Origins With the founding of the ABA on February 2, 1967, a charter franchise in Anaheim was awarded to
Art Kim and James Ackerman for $30,000. Kim had been behind basketball ventures for the past two decades, which started with leagues for serviceman stationed in
Hawaii. He then organized games with the
Harlem Globetrotters that would see his teams lose starting in 1946. He was also behind the
Hawaii / Long Beach Chiefs of the
American Basketball League that had folded alongside the rest of the league in 1963. He was encouraged by
Orange County and the support that they gave to the Angels at the time. On May 25, 1967, Kim announced that the team would be named the Amigos. The team played most of its home games at the
Anaheim Convention Center. Five home games were scheduled elsewhere in
California and three home games were scheduled in
Honolulu, Hawaii.
Al Brightman was the first head coach.
1967–68 season The Amigos played the first game in ABA history, facing the Oakland Oaks at Oakland Coliseum to start the inaugural 67-68 season, with close to 5,000 fans in attendance. They lost 132-129, by only one possession, despite surrendering 70 points to the Oaks in the first half. The Amigos' roster was highlighted by guards
Les Selvage,
Jeff Congdon and
Steve Chubin, former NBA player
Ben Warley and 7 foot center
Larry Bunce. Chubin led the team in scoring and assists and was a fan favorite. Selvage led the league in three-point field goal attempts. Warley led the team in rebounds and was an effective outside shooter. Congdon played well but was traded in mid-season to the
Denver Rockets for
Willis Thomas. Bunce did not live up to expectations despite his height, but played in the
1968 ABA All-Star Game, as did Warley. The Amigos were not successful on the court, particularly on defense. They lost their first five games, including the first ever ABA game, a 134–129 loss to the
Oakland Oaks on the road. After losing two thirds of their first 36 games Brightman was fired and replaced as head coach by
Harry Dinnel. During the season the Amigos lost eight straight games in one stretch and had two other stretches of six losses each. The team finished the season with 25 wins and 53 losses, good for fifth place in Western Division but not good enough to make the playoffs. 1969-70 started out a little better for the Stars with some new veterans joining the best of the previous seasons returning players, but the team was still out of the playoff picture on March 5 when they were sold to cable television entrepreneur Bill Daniels. Following the sale the team came alive, making the playoffs on the last day of the season. Despite a fourth-place finish, Sharman,
George Stone, and
Mack Calvin led the Stars to the Western Conference Championship. In the
1970 ABA Finals, despite being heavy underdogs, they then stretched the Indiana Pacers to a sixth game before losing. For a newspaper article in the
Los Angeles Times in 1988, Kim was reported to have settled as being a teacher, doing so since 1973.
Move to Salt Lake City, Utah After the 1969–70 season, the franchise once again relocated, this time to
Salt Lake City, and became the
Utah Stars. ==Season-by-season==