Denver Racquets win state’s first pro championship | Aug. 26, 1974 | Colorado’s Top 150 Sports Moments
Happy birthday, Colorado — and Colorado sports.
Leading into the state’s 150th birthday Aug. 1, The Denver Gazette has partnered with the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame to publicize the definitive list of Colorado’s top 150 sports moments.
Colorado Sports Hall of Fame historian Dave Plati and a committee of 10 compiled and will release the list every week until the No. 1 moment on July 31. Plati and Broncos icon Jim Saccomano will unveil the list weekly on a Colorado Sports Hall of Fame podcast at coloradosports.org/podcast/.
Today’s top moment in Colorado sports history:
Aug. 26, 1974
The first championship by a Denver professional team, excluding minor league baseball, was claimed by the Denver Racquets, who won the inaugural World Team Tennis league title. The Racquets defeated the top-seeded Philadelphia Freedoms, 2-0, in the best-of-three finals. Denver had won the Pacific Section with a 30-14 record and defeated the San Francisco Golden Gaters and the Minnesota Buckskins to reach the finals. The teams were coed. Philadelphia was led by Billie Jean King, the league MVP. Australian Tony Roche was Denver’s player-coach. The team also had the playoffs MVP in Andrew Pattison.
— Dave Plati, Colorado Sports Hall of Fame historian
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RHP Michael Lorenzen agrees to an $8 million, 1-year contract with the Rockies, AP source says
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