Indiana Pacers

Bench.
. Starters. Coaches. Miller, a future Hall Of Famer, will have his #31 jersey retired by the Pacers sometime during the 2005-06 season. Manager. Despite Miller's effort, the Pacers lost, sending Miller into retirement without any NBA Championships in his 18-year career, all with the Pacers. Recently the Tigers traded pitcher Ugueth Urbina, and Ramon Martinez to the Philadelphia Phillies for Placido Palanco.

The final game (game 6) was on May 19, 2005; Reggie Miller, in his final NBA game, scored 27 points and received a huge standing ovation from the crowd. However, it was not enough to avoid an 11th consecutive losing season. However, the Pacers could not repeat their victories against the Pistons and lost the next 3 games, losing the series 4-2. The '04 Tigers had a 29-game improvement over the previous season, one of the greatest improvements in baseball history. After losing game 1, the Pacers won the next next two games to take a 2-1 lead. In 2004, the team signed or traded for several talented but high-risk veterans, such as Iván Rodríguez, Ugueth Urbina, Rondell White, Omar Infante and Carlos Guillén, and the gamble paid off. The series featured games back at the Palace of Auburn Hills, the scene of the brawl that many assumed at the time had effectively ended the Pacers' season. In 2003, the Tigers avoided the 1962 New York Mets' modern record for losses in one season by winning five out of the last six games of the season, finishing with a 43-119 record.

The Pacers then advanced to the second-round against the Detroit Pistons, in a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference Finals. Many longtime fans complained that the "CoPa" lacked the charm of its predecessor, while others saw it as a necessary replacement of an aging facility. In the first round, Indiana defeated the Atlantic Division champion Boston Celtics in seven games, winning Game 7 in Boston by the decisive margin of 97-70. In 2000, the team left legendary Tiger Stadium, then tied with Fenway Park as the oldest active baseball stadium, in favor of the new Comerica Park. So despite the adversity they'd gone through, the Pacers made the playoffs for the 13th time in 14 years. In 1996, the Tigers lost a then-team record 109 games. And Davis' signing coincided with an injury to Jermaine O'Neal that would knock him out for virtually the remainder of the regular season-- indeed, O'Neal's first missed game due to his injury was Davis' first game back with the Pacers. The Tigers last Winning Season came in 1993, and only twice since then have they even finished within 5 games of .500 (1997 and 2000).

He played the final 25 games of the regular season and every playoff game, contributing a strong presence at center. Unfortunately, they lost the American League Championship Series to the Minnesota Twins in five games. An important reason for their strong finish was the re-acquisition of Dale Davis, who'd been released by New Orleans after being traded there by Golden State. The Tigers clinched the division in a 1-0 Sunday Afternoon win, pitched by Frank Tanana and won on a homerun by outfielder Larry Herndon. Despite the difficulties with the suspensions and injuries, the Pacers earned a sixth seed in a playoffs with a record of 44-38. The Tigers swept the The Blue Jays in consecutive weekends, once in Toronto and the following weekend at Tiger Stadium. Ironically, the Pistons eventually became the Central Division champions. The Tigers chased down the Toronto Blue Jays to win what would be their last American League Eastern Division Championship.

They went from a legitimate title contender to a team that hovered around .500. Detroit was seven games out of first with a week to play. After the brawl and riot that followed, the Pacers fell downward into the Central Division. In 1987, The Tigers made a Historic Rally. Daniels.) O'Neal was charged with two counts of assault and battery, while Artest, Jackson, Johnson and David Harrison were charged with one count each. That team featured the great double play combination of shortstop Alan Trammell (the team's current manager) and second baseman Lou Whitaker; the duo would play together a record 19 seasons. The team also included Kirk Gibson, Chet Lemon, Larry Herndon, Morris, Dan Petry, Dave Rozema, the late Aurelio Lopez and relief ace Willie Hernandez, who won the 1984 American League Cy Young Award. District Judge George B. The Tigers Swept the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series and defeated the San Diego Padres in the World Series in 5 Games.

(O'Neal's suspension was later reduced to 15 games by arbitrator Roger Kaplan, a decision that was upheld by U.S. The 1984 team started out at a record 35-5 pace (including Jack Morris Throwing an Opening Day No-Hitter Against the Chicago White Sox), and cruised to a franchise-record 104 victories. Several of the involved players were suspended by NBA Commissioner David Stern, but the hardest hit were Artest (suspended for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs), Jackson (suspended for 30 games), O'Neal (25 games), Wallace (6 games) and the Pacers' Anthony Johnson (5 games). He proved to be as good as his word. Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal both got into fights with fans before the Pacers left the floor, and the game was called with 46 seconds left on the clock [1] (http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/sports/fans/10236730.htm). When Sparky came on board, he made the bold move of predicting a pennant winner within 5 years. Pistons fan John Green threw a cup of beer at Artest, causing him to charge into the stands. From 1979 to 1995, the team was managed by the colorful, eccentric George "Sparky" Anderson, one of baseball's winningest managers.

It escalated to a full-scale brawl, with fans and members of both teams taking part. Louis Cardinals in the World Series 4 Games to 3, coming back from a 3 Games to 1 Deficit. Towards the end of a Pacers victory over the Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Ron Artest committed a hard foul against the Pistons' Ben Wallace, which Wallace took exception to. The Tigers came back to win the American League Pennant on the Last Day of the Season and Defeated the St. Nevertheless, the Pacers started off the 2004-05 season in extremely strong fashion–until the infamous events of November 19, 2004. The 1968 title, which occurred one year after the 1967 race riots ravaged Detroit, is thought to have helped to heal citywide tensions. Al Harrington, a small forward who'd established himself as one of the best sixth-men in the NBA, was dealt in the offseason to the Atlanta Hawks in return for Stephen Jackson after Harrington allegedly demanded that the Pacers start him or trade him. The team won additional World Series crowns in 1945, 1968 and 1984.

But the Detroit Pistons proved an impediment to Indiana's championship aspirations, as they defeated the Pacers in six games on their way to the NBA Championship. However, the team came up short in the World Series each time, and would not win its first World Series until 1935. The Pacers swept the Boston Celtics easily in the first round, and squeezed by a scrappy Miami Heat team in the conference semifinals. The addition of Cobb to an already talented team that included Sam Crawford, Hughie Jennings, Bill Donovan, and George Mullin quickly yielded results, as the Tigers won three consecutive American League Championships from 1907-09. O'Neal and Artest made the All-Star team, and Artest was named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year. In 1905, the team acquired Ty Cobb, a player who would be considered one of the greatest of all-time. The Pacers responded to Carlisle extremely well, and had a breakthrough 2003-04 season in which they finished 61-21, earning the best record in the NBA. Since 2000, the Tigers have played in Comerica Park.

But the Pacers signed Larry Bird as team president, and Bird wasted little time in dismissing coach Isiah Thomas and replacing him with Rick Carlisle. Tiger Stadium was used by the Tigers until the end of the 1999 season. He was dealt to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Scot Pollard, who spent much of the following year watching from the bench and backing up Jeff Foster. In 1961, Briggs Stadium, as it was then known, was renamed Tiger Stadium. In the 2003 offseason, the Pacers managed to re-sign O'Neal for the NBA maximum and inked Reggie Miller to a modest two-year deal, but they couldn't afford to keep their talented center, Brad Miller. Eleven years later, an elegant stadium was constructed on the site of Bennett Park and named Navin Field. O'Neal and Brad Miller both made the All-Star team and the Pacers made a substantial improvement as they finished 48-34, but they suffered a loss to the underdog Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. That 1901 team eventually finished third in the eight team league.

The Pacers got off to a 13-2 start in 2002-03, but hit the wall after the All-Star break thanks in no small part to Ron Artest's multiple suspensions and family tragedies befalling Jermaine O'Neal, Jamaal Tinsley and Austin Croshere. The ballclub received permission from the Light Guard to use their trademark, and from that day forth the ballclub was officially the Tigers. The trade bolstered a team that had been floundering, and the Pacers managed to return to the playoffs, where they pushed the top-seeded New Jersey Nets to five games before losing Game 5 in double overtime. Jermaine O'Neal made his first of what would be several All-Star appearances this year, erasing any doubt that trading the veteran workhorse, Dale Davis, to Portland for him was a good idea. In the 19th century, the city of Detroit had a military unit called the Detroit Light Guard, who were known as "The Tigers." They had played a significant role in certain Civil War battles and also in the recently-fought Spanish-American War. Brad Miller and Ron Artest would, in the next few years, go on to be All-Stars for the Pacers. However, the truth is revealed in Richard Bak's 1998 book, A Place for Summer: A Narrative History of Tiger Stadium. In the midseason of 2001-02, the Pacers made a blockbuster trade with the Chicago Bulls that sent Jalen Rose and Travis Best to Chicago in exchange for Brad Miller, Ron Artest, Kevin Ollie and Ron Mercer. Another has to do with a sportswriter equating that 1901 Detroit club's opening day victory to the ferocity of his alma mater, the Princeton Tigers.

It was a rebuilding year for the Pacers under new head coach Isiah Thomas, but the team still managed to return to the playoffs, where they lost to the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in four games. One has to do with the orange stripes they wore on their black stockings. The offseason brought sweeping changes to the Pacers' lineup, as Rik Smits and coach Larry Bird retired, Chris Mullin returned to his old Golden State Warriors team, Mark Jackson signed a long-term contract with Toronto, and Dale Davis was traded to Portland for Jermaine O'Neal, who went on to average 12.9 points per game in his first year as a starter. There are various legends about how the Tigers got their nickname. Unfortunately for the Pacers, their first NBA Finals appearance was against the dominating Los Angeles Lakers, who proved too much for them to handle as they ended Indiana's championship hopes in six games. After trailing 13-4 entering the ninth inning, the team staged a dramatic comeback to win the game 14-13. But in 1999-2000, after a 56-26 regular season, the Pacers survived the upset-minded Bucks in round one, handled the 76ers in the second round and finally broke through to the NBA Finals by virtue of a six-game East Finals victory over (who else, but) the New York Knicks. The Detroit Tigers played their first game for the newly established American League on April 25, 1901 at Bennett Park in front of 10,000 fans.

The Pacers traded popular forward Antonio Davis to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for first-round draft choice Jonathan Bender, which remains to this day a subject of controversy among Pacers fans. They are in the Central Division of the American League. In the lockout-shortened 1999 season, the Pacers won the Central Division with a 33-17 record and swept the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers before falling to the New York Knicks in a six-game Eastern Conference Finals series. The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team based in Detroit, Michigan. Reggie Miller and Rik Smits both made the All-Star team that year, and in the playoffs, the Pacers breezed past the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks before falling to the Chicago Bulls in an epic seven-game Eastern Finals series. GCL Tigers. Assistant coaches Rick Carlisle, in charge of the offense, and Dick Harter, who coached the defense, were key in getting the most out of the Pacers' role players such as Dale Davis, Antonio Davis and Derrick McKey. Lakeland Tigers
West Michigan Whitecaps
Oneonta Tigers.

Chris Mullin joined the team in the offseason and immediately became a valuable part of the Pacers lineup-- and their starting small forward. Erie SeaWolves. The Pacers signed Larry Bird to coach the team in 1997-98 and they posted a new franchise record, finishing 58-24. Toledo Mud Hens. The Pacers finished 39-43 and missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years, after which coach Larry Brown stepped down. American League
. The Pacers couldn't withstand several key injuries in 1996-97, nor could they handle the absence of Mark Jackson, who had been traded to the Denver Nuggets before the season (though they did re-acquire Jackson at the trading deadline). Pitching Strikouts: 308 (1971) Mickey Lolich.

This 1995-96 team did manage to go down in history as the only team to defeat the Chicago Bulls twice that year, a Bulls team which made history with an all-time best 72-10 record. Pitching Wins: 31 (1968) Denny McLain. Reggie scored 29 points in that game, but the Hawks came away with a two-point victory to put an early end to Indiana's season. Walks: 137 (1947) Roy Cullenbine. The Pacers duplicated their 52-30 record in 1995-96, but were hurt severely by an injury to Reggie Miller's eye socket in April, from which he wasn't able to return until Game 5 of their first-round series against the Hawks. Strikeouts: 182 (1990) Cecil Fielder. The team swept the Hawks in the first round, finally dispatched the hated Knicks in the semifinals, and pushed the Magic to seven games before falling in the Eastern Conference Finals. Hitting Streak: 40 games (1911) Ty Cobb.

The Pacers enjoyed a 52-30 campaign in 1994-95, giving them their first Central Division title. Stolen Bases: 96 (1915) Ty Cobb. Mark Jackson joined the team in an offseason trade with the Los Angeles Clippers, giving the team the steady hand at the point guard position that had been lacking in recent years. Triples: 26 (1914) Sam Crawford. Reggie became an NBA superstar overnight, and was even named as a tri-captain of the USA Basketball team that won the gold medal at the 1994 World Championship of Basketball. Doubles: 63 (1934) Hank Greenberg. It was during the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals that the Pacers-- particularly Reggie Miller-- finally became a household name, as Reggie's clutch performances helped the Pacers push the Knicks to the brink of elimination before the Knicks won the next two games and the series. Runs: 147 (1911) Ty Cobb.

They stormed past Shaquille O'Neal and the Orlando Magic in a first-round sweep to earn their first NBA playoff series win, and pulled off a tremendous upset by defeating the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks in the conference semifinal. Hits: 248 (1911) Ty Cobb. But the Pacers, who began the season in typically average fashion, kicked it up a notch in April, winning their last eight games of the season to finish with a franchise-high 47 wins. Batting Average: .420 (1911) Ty Cobb. Larry Brown was brought on as Pacers' coach for the 1993-94 season, and Pacers' general manager Donnie Walsh completed a highly-criticized (at the time) trade as he sent Schrempf to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for Derrick McKey. Runs Batted In: 183 (1937) Hank Greenberg. The Pacers returned to the playoffs with a 41-41 record, but lost to the New York Knicks in the first round, three games to one. Home Runs: 58 (1938) Hank Greenberg.

Miller, meanwhile, became the Pacers' all-time leading scorer during this season. 42 Jackie Robinson (retired throughout baseball). For the 1992-93 season, Detlef Schrempf moved from sixth man to the starter at small forward and was elected to his first All-Star game. 23 Willie Horton. Chuck Person and point guard Michael Williams were traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the offseason, and the Pacers got Pooh Richardson and Sam Mitchell in return. 16 Hal Newhouser. The Pacers returned to the playoffs in 1991-92 and met the Celtics again, but this time the Celtics left no doubt who was better as they swept the Pacers in three straight.  6 Al Kaline.

The Pacers had a memorable series against the highly favored Boston Celtics that they managed to extend to five games before losing Game 5, 124-121.  5 Hank Greenberg. In 1990-91, the Pacers returned to the playoffs with a 41-41 record, and Schrempf was named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year.  2 Charlie Gehringer. But the Pacers lost all three games in their 1990 NBA Playoffs experience, falling to the Detroit Pistons, who would go on to win their second consecutive NBA Championship. Ernie Harwell (former broadcaster; has retirement honors). But in 1989-90 the Pacers parlayed a fast start into the team's third NBA Playoffs appearance, and Reggie Miller was voted to the All-Star team on the strength of his 24.6 points-per-game average. Ty Cobb (No official number, as he played in the era prior to uniform numbers, but has been honored nonetheless).

But the team did manage to make a trade that would eventually pay off, as they traded Herb Williams to the Dallas Mavericks for Detlef Schrempf. Lou Whitaker (1983-85). The Pacers missed the playoffs in 1987-88, drafted Rik Smits in the '88 NBA Draft, and suffered through a disastrous 1988-89 season in which coach Jack Ramsay stepped down and eventually was replaced by Dick Versace on the way to a 28-54 finish. Alan Trammell (1980-81, 1983-84). Reggie Miller was drafted by the Pacers in 1987, beginning his career as a backup to John Long. Mickey Stanley (1968-70, 1973). Their first playoff win in NBA franchise history was earned in Game 3 of their first-round, best-of-five series against the Atlanta Hawks, but unfortunately for the Pacers, it was their only victory in that series, as the Hawks defeated them in four games. Iván Rodríguez (2004).

Chuck Person, nicknamed "The Rifleman" for his renowned long-range shooting, led the team in scoring as a rookie. Aurelio Rodríguez (1976). After winning 22 games in 1984-85 and 26 games in 1985-86, Jack Ramsay replaced George Irvin as coach and lead the Pacers to a 41-41 record in 1986-87, marking their return to the NBA Playoffs after a six-year absence. Gary Pettis (1988-90). Clark Kellogg was drafted by the Pacers in 1983 and showed tremendous promise, finishing second in the Rookie of the Year voting, but the Pacers won only 26 games that season. Lance Parrish (1983-85). The Pacers made their first appearance in the NBA Playoffs in 1981, falling in the opening round to the Philadelphia 76ers in two straight games. They failed to reach the postseason in 1981-1982, and in 1982-1983 they finished with their all-time worst record of 20-62. Frank Lary (1961).

They acquired Adrian Dantley in exchange for Knight, but Dantley (who was averaging nearly 27 points per game at the time) was traded in December, while the Pacers' second-leading scorer, John Williamson, was dealt in January. Al Kaline (1957-59, 1961-67). Unfortunately for the Pacers, a lack of year-to-year continuity became the norm, as they traded away Knight and Buse before the 1977-1978 season even started. Bill Freehan (1965-69). They finished their inaugural NBA season with a record of 36-46, but Billy Knight and Don Buse were nonetheless invited to represent Indiana in the NBA All-Star Game. Ed Brinkman (1972). Unfortunately for the Pacers, they were in decline after their years of ABA glory. Frank Bolling (1958).

The ABA folded in 1976, and the Pacers were one of four ABA teams invited to join the NBA beginning in the 1976-1977 season (the other three were the New York Nets, Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs). Gold Glove Award