Book Description

We Changed the Game is a story about a city looking to grow up, a laughable basketball league trying to be taken seriously and a bunch of unsung players given a shot or a second chance to make it in pro basketball. It¿s equal parts comedy, creativity and sheer luck and only could have existed in the free-wheeling `60s. Indeed it is the Wild West in tennis shoes. The Indiana Pacers were born on a partially-used cocktail napkin for $6,000 and staggered through some challenging times but, in the end, they carried the American Basketball Association (ABA) into respectability and eventually a merger with what is known today as the National Basketball Association (NBA). Between their ABA existence from 1967 to 1976, the Pacers captured three ABA titles, but also--and only known by a select few--teetered on the brink of extinction at least three times before finally finding two Indianapolis-based real estate legends who would take a gamble and purchase this team that no one else could or would, officially securing the Pacers' future as one of the top-contending professional basketball teams in the country.Indianapolis¿ love affair with the Pacers also triggered the explosion of downtown Indy. Market Square Arena was conceived, with the vision of then Mayor Bill Hudnut, and made possible because of the Pacer¿s popularity. From that catalyst eventually came the Hoosier Dome, the Colts, Banker¿s Life Fieldhouse, major hotel chains and restaurants galore. The Pacers changed the city¿s profile ¿ Naptown was laid to rest and a vibrant, progressive state capital emerged over these past 40 years. Indianapolis was alive. Through the eyes of Richard Tinkham, the legal counsel of the Pacers from Day 1 (who also served as innovator, negotiator, deal maker and fireman), and the mercurial Netolicky, please sit back and enjoy one of the most improbable and inspirational stories in professional sports history.