Gary Davidson Was Man Behind Upstart Leagues

His ABA gave us the Nuggets, Spurs the three-pointer and more
By Mike Buss,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 14, 2008 12:50 AM CDT
Gary Davidson Was Man Behind Upstart Leagues
Indiana Pacers' Mike Dunleavy, right, drives in front of New Jersey Nets guard Vince Carter in a recent game. Both teams joined the NBA after the American Basketball Association folded in the '70s.   (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Gary Davidson may not be a household name to many sports fans. But the man who founded the World Football League and co-founded the ABA and WHA certainly has been influential in the nation’s professional sports landscape by challenging three of the big four sports leagues, writes the LA Times. The NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, are a remnant of his ABA.

There’s the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs and the three-point shot - both which came from the failed American Basketball Association. So why did this successful attorney decide to start creating major sports leagues? “I was 33 years old and it was a high," he says. Now 73, he recently declined an offer to start an international rival to the NHL. (More football stories.)

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