May 15, 1979 Sign local basketball dynamo Bill Walton, and they will come. Shortly after signing with the San Diego Clippers in May 1979, season ticket sales rose dramatically. Public relations director Hal Chiles told News 8’s Laurie Singer that Walton was the real McCoy—and that it was a distinct possibility that ticket prices would go up. Bill Walton said it best "I'll play and we'll all make money." Unfortunately the San Diego native missed 68 games in his first season due to foot injuries (which he also suffered in his final years in Portland). San Diego finished 35–47, as Walton and other key players missed significant time due to injuries. MORE: https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/throwback/news-8-throwback-memories-of-sports-legends-in-san-diego/509-325d08ec-e601-4b32-ad2f-2e2fed6b563b From Wikipedia: The 1981–82 season brought ultimately unwelcome changes to the franchise as Levin sold the team to Los Angeles-area real estate developer and attorney Donald Sterling for $12.5 million. The Clippers experienced poor play, as foot injuries again caused Walton to miss the entire season, and the team limped to a 17–65 record. Rumors of a move to Sterling's hometown of Los Angeles and franchise mismanagement plagued the team from the onset of Sterling's acquisition. On one occasion, Sterling was fined $10,000 by the NBA for publicly guaranteeing the Clippers would lose enough games to content for a high enough draft pick to select Ralph Sampson. On another, he was fined for flying his players to away games in coach seats on commercial airliners. Hotels refused to house the Clippers because of alleged non-payment for previous accommodations on multiple occasions. A bus company in Newark once stranded the team at the airport after Sterling failed to pay for previous trips, which nearly caused the team to miss a scheduled game that day.[14] Sterling attempted to relocate the franchise to Los Angeles in 1982 but the league denied his request. [15] The team's final two seasons in San Diego were not much better on the court despite Walton finally returning to the court, finishing 25–57 in 1982–83 and 30–52 in 1983–84. In 1984, Sterling, despite again being denied permission from the NBA to do so, moved the Clippers north to Los Angeles. The NBA subsequently fined Sterling $25 million for violating league rules and filed a lawsuit demanding the franchise be returned to San Diego.[16] The league threatened to dissolve the franchise if ownership did not comply and return the team to San Diego.[17] Sterling then filed a lawsuit of his own against the league for $100 million, but ultimately dropped the suit when the league eventually agreed to drop their suit, allowing him to keep the team in Los Angeles, while decreasing his fine to $6 million. More San Diego Clippers vintage clips here: https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/throwback/san-diego-clippers-1978-1984/509-363634fa-c3cf-4714-b103-8b61178896ad

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