Toronto-Buffalo Royals
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The Toronto-Buffalo Royals 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 by John F. Bassett and John C. Eaton, III. The team was sometimes referred to as the Buffalo-Toronto Royals. The Royals played half of their home matches in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, Canada and the other half in
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
, United States. The Royals played only one season before being sold and moving to
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
after the 1974 season. The team was contracted by WTT on February 1, 1975. The Royals had 13 wins and 31 losses, and finished in last place in the Central Section missing the playoffs.


Team history

The Royals were founded by
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
businessman and
retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...
John F. Bassett and
merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...
John C. Eaton, III as a charter member of WTT in 1973. Originally, WTT granted the franchise to
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
. The team began play in WTT's inaugural 1974 season. The Royals played half of their home matches at the CNE Coliseum in Toronto,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, Canada and the other half at the
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, colloquially known as The Aud, was a multipurpose indoor arena in downtown Buffalo, New York. Opened on October 14, 1940, it was home to the Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball, Canisius Golden Griffins (Nationa ...
in
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
, United States. While WTT identified the team as the Toronto-Buffalo Royals in its official standings, the team was sometimes called the Buffalo-Toronto Royals by the Canadian
media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...
among others. The team identified itself as the Toronto-Buffalo Royals in its media guide and promotional materials such as team pennants. The Royals' main attraction was player-coach
Tom Okker Thomas Samuel Okker (born 22 February 1944), nicknamed "the Flying Dutchman", is a Dutch former tennis player who was active from the mid-1960s until 1980. He won the 1973 French Open Doubles, the 1976 US Open Doubles, and two gold medals at the ...
. However, Okker's contract allowed him to be excused from his commitment to the Royals when he had opportunities to play in ATP or
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s. So, Okker was effectively a part-time player. The Royals struggled to a record of 13 wins and 31 losses, last place in the Central Section. On October 16, 1974, team president Bassett announced that the Royals had been sold to Bert Hoffman and Phyllis Morse who said that they would move the team to
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
. 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 ...
. Since the Royals failed to do so, the team was contracted by WTT. A dispersal draft was conducted to distribute the players among the remaining teams in the league.


Home courts

The following table shows home courts used by the Toronto-Buffalo Royals in 1974, the only season in which they competed in WTT.


1974 roster

The Toronto-Buffalo Royals roster for the 1974 season was *
Tom Okker Thomas Samuel Okker (born 22 February 1944), nicknamed "the Flying Dutchman", is a Dutch former tennis player who was active from the mid-1960s until 1980. He won the 1973 French Open Doubles, the 1976 US Open Doubles, and two gold medals at the ...
, Player-Coach *
Mike Estep Mike Estep (born July 19, 1949) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. During his career Estep won 2 singles titles and 7 doubles titles. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 59 in August 1973. In 198 ...
* Jan O'Neill *
Wendy Overton Wendy Overton (born March 31, 1947) is an American former professional tennis player active in the 1970s. She is known mostly for her performance in doubles. She began her tennis career in Florida at the age of 11. She was ranked world No. 1 in ...
*
Laura Rossouw Laura Rossouw (born 15 July 1946) is a South African former tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two playe ...


See also

*
World TeamTennis 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 ...
*
1974 World Team Tennis season The 1974 World Team Tennis season was the inaugural season of the top professional team tennis league in the United States. The Denver Racquets defeated the Philadelphia Freedoms in the WTT Finals to win the league's first championship. Compe ...


References


External links


Official World TeamTennis Website
{{World TeamTennis World TeamTennis teams 1973 establishments in Ontario 1973 establishments in New York (state) Tennis in Canada Tennis in Connecticut Tennis in New York (state) Sports clubs and teams in Toronto Sports clubs and teams in New York (state) Sports in Buffalo, New York Sports clubs and teams established in 1973 Defunct sports clubs and teams in New York (state) Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1975 1974 disestablishments in Ontario 1974 disestablishments in New York (state) 1974 establishments in Connecticut 1975 disestablishments in Connecticut Tennis in Ontario