The Triangles, Pittsburgh's World Team Tennis (WTT) franchise, won the esteemed Bancroft Cup, defeating the San Francisco Golden Gaters on August 25, 1975 in the championship match at the Civic Arena (now Mellon Arena).

In the fall of 1972 Chuck Reichblum and his partner, local attorney Bill Sutton, hatched the idea that tennis fans might be more enthusiastic about rooting for a team rather than individual, and sometimes unknown, players in the standard tournament format. So they formed the National Tennis League (NTL), held a New York news conference, and began offering franchises to investors around the country for $250,000. The original Triangles franchise was owned by Reichblum, Sutton, and Fox Chapel businessman, sports promoter, and financier Frank Fuhrer, who eventually acquired a controlling interest in the Triangles.

A few months later in February , 1973, Larry King (Billie Jean's husband) and a group of sports business men also announced plans for a team-based tennis league, the International Professional Tennis League (IPTL). But before the inevitable lawsuits were launched,  the NTL and IPTL merged amicably and WTT was born. It consisted of sixteen franchises in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Toronto (the Eastern Division) and Florida, Chicago, Houston, Denver, Minnesota, Hawaii, Los Angeles, and San Francisco/Oakland (the Western Division). Each team would play a forty four match season.

Billie Jean King and John Newcombe used their considerable influence as the world's elite players to attract many top tennis professionals to WTT. The 1973 players' strike at Wimbledon also helped WTT franchises recruit sufficient players to fill team rosters with well-known players.

Among the innovations WTT brought to tennis were no add 1,2,3,4 scoring, cumulative game scoring, overtime, the match-deciding super-tiebreaker, coaching during matches, player substitutions, sexually integrated teams, colored clothing, balls, and playing surfaces, no chairs for lines people, the authority of the umpire to overrule a linesperson, and encouragement of fan participation during matches. WTT founders hoped these innovations would make tennis matches leaner, meaner, and appeal to audiences beyond dedicated tennis fans.

Pittsburgh's First WTT Season

The legendary Australian tennis star Ken Rosewall coached the original Pittsburgh Triangles team in 1974. Rosewall's top players were Evonne Goolagong, who had already captured her first Wimbledon singles title in 1971, and young phenom Vitas Gerulaitis. Vitas, nicknamed the Lithuanian Lion, had recently won the West Penn Open in Mt. Lebanon and would go on to win the 1975 Wimbledon men's doubles crown (with Sandy Mayer) and the 1977 Australian Open men's singles title.

West Penn Open tournament director Don Mercer remembers Vitas Gerulaitis as a teenager showing up late from Long Island, after the draw had been made, and succeeding in talking his way back into the mix. "I can see him running up the path that leads to the tournament desk, his long blond hair flying behind him," said Mercer. "Everybody liked Vitas; he was a big hit with everybody. He played to the crowd and had fun. A few years later, he made the announcement here that he was coming to Pittsburgh to play for the Triangles in World Team Tennis."

Vitas' flashy game, long blond locks, and exotic lifestyle was something new for tennis, and many Triangles' fans loved and partied with him. Akin to Arnie's Army, Vitas' most boisterous fans, male and female, called themselves the G-Men. Armed with cow bells, battery-powered bullhorns, and cymbals, the cacophonous G-Men earned the reputation of being the loudest and rudest fans on the WTT circuit. They abused any player who challenged their idol, to the extent that some of their cruder members were escorted from the Arena and instructed to exercise their talents at nearby Three Rivers Stadium.

In doubles, Evonne played with Peggy Michel. This partnership meshed so well that they won the Wimbledon doubles title in 1973. Unseeded, Michel and Goolagong prevailed in a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Helen Gourley and Karen Krantzke.

Other players drafted for the Triangles' inaugural season included Harold Solomon, Laura DuPont, Mona Schallau, Jeff Borowiak, Kathy Blake, Patrick DuPre, Jane Stratton, Tom Edlefsen, Gerald Battrick, Linda Lewis, Jill Cooper, Brian Teacher, Isabel Fernandez, Anand Amritraj, Paolo Bertolucci, Mary O'Keef, and Bob Chappell.

During their first season the Triangles, clad in bright yellow and green uniforms, played in the WTT Eastern Division with teams from Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Baltimore, Detroit, Cleveland, and Toronto. WTT also had an eight team Western Division for a total of sixteen teams representing most of the major metropolitan areas in the United States. There was even a team from Hawaii called the Leis.

At season's end the Triangles' record was 30 and 14, good enough for a playoff birth in the Central Section of the Eastern Division. In the first round they defeated Detroit in two straight matches 63-27 (31-10 and 32-17) but lost to Philadelphia in the semifinals 52-45 (31-21 and 21-24).

Another positive note for the Triangles' inaugural season was their second place finish in home attendance. Following the season Reichblum sold his interests in the team to Fuhrer, who subsequently assumed sole ownership. In two years Fuhrer invested a million dollars in the Triangles franchise. Fuhrer went on to become a prominent WTT figure and was elected league president in 1974. However, his tenure was short and he was replaced by Larry King after a dispute with WTT franchise owners.

A Championship Season

For the 1975 season Vic Edwards replaced Ken Rosewall as the Triangles' coach. Rosewall decided to retire from WTT competition and Edwards had been the Triangle's Director of Player Personnel. Edwards, also an Australian, was credited with recognizing Evonne Goolagong's skills while still a junior and developing her into an international tennis champion. Edwards was the only non-playing coach in WTT.

To strengthen a major weakness in men's doubles, the Triangles acquired English standout Mark Cox. In 1968 Cox was the first amateur to defeat a pro when he beat Pancho Gonzales in the first open tournament at Bournemouth.

After the league's break for Wimbledon, the Triangles won twenty of their last twenty two matches, including a season-ending victory over the New York Sets before 10,589 at the Civic Arena that made them undisputed champions of the Eastern Division.

By the end of the 1975 season the Triangles had amassed a league best 36-8 record. In the semifinal round of the playoffs Pittsburgh quickly defeated the Boston Lobsters led by Ion Tiric (and his droopy moustache), in two consecutive matches.

The best of three championship series opened at the Cow Palace in San Francisco against the Golden Gaters where the Triangles lost a very tight match 26-25. They entered the final mixed doubles set leading 24-20 but the Gaters Betty Stove and Frew McMillan, "The Mad Hatter" with a two-fisted grip on everything but his serve, defeated Kim Warwick and Peggy Michel 6-1 when both Triangles suddenly developed service problems.

Game two of the finals was played three days later in the Civic Area on August 24th before 2,182 enthusiastic Triangles fans. The Triangles narrowly prevailed 28-25 with the now Goolagong-Cawley wining crucial tiebreakers in both singles and women's doubles. This exciting match was also the second time WTT appeared on national TV.

The deciding third game of the playoffs took place the following evening, attracting a vocal crowd of 6,882 to the Arena. Goolagong-Cawley and Michel lost the opening women's doubles set 6-2 to Stove and Ilana Kloss. However Goolagong-Cawley retaliated with a 6-2 defeat of Stove in women's singles. Vitas Gerulaitis and Mark Cox won a close 7-5 match against the league's premier doubles team of Frew McMillan and Dutchman Tom Okker.

The Triangles now led 15-13. When Gerulaitis crushed Okker in men's singles 6-1, the G-Men went wild and the Triangles had an insurmountable seven game lead. Coach Edwards decided to go with Vitas even though he had been beaten by Okker the previous day, 6-4. Vitas was awarded the Playoff Most Valuable Player trophy and dedicated it "to the G-Men, for making it all possible."

The Triangles were crowned WTT champions for the 1975 season. The Bancroft Cup was now part of Pittsburgh sports lore. In January of 1975 the Steelers had won the Super Bowl and the Pirates were now on their way to the National League Playoffs. Pittsburgh sports fans were getting used to winners. Oh, the good old days!

The 1975 Championship Season Eastern Division         W L  Pct. Pittsburgh Triangles    38 8  .818 New York Sets           34 10 .773 Boston Lobsters         20 26 .435 Indiana Loves           18 26 .409 Cleveland Nets          16 28 .364 Western Division         W L  Pct. Golden Gaters (S.F.)    29 15 .659 Phoenix Racquets        22 22 .500 Los Angeles Strings     20 24 .455 Hawaii Leis             14 32 .304 San Diego Friars        14 32 .304 Playoffs Semifinals Pittsburgh defeated New York Golden Gaters defeated Phoenix CHAMPIONSHIP Pittsburgh defeated Golden Gaters 1975 Pittsburgh Triangles Roster: Coach Vic Edwards, Evonne Goolagong, Peggy Michel, Nancy Richey Gunter, Rayni Fox, Marc Cox, Vitas Gerulaitis, Kim Warwick

Off the Court WTT Action is Fast and Furious

From its inception, stability was not a virtue of the WTT league or its individual teams. Following the 1974 season the Philadelphia, Baltimore, Detroit, Toronto-Buffalo, Minnesota, Houston, Florida, and Chicago teams folded. Before the start of the 1975 season Denver moved to Phoenix, Oakland became the San Francisco Golden Gaters, Detroit moved to Indiana and San Diego was added as a new team.

Turmoil, upheaval, and intrigue also reigned in Pittsburgh. Two days after winning the WTT championship Fuhrer traded Kim Warwick and Rayni Fox to the Cleveland Nets for Sue Stap. Twelve days later, Triangles coach Vic Edwards was mysteriously fired. Apparently, Goolagong-Cawley, who was named the 1975 Female MVP,  had a falling out with Edwards, her long time coach and mentor. She gave owner Fuhrer a "him or me" ultimatum and Fuhrer chose his valuable star player over the Triangle's successful coach. It's also rumored that the firing was a culmination of an on-going feud between Fuhrer and Edwards.

With Goolagong-Cawley signed for the 1976 season Mark Cox was elevated to the Triangles' player-coach. The Triangles also recruited collage star JoAnne Russell and Bernie Mitton. Midway through the 1976 season the recently acquired Stap was traded for Nancy Gunter.

The first months of the 1976 season were a disaster with the Triangles in last place and Goolagong-Cawley temporarily sidelined with an injury. Fuhrer had dismissed Goolagong-Cawley's doubles partner Peggy Michel despite her no-cut contract. He also suggested the possible demise of Vitas Gerulaitis when Vitas went public with Fuhrer's threats to fine the team for loosing. Goolagong-Cawley was also unhappy with Fuhrer because of his demands on her off-court time for promotional appearances.

Cox lasted as the Triangles' coach for only half the 1976 season, quitting to concentrate on his individual tennis career. His replacement was Dan McGibbeny.

Dan McGibbeny, Pittsburgh's WTT Phenom

A few weeks following his 1973 graduation with a degree in Journalism and Communications from Pittsburgh's Point Park College, where he gained national notoriety as Sports Information Director, McGibbeny was hired as the Triangles' public relations director.

In 1975, while continuing his public relations duties, McGibbeny, a native of Pittsburgh's Brookline section, also assumed the position of assistant general manager. By 1976 he was promoted to general manager, becoming, at age 25, the youngest top executive of a major professional sports franchise. But there's still more!

At mid-season, the Triangles were floundering and McGibbeny was named coach of the club on July 15th by Triangles owner Frank Fuhrer. He also assumed the position of director of player personnel. With McGibbeny as their new off-court leader, the Triangles quickly won nine consecutive matches, posting a 15-4 record and finishing the season at 24 and 20 before narrowly losing to the New York Sets and Billie Jean King in the WTT Eastern division finals. Later, McGibbeny was also offered the position of commissioner of World Team Tennis. Dan McGibbeny had never played tennis in his life.

Tragically, on September 6, 1977, Dan McGibbeny died suddenly of cancer in Pittsburgh's Presbyterian Hospital. In 1978, just before the WTT playoffs between Los Angeles and Boston, WTT posthumously established the Daniel Patrick McGibbeny Award to commemorate his outstanding contributions and dedication to the league. A Web site with friends' and colleagues' remembrances of Dan McGibbeny's life and accomplishments is located here.

The Triangles and WTT are No More

The August 19, 1976, match with the New York Sets at the Civic Arena before 2,608 fans was to be the Triangles' last appearance in Pittsburgh. By the end of the year owner Fuhrer let the team dissolve, later saying, "After '76 I just felt we had no future. I did not think the league was viable. I thought we couldn't make money." The Triangles' average attendance for the 1976 season was 4,664 in the 16,400 seat Civic Area but total attendance had increased substantially between 1974 and 1976.

The Triangles were replaced by the Pennsylvania Keystones and then by a Soviet Union team. The Soviet National Team joined the league and were originally given the franchise name "Pennsylvania Keystones". The original plan was to have the Keystones play in both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

Two years later, following the 1978 season, the entire WTT league folded. In the final championship match Los Angeles defeated Boston. However Frank Fuhrer sill firmly believes that the Triangles had the raw talent and team chemistry to win the Bancroft Cup each of the three seasons of their short and tumultuous Pittsburgh existence.

Frank Fuhrer was a dominant influence on the raise and fall of WTT in Pittsburgh.  It's hard to tell whether his keen business sense or his outspoken, sometimes abrasive, personality effected the WTT seesaw most, positively or negatively.

Here are some classic Fuhrerisms:

On owning a WTT franchise: "I'm engulfed in an ego trip with the rest of the idiots who own clubs."

On what owning a WTT franchise exposed him to: "The total greed of the players and the general cheapness of the sporting public."

On his right to advise the Triangles' coach: "I don't know a tennis ball from a pile of manure, but I do know how to keep people organized, motivated, and disciplined."

 

Vitas Gerulaitis, once one of the best tennis players in the world, died yesterday. He was 40. Mr. Gerulaitis was found dead shortly after 3 p.m., Southampton Village, New York police said. The tennis star died of carbon monoxide poisoning in the poolhouse of friend Martin Raynes. You can be sure Vitas Gerulaitis would have nothing but disdain for the inevitable moaning and weeping that will usher him into the next life.  Were he able to attend his own funeral; he'd spend a critical portion of it working the crowd with party plans. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette August 19 & 20, 1994 In 1983, Vitas Gerulaitis bet his house that Martina Navratilova couldn't beat the 100th ranked male tennis player. "Guerilla Attack." is defined by Philip Kotler in his book Marketing Management as: The more usual reason for adopting a strategy of limited aim is that of awaiting a change in the balance of force--a change often sought and achieved by draining the enemy's force, weakening him by pricks instead of risking blows. The essential condition of such a strategy is that the drain on him should be disproportionately greater than on oneself. One of the best examples of the above has to be Vitas Gerulaitis. Anyone that followed his career would have to agree that he would have to get some sort of "most with the least" award. The guy reached number three in the world and stayed there for quite sometime, with nothing more than great speed, guts and volleys. His 1977 Wimbledon semi-final match with Borg was one of the most incredible displays of volleying in the history of the game. Needless to say, he did not overwhelm opponents with great strokes, but by forcing the opponent to hit so many passing shots, gradually wore him down.

Sources:

• Love Triangles: Pittsburgh Adored its World Team Tennis Franchise by Rick Shrum
• Profile - Danny McGibbeny
• Extinct Sports Leagues by Steve Dimitry
• World Team Tennis (1974-1978) by Robert Zwarun
• WTT Logos & Covers of Media Guides and Programs
• The Art of World Team Tennis by Greg Hoffman

Got any Triangles' anecdotes, newspaper clippings, photos, or memorabilia? Get them to me and I'll work them into this page and give you credit.

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