PORTSMOUTH, VA (WTKR)- For a six year window in the 1970's, Hampton Roads was home to professional basketball. The Virginia Squires put their stamp on the community, even though they weren't here for a long period of time.
"It helped me to entrench my game, adjust it to the pro level and gave me the opportunity to play," recalled former Squire Jim Eakins. "My wife and I just came to love Virginia and when I was traded to the Utah Stars in 1974, it really broke our hearts."
"It gave me an opportunity to play after college," added Dave Twardzik, a guard for the Squires from 1972-1976. "I never thought I would have the opportunity to play after my college career."
The franchise called southeastern Virginia home from 1970-1976 and competed in the American Basketball Association. The Oakland Oaks moved across the country to Washington, DC, for one season, before once again moving to Hampton Roads. A handful of great players suited up in a Squires' uniform, including Julius Erving, better known as "Dr. J," George Gervin and Charlie Scott. It did not take long for the community to embrace its team.
"We interacted with the community," remembered Twardzik. "We practiced at the Jewish Community Center and it was open to the public, so going in and out, you interacted with people there. You couldn't have scripted it any better for me."
"We were recognized," Eakins said. "We were stopped and people wanted to talk and people wanted to know about the Virginia Squires."
The franchise would fold in 1976, but the memories of the club remain clear to many to this day. Next Friday, April 12, the city of Portsmouth and the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament will celebrate the team at the Renaissance Hotel. It will be a reunion featuring some of the biggest names ever to wear the Squires' logo.
"To see each other again, see how we're doing, to sit down and go down Memory Lane, that's really good," smiled Eakins.
"They're all good people," Twardzik added on his former teammates. "To get together with them, it's always something special and I'm sure it's going to be a lot like no time has elapsed and we just picked up where we left off."
The festivities will begin at 6:00 PM, with the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament tipping off the following Wednesday, April 17.
