Mileti was working the room, and it didn’t take long. The Cavs averaged 3,518 fans in that 1970-71 season, the fewest in the NBA. The Cavs padded attendance figures to reach that total of 3,518. Some nights, there were fewer than 1,000 fans actually in the seats.

The old arena was dark, smelled of stale beer and smoke hung just below the ceiling. Yes, this was when you could smoke almost anywhere, including in your seat during a Cavs game. Looking back on that first season, it’s amazing the Cavs are still here.

How they became the Cavs

The Cavs opened that season on a 15-game losing streak. They beat Portland. Then they lost their next 12 games, meaning their record was 1-27.

“I used to wonder if the team would fold during the season,” Joe Tait told me. “Then I thought, maybe we’ll survive the season … but I’m not sure about next year.”

The Cavs had a 15-67 record in their first season. It didn’t matter to me. I was excited about the NBA being in Cleveland. Mileti had run a contest in the Plain Dealer, asking fans to submit a nickname. I know I sent in something, It wasn’t the “Cavaliers,” the eventual winner.

The final five picked by Mileti were:

1. The Jays (It was the nickname of Mileti’s son).

2. The Towers.

3. The Presidents.

4. The Foresters.

5. The Cavaliers.

The Plain Dealer ran another contest, this time with the five names. I believe I voted for The Towers. The Terminal Tower in downtown Cleveland … basketball players are tall … The Towers sounded good to me.

More than 11,000 people voted. Mileti later admitted he didn’t look at all the names or count the votes. He liked the Cavaliers. He owned the team. He picked it.

A true visionary

I thought of that story when hearing Mileti died on Thursday at the age of 93.

Mileti was a huge figure in Cleveland sports in the 1970s. At one point, he owned the Tribe, the Cavs, and a radio station (now WTAM, 1100 AM). He also owned two hockey teams – the Barons and the Crusaders.

Oh, he bought the old Cleveland Arena and the Barons in 1968, starting his empire. Then he built and owned the Richfield Coliseum, which opened in 1974.

How did a former John Adams cheerleader from a working class Cleveland family pull that off? He was only 35 when he made the first purchase?

“Other people’s money,” Joe Tait told me. “Looking back, I still don’t know how he did it – how he was able to convince so many people to invest in all his ventures.”

Tait died in 2021 at the age of 83. He was one of my closest friends. We worked on two books together – “Vintage Cavs” and “It’s been a Real Ball.” Tait liked telling Mileti stories.

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He sold hope

Today, they call it “Casting a Vision.” Back then, it simply was the ability to smooze and sell ideas to people who had money.

If you look at an old John Adams yearbook from when Mileti was in school, you discover he was more than a cheerleader. He was:

Prom Chairman.

Athletic Chairman.

Student Council.

Dance Committee.

Distinction Day Committee.

Hard to know what all those groups were about, but they clearly put Mileti in the middle of the action at the East Side public school, Class of 1949.

Most of all, he was a dreamer. In the 1970s, Cleveland was considered an urban wasteland. The Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969. People moved to the suburbs. Mills and factories closed. At times, it seemed hopeless.

“Nick had great plans and schemes,” said Tait. “I owe a lot of my career to Nick. He was forever upbeat. He hired me to do the Cavs (in 1970) and then the Indians. Bill Fitch probably never would have coached in the NBA unless Nick hired him. Fitch recommended that Nick hire me. We both owed a lot to Nick.”

When Mileti talked, it was in word pictures. He was a Rembrandt. You saw it. You felt it. Most of all, he made you want to be in it. This was special. This was your moment. You need to do this now!

Headed to Hollywood

Mileti eventually sold his shares in the various franchises and the Coliseum. By 1981, he was done in Cleveland. He moved to Hollywood and invested in movies. His new dream was to be a producer.

He climbed that mountain with a Vietnam war film called “Streamers,” based on a play David Rabe. It was directed by Robert Altman, who was a hot film commodity at the time. The film received excellent reviews. But it cost about $2 million to make and brought in only $400,000.

I remember meeting Mileti in the late 1980s. I was in Los Angeles, covering the Cavs. Mileti came to the game. He visited with Tait, who then brought me into the conversation.

I asked Mileti for an interview. He declined.

After he left, I recall Tait saying, “Nick didn’t seem very happy. Hollywood is not what he thought it would be for him.”

Mileti later became involved in real estate. He had a piece of a World Football League team in Las Vegas. He rarely came back to Cleveland.

Mileti was a Clevelander who was at his best in Cleveland.

When I heard of his death, I thought of that day in 1970. There was a smiling, excited Nick Mileti in the building he owned looking at his dream come to life down on the court with the Cavs. That was Mileti at his best.