To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Todd Massar and I am a Hawks Season Ticket Holder. I am a native Atlantan and have always been a die-hard fan of the team, through good and bad. I am writing you today because it seems like most of Atlanta has very little idea that this franchise has a rich history that dates back 50+ years and that we have an NBA Championship to our credit. It seems that I can’t go a day without hearing people bash the team and mocking the lack of the Hawks’ past accomplishments, knowing that this is just not the case.

Since it is the 50th Anniversary of the Hawks’ lone NBA Championship, I was writing to inquire whether the Organization was planning to recognize this feat by having any ceremonies or other special events planned? It would be great to see banners in Philips Arena displaying their efforts. I know that in the Practice Gym there are several banners recognizing the various Championships (NBA in 1958, Conference Champs in ‘57,’58,’60,’61) from the St. Louis days, but none actually hang from the rafters in the main Arena. I realize that these acheivements occured in St. Louis, but they are still a part of our history; it’s not like when they moved to Atlanta, they started a brand new franchise. If we shouldn’t include the St. Louis acheivements as part of our own, then it seems strange that we would have Bob Pettit’s #9 jerseys hanging up since he never actually played in Atlanta.

This would also be a good time to recognize some of the other players from those teams by finally retiring their numbers. Cliff Hagan, Clyde Lovellette, Alex Hannum, Slater Martin and EdMacauley all played during this period and are all Hall of Famers. The one who’s especially deserving is Cliff Hagan, who played 10 seasons for the Hawks.

I hope that you will at least consider some of the things that I mentioned above; I want people to take more pride in the fact that this Club does have a rich history to its credit, including 1 NBA Championship, 4 Finals Appearances and several Hall of Famers. When the Hawks return to the playoffs in the near future, I want people to realize that our participation in the postseason is not an abnormality but is just another page in our franchise’s already exceptional past.

Go Hawks!