The Houston Mavericks were a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA). They played in the upstart league's first two seasons, from 1967 to 1969. Their home arena was the Sam Houston Coliseum. In 1947–48, there was an unrelated Mavericks franchise based in Houston as part of the Professional Basketball League of America. Origins The Mavericks were one of the first ABA franchises, announced on February 2, 1967 when the ABA was formed. They were owned by businessman T. C. Morrow. One of the minority partners was Bud Adams, who owned the Houston Oilers of the American Football League. Houston native and former NBA great Slater Martin was hired as general manager and head coach. 1967–68 season The Mavericks got off to an inauspicious start during the first ABA draft. Martin arrived in Oakland to represent the team, only to find out that Morrow and his group hadn't sent the required $30,000 bond. By the time Martin was able to get the money through other channels, he'd missed the first four rounds and was forced to recruit players from the Eastern Basketball Association (later known as the Continental Basketball Association). Not surprisingly given the rough start, the Mavericks had a somewhat mediocre season, finishing 29–49, good for fourth place in the Western Division. However, this was actually enough to make the playoffs. They went down rather meekly to the Dallas Chaparrals in the Western Division semifinals, losing three games to none. Willie Somerset and DeWitt Menyard of the Mavericks played in the ABA All-Star Game. Houstonians viewed the Mavericks largely with indifference. Average attendance was listed as 1,543, easily the worst in the league. It took some effort to get even to that low figure; the team was lucky to attract 500 fans on most nights. 1968–69 season Morrow made a considerable effort in the offseason to improve the team, aggressively pursuing Houston Cougars stars Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney. However, when they both opted for the NBA instead, Morrow turned the team back over to the league. ABA commissioner George Mikan was concerned enough about the situation in Houston that he sent the Mavericks several players in hopes of making them more attractive to fans. Martin, who had teamed with Mikan on the Minneapolis Lakers in the 1940s and 1950s, didn't appreciate this intervention from the league office and resigned a month into the season. Art Becker served