The Story of the Houston Rockets

The Story of the Houston Rockets — page 3 — BEGINNING LAUNCH SEQUENCE JOHNSON SPACE CENTER HAS TRAINED AND SUPERVISED SPACE EXPLORERS FOR 50-SOME YEARS BEGINNING LAUNCH SEQUENCE 8

The Story of the Houston Rockets — page 4 — In the 1830s Texas was a battleground Mexico did not want to let go of its territory but American settlers called Texians revolted In the Battle of San Jacinto General Sam Houston led the Texians in a deﬁnitive rout of the Mexican army and negotiated the independence of Texas Just months later the city of Houston broke ground a few miles from the battle site Over time the city’s industries shipping railroads and oil thrived and Houston grew rapidly Today it is America’s fourth-largest city and home to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s NASA Johnson Space Center the headquarters for America’s astronaut training program Not long after the NASA center was established in 1961 a new National Basketball Association NBA team was assembled in San Diego California The 1967 expansion team was named the Rockets because San Diego was RUDY TOMJANOVICH 9

The Story of the Houston Rockets — page 5 — THE LARGEST CITY IN TEXAS ATTRACTED FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES AS WELL AS PRO SPORTS home to another NASA center that developed and manufactured rockets When the NBA franchise relocated to Houston in 1971 the club’s appropriate name remained intact and the Rockets have striven to reach new heights ever since In their inaugural season the San Diego Rockets struggled to get airborne A pair of forwards lanky John Block and free-shooting Don Kojis played respectably each averaging about 20 points and 10 rebounds per game but as a team San Diego had nearly the poorest shooting in the league and ﬁnished with a dismal 15 67 record The silver lining to tallying the league’s worst season record was that San Diego received the top overall pick in the 1968 NBA Draft With that pick the club drafted University of Houston star Elvin Hayes The 6-foot-9 forward center known as Big E gave the Rockets the thrust they needed averaging 28 4 points and 17 1 boards per game His size athleticism and determination helped him sky above the opposition to drain turnaround jumpers or battle for rebounds in the middle of a crowd Rebounding is a rough proposition Hayes once noted But it’s one of the ways I make my living so it’s something I force myself to tolerate no 10

The Story of the Houston Rockets — page 6 — The Punch Coming off a strong playoff season hopes were high among the Houston faithful for the 1977 78 season On December 9 1977 those hopes were shattered That night an ugly on-court ﬁght broke out between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Rockets It began with an altercation between Lakers center Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Houston center Kevin Kunnert Rockets forward Rudy Tomjanovich rushed into the melee trying to act as peacemaker when powerful 6-foot-8 Lakers forward Kermit Washington hit him with a heavy right cross The punch was so brutal that it shattered Tomjanovich’s face nearly killing him Although his face needed extensive reconstructive surgery and 5 months to heal Tomjanovich made a remarkable return to the court the following year averaging 19 points and 7 7 rebounds per game Washington who was suspended for two months by the NBA for the incident still has trouble living down The Punch Rudy realizes that I’m sorry and I’m glad that he’s forgiven me Washington said years later Maybe when I die they won’t have on my grave The guy who hit Rudy Tomjanovich COURTSIDE STORIES The Punch 11

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