REMINISCING ABOUT SOMETHING that occurred nearly three decades ago comes easy when the subject is pleasant. For Jon McGlocklin and Len Chappell, memories of the Milwaukee Bucks' first season certainly qualify. As the franchise begins its 30th campaign, two of its original team members still recall being glad to be part of the expansion franchise and are grateful they still live in the same city.

"I had hoped to be picked by Milwaukee for two reasons," said McGlocklin, who was selected in the expansion draft from San Diego on May 6, 1968, the same day Chappell came from Detroit.

"One, it was in the Midwest, where I was from. And two, I knew (then Bucks' general manager) John Erickson, who coached at Wisconsin when I was at Indiana, and I knew he was a reputable man." "I recall moving here," McGlocklin continued. "We drove in June from San Diego and were told to come to the Bucks' office. We drove in on Interstate 94, and it was the first time I had smelled hops in my life. Every time I smell hops now, it reminds me of the first time we came to Milwaukee.

Greeted by "Eddie"
"The first person I ran into going to the office was Eddie (Doucette, the team's original radio voice). We had never met, yet he seemed to know I was a player."

"Coming here, I liked this area and planned on staying here, so there was pressure to perform well if I wanted to stay with the team," Chappell said. "I never wanted to leave, but the business is such that you don't always have control of that."

Chappell went through a third expansion draft (he made the first basket in Chicago Bulls' history) to Cleveland after two seasons in Milwaukee. He finished his career with a year in Atlanta and a season with Dallas in the American Basketball Association. He worked as a financial planner for four years before opening a sporting goods store that remains in business today.

McGlocklin, on the other hand, played eight seasons with the Bucks after two in Cincinnati and one in San Diego. His jersey No. 14 hangs high above the Bradley Center in retirement.

"I really owe so much to the Milwaukee Bucks," McGlocklin said. "I was loyal to them in every way, and they have been loyal to me.

"At my retirement announcement (in 1976), I said, 'I didn't play for the Milwaukee Bucks; I am a Milwaukee Buck.' I bled that green. They were there for me. They offered me a front-office job. A lot of people don't know this, but the plan was to be the next general manager. I was Wayne Embry's assistant and also did radio/TV."

A career detour
It didn't take long for McGlocklin to realize he didn't want to run a team, so he worked it out to remain with the team as a broadcaster while venturing into the business world.

He joined Milwaukee Brewers' general manager, Sal Bando, in 1980 to form Bando McGlocklin, a company that lends money to small businesses. Earlier this year, the firm formed Investors Bank and he, Bando and two others bought Healy Manufacturing in Menomonee Falls. He also remains involved with the Midwest Athletes for Childhood Cancer (MACC) Fund as does color commentary for Bucks' television broadcasts.

"It's fun and exciting, but it gets crazy once the season starts," he said. "It's amazing, I came here when I was 24 years old. I'm the only person to be in the organization from day one. It's a great privilege to have been here all that time. I owe a lot to each of the owners, to the Senator (current owner Herb Kohl) to keep me part of it and to (Vice President) John Steinmiller. It means a lot to me. It's a special relationship. "Naturally, there were times McGlocklin and Chappell weren't sure they'd even be members of the Bucks. The Phoenix Suns were the other expansion team at the time.

"I told Phoenix I'd retire if they drafted me," Chappell said kiddingly. "I really wanted to come to Milwaukee. Larry (Costello, the team's first coach) and I were teammates in Syracuse, and I had a lot of confidence in him that I would get a full shot.

Exciting times
"There's a lot of excitement whenever you get to a new team. Everybody comes with new life. We had our struggles. We played seven or eight games until we won our first game, but I also remember winning six in a row.

"Every time you come to a new team, you have to learn how to play with different guys. It's not just a new team, but new players "It was a great group of guys back in that era. We had things to prove-that our other teams made a mistake. In my case, it was five other teams. It was probably the best group of guys I ever played with, and I played with 10 different teams."Chappell joined Guy Rodgers as the only players to start in the first games of both the Bulls and Bucks. Ironically, it was Rodgers and Bob Warlick whom McGlocklin remembered newspapers of the day seeing as his chief competition at guard. "I met Marv Fishman, one of the owners at that time," McGlocklin said. He said, 'What do you think are your chances of getting time from Guy Rodgers and Bob Warlick?' I said, 'They have to get it from me.' Then it was Guy and me. Later we traded Bob Weiss and Bob Love for Flynn Robinson, and it was Flynn and me and Guy off the bench.

"It was very competitive. Everyone was trying to fight for a job. It was hard to have camaraderie with guys you're trying to fight for a job. I was probably closer to guys at other positions at first. Later, after the team was chosen, we all became closer."

Expansion record set
The Bucks won 27 games, the most by an expansion team at the time. McGlocklin averaged 19.6 points and was named to the All-Star team. The 6-8 inch Chappell played power forward, averaging 14.6 points that first year. Both have fond remembrances of their first Bucks' teammates and coach. "The dominant person on that team was Wayne Embry," McGlocklin said. "We had other veterans like Guy Rodgers and Dave Gambee. They knew all the tricks.

They were salty dogs. They blended with the young guys like me. "When Flynn came, it gave us a shooting backcourt. I remember Wayne said with me he'd still pick-and-roll. When Flynn came, he said he'd stop pick-and-rolling."

"Larry and I still have a nice relationship," Chappell said. "Once I had 32 points and 20 rebounds, and he said no one was allowed to have a beer. He found me in a bar and fined me $500. But he later rescinded it. He was that type of guy."

Both former Bucks have much praise for the city and fans for whom they played.

"It's a great city," Chappell said. "There's nothing like it. I talked to Clyde Lee from San Francisco, and he said he had never seen fans like that.

At that time, they probably were the most rabid fans in the NBA."

"We averaged about 6,000, which was good," McGlocklin said. "I felt a kinship develop immediately. We had a nice following of fans-not as large as now - but I felt they connected we me personally and connected with the team. I have nothing but positive images of the fans back then.

"I think Eddie had a lot to do with that. He brought an excitement. I think we has a big part of bringing that image and excitement of that team. To this day, I'm still 'Jonny Mac'. I'm 54 years old, and I'm still 'Jonny Mac.' "For McGlocklin, coming to Milwaukee gave him a chance to prove he belonged in the league. For Chappell, it was an opportunity to play for an old friend. Without their experiences nearly 30 years later, both wouldn't have enjoyed their success away from basketball or their current associations with the team.

"I was an All-Star with the Knicks, but most people remember me as a Buck," Chappell said. "I have been a season-ticket holder for many years. I consider myself a Buck."

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