The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team played its home games in the Memorial Coliseum before moving to Moda Center in 1995. The franchise entered the league as an expansion team in 1970, and has enjoyed a strong following: from 1977 through 1995, the team sold out 814 consecutive home games, the longest such streak in American major professional sports at the time, and only since surpassed by the Boston Red Sox. The Trail Blazers have been the only NBA team based in the bi-national Pacific Northwest, after the Vancouver Grizzlies relocated to Memphis and became the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001, and the Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008.
Ephraim J. "Red" Rocha was an American professional basketball player and coach.
Howard Andrew "Hobby" Hobson was an American basketball player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head basketball coach at Southern Oregon Normal School—now Southern Oregon University—from 1932 to 1935, at the University of Oregon from 1935 to 1944 and again from 1945 to 1947, and at Yale University from 1947 to 1956, compiling a career college basketball record of 401–257. Hobson's 1938–39 Oregon basketball team won the inaugural NCAA Basketball Tournament. Hobson authored numerous books on the subject of basketball. He was also the head football coach at Southern Oregon for 1932 to 1934, tallying a mark of 12–7–1, and the head baseball coach at Oregon from 1936 to 1947, amassing a record of 167–75–1. Hobson was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 1965.
Norman Henry Baker was a Canadian professional basketball and lacrosse player. He was voted Canada's top basketball player of the first half of the 20th century in a Canadian Press poll in December 1950.
Stuart Kirk Inman was an American basketball player, coach and executive. He was selected in the sixth round of the 1950 NBA Draft from San Jose State University by the Chicago Stags; however, he did not play in the NBA.
Lester Allen Conner is an American professional basketball coach and former professional basketball player, who played for numerous NBA teams. On the floor at the collegiate level the 6'4" Conner was a "swingman," playing both the shooting guard and small forward positions, earning high collegiate honors as the 1982 Pac-10 Player of the Year.
George Lloyd "Porky" Andrews was a Canadian basketball player and a native of Victoria, British Columbia. He joined the University of Oregon Ducks for the 1939–1940 school year, and became one of the first Canadian players to showcase his talents in the United States.
The Portland Indians were a professional basketball team in Portland, Oregon. They were a member of the Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League for the duration of the league, which only lasted two seasons: 1946–47 and 1947–48. They played their home games in the Portland Armory.
Eldon Irl Jenne was an American track and field athlete who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics and a high school athletic coach.
Mel Krause was an American college baseball coach and player at the University of Oregon. He also played professional baseball in the Northwest League. Krause also played college basketball for Oregon and coached two different high school basketball teams to Oregon state basketball championships. Prior to its planned reinstatement in 2009, Krause was the last Ducks baseball coach when the university canceled the sport in 1981.
Freeman Charles Fitzgerald was an All-American football player for Notre Dame. He was six feet in height and weighed 195 pounds. He played football for Notre Dame from 1913–1915 and was selected as an All-American at the guard position in 1915. He later played professional football for the Massillon Tigers (1916), Youngstown Patricians (1917), and Rock Island Independents (1920–1921).
Charles Robert Anet was a college basketball guard who helped guide the University of Oregon to win the inaugural NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament championship in 1938–39. Aside from scoring 10 points in the 46–33 win over Ohio State in the title game, Anet is most remembered for breaking the championship game trophy when he accidentally knocked it over while diving for a loose ball during the course of play. The damaged trophy contributed to the NCAA's overall loss of $2,531 on the tournament—the only deficit that the event has ever posted.
Wallace A. Johansen was a college basketball guard who played for the University of Oregon when it won the inaugural NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament championship in 1938–39.
John Albert "Honest John" Warren was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, baseball, and track. He served as the head football coach the University of Oregon for one season in 1942, tallying a mark of 2–6, and as the head basketball coach at Oregon for five seasons, compiling a record of 87–76.
Portland was the name of a professional baseball team that a member of the fleeting Oregon State League in 1893. Portland represented Portland, Oregon and played against teams from Albany, Independence, and Oregon City. In the early stages of the team, H. Hammond oversaw the club's operations. Later, W. H. Kennedy led the team financially and Edward Stapleton bore the managerial duties. Portland used City View Park as their home until switching to the West End Grounds after June 25. In all league games, Portland played 18 games compiling seven wins and 11 losses.
The Salem Trailblazers were an American professional basketball team located in Salem, Oregon who played in the Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League (PCPBL) during the 1946–47 season. The Trailblazers used the Salem Armory as their home court. In February, 1947 the Trailblazers left Salem and became a traveling team because of low attendance. Len Yandle was the head coach of the team until he was replaced by Frank Shone, who eventually resigned the position. The team finished their home games in Mt. Angel, Oregon at the Mount Angel Abbey. The Trailblazers were owned by Dan Hay who struggled throughout the season to pay investors and outstanding bills. After the season, he merged his team with the Spokane team.
Columbia Coliseum, also known as Columbia Gymnasium, was a gymnasium on the campus of Columbia University in Portland, Oregon. It was designed in 1902 by Joseph Jacobberger to house sports that were traditionally played outdoors, like baseball and football. Constructed the following year it was the largest gymnasium in Oregon, and possibly the Pacific Northwest. Starting in 1905, Columbia Coliseum became the site of an annual statewide track and field event hosted by the university. It was last used in 1927 and has since been demolished.
Gary Dwayne Payton II is an American professional basketball player for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. As a junior and senior playing college basketball for the Oregon State Beavers, Payton was named first-team All-Pac-12 as well as Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. He is the son of NBA Hall of Famer Gary Payton.
