AAU POWER: PHILLIPS 66ERS

 Before there was the NBA, the Amateur Athletic Union ruled the roost.

And one of the best teams was the Phillips 66ers, an amateur basketball team located in Bartlesville, OK, a small town 150 miles northeastern of the capital, Oklahoma City. They were so named “Phillips” because the team’s sponsor was the Phillips Petroleum Company owned by Frank Phillips.

Back then, before there was professional basketball, large corporations sponsored teams.

The 66ers won 11 AAU titles at the national tournament from 1940 to 1963. 

The two home gyms where the 66ers played are still standing, Phillips Gymnasium, the main gym, is used by employees today. The team also played at an old gym still used today by Bartlesville High School. During my visit to town in 2013, I got to meet Charlie Bowerman, No. 32, who played on the team; caught games at the old gyms; and enjoyed the Phillips Petroleum Co. Museum, with artifacts on the history of the 66ers!

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Mr. Sports Travel with Charlie Bowerman (above left) and old Bartlesville High School gym (above right)

Phillips Museum (below left) and Phillips Gymnasium (below right) - not too many places where employees can play pick-up hoops in a historic crib on their lunch break!