been enshrined in the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, 13 grass tennis courts, an ...

References

External links

Official World TeamTennis Website
{{World TeamTennis World TeamTennis teams Tennis in Maryland Sports clubs and teams in Baltimore Sports clubs and teams established in 1973 1973 establishments in Maryland Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1975 1975 disestablishments in Maryland

Team history

Roster

See also

References

External links