More About Atlanta Hawks

In 1951, the franchise moved again to Milwaukee and became known as the Milwaukee Hawks. Their lousy performance led to yet another move in 1955 to St. Louis, MO. After the move, the Hawks reached the finals in 1957 and in 1958 they won the championship against the Boston Celtics. Since that championship win, the Hawks remained contenders and popularity grew until their stadium couldn't hold the capacity required and began to fall into disrepair. After several failed negotiations, the team was sold to Atlanta real estate developer Tom Cousins and Georgia Governor Carl Sanders who moved the team. In 1976, the team was purchased by Ted Turner who already owned the Atlanta Braves and he hired Hubie Brown as head coach. They won the Central Division in 1980 and in 1982 with the help of Dominique Wilkins and new head coach Mike Fratello, the team became one of the best from 1985-1989. In 1995, Hawks' coach Wilkins broke the record for most wins by an NBA coach, but the team fell in ability and popularity until 1999 when they became known for a series of short-lived trades featuring Isaiah Rider, Jim Jackson, Pau Gasol in 2001. Additional trades in 2004 involved Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Rasheed Wallace, who ended up playing only one game. In 2004, the team was sold to Atlanta Spirit LLC after Time Warner acquired it from a merger with Turner Broadcasting. Time Warner also sold them the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team at the same time. Atlanta Hawks games at Philips Arena were interspersed with Thrashers games as they shared the same arena. Hope endures in 2009 as the Atlanta Hawks scheduled promises to be an exciting one. Atlanta Hawks tickets can be purchased here on our website or by calling the number above.