In the time since Milwaukee last had a major professional sports championship; there have been eight U.S. Presidents and just as many Packers head coaches. Back then gas cost 40 cents per gallon and it cost eight cents to mail a letter (and people still actually mailed letters).

1971 was the year "All in the Family" debuted, the "Ed Sullivan Show" signed off, AMTRAK began passenger service, and Disney World opened its doors for the first time just outside of Orlando.

1971 was also the year that the Milwaukee Bucks, led by second-year superstar Lew Alcindor (who wouldn't change his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar until after the 1970-71 season) and newcomer Oscar Robertson became one of the most potent teams the NBA had seen until that point.

The Bucks won their only NBA title despite having been established as an expansion franchise just two years prior, a record that still stands in major North American professional sports. In 1970-71 they surged out of the gates, winning 17 of their first 18 games, and boasted winning streaks of 10, 16 and a then-NBA record 20 games.

While Alcindor was certainly the superstar he was advertised to be coming out of UCLA, the glue was Robertson, who would have never come to Milwaukee had it not been for an ugly, bitter divorce with his previous team, the Cincinnati Royals.

The first player selected in the 1960 NBA Draft out of the University of Cincinnati, Robertson was nothing short of a local icon. Having averaged 33.8 points per game in three seasons with the Bearcats, two of which ended at the Final Four, he was the NCAA's all-time leading scorer when he turned professional.

During his 10-seasons with the Cincinnati Royals, Robertson averaged 29.3 points per game, and was named to the All-Star team all 10 years he played there. During 1961-62, just his second year in the league, Robertson became the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double: 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists per game.

But during what would be his final year in Cincinnati, he became embroiled in an acrid dispute with Royals coach Bob Cousy that spilled over through the media. Vowing to never play for the Royals again, he sought out a team that would not only respect his talent, but one that was close enough to winning that he could be the final piece to the puzzle.

After Bucks co-owner Wes Pavalon agreed to Robertson's initial contract request, a trade was quickly arranged with Cincinnati. On April 21, 1970, the Royals received Flynn Robinson and Charlie Paulk; the Bucks got the final piece to their championship puzzle.

"They were a community looking for something," Robertson says today. "They had baseball, and everyone enjoyed the Packers a couple hours away, but they knew what sports were all about. I thought that the fans were just waiting for basketball to get there in a big way, and they really were."

Basketball arrived in that big way with Alcindor in 1969. In 1968-69, the Bucks inaugural season, the Bucks were an understandable, but still dismal 27-55. In Alcindor's first season their win total jumped to 56, but the Bucks were eliminated by the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs.

After Robertson's arrival, however, everything came together.

"When I came to Milwaukee, it was a very special occasion to get something together like that," Robertson remembers. "I think it was only because when I left Cincinnati, they brought in Bob Cousy (to be head coach), who wanted me out of there. I'm glad it happened.

"At the time I came to Milwaukee, the Bucks were learning, the Bucks didn't know what to expect," he continued. "They hadn't been in existence for very long, and to go out and win a championship so soon, I really think it took them by surprise. It was very, very well welcomed by the entire community, though."

With Robertson running the point and Alcindor in the middle, the Bucks dominated opponents at every turn, at one point boasting a 17-1 record before suffering back-to-back losses to the Knicks in late November.

Today's record books (reflecting his name change) indicate that Abdul-Jabbar was the superstar of the 1970-71 Bucks, but the unquestioned leader was the seasoned veteran, Robertson. Playing with "The Big O" was something Abdul-Jabbar looks upon as one of the highlights of his Hall-of-Fame career.

"I got to play with Oscar Robertson, who is one of the greatest to ever step on the court," says Abdul-Jabbar today. "You can't give him enough credit for what he achieved at every level, high school, college, and professional."

While Abdul-Jabbar was named the league's Most Valuable Player (his first of six MVP Awards) Robertson averaged 19.4 points and 8.2 assists per game, earning All-NBA Second Team honors. For Robertson, despite playing in his 11th professional season, he finally had what would be his only NBA championship.

Robertson would go on to play three more seasons with the Bucks, with his scoring totals declining in each year. Robertson's final game was the decisive game seven in the 1974 NBA Finals, in which the Boston Celtics emerged victorious.

After Robertson's departure, the Bucks, still featuring Abdul-Jabbar (although he missed the first 16 games of the season with a broken hand), plummeted to 4th place in the Midwest Division in 1974-75. The Bucks, for the first time since their inaugural season, failed to reach the playoffs by virtue of their 38-44 record.

"After Oscar left, that created a big void," Abdul-Jabbar says. "You don't replace someone like Oscar. You hope that you can get two or three guys that can contribute to the team the way that Oscar contributed."

Seeing the handwriting on the wall, Abdul-Jabbar demanded a trade, and was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers. Just like that, the Bucks mini-dynasty was over.

Since his retirement from basketball, Robertson briefly worked as a television color commentator for CBS, has worked to improve race relations in his hometown of Indianapolis, and for a few weeks served as the acting basketball coach at the University of Cincinnati after the tumultuous departure of Bob Huggins, who was fired after a DUI conviction in July 2004. Although he never coached a single game or headed a single practice session, having Robertson as the figurehead of the program for a short but critical time proved to be just the bridge of credibility the program desperately needed.

Today, at the age of 73, Robertson still keeps more than just his finger on the pulse of the game he loves dearly.

And although he doesn't single out individual players he admires in today's game, Robertson does respect what certain teams have been able to accomplish. "I like to see the Lakers play, San Antonio, I like to see Boston move the ball around," he says. "I like to see any team play that moves the ball around instead of taking jump shots and playing one-on-one all night long. I don't want to see teams that rebound the ball, take one long shot, and then run back down to the other end of the court and try to play defense. I want teams to try to work out some offensive continuity once they get the ball."

Adding credence to his team philosophy over individual play, Robertson even refuses to single out one player he would call the greatest in the game, even those he played against. "There were a lot of them, really," Robertson adds. "(Wilt) Chamberlain, (Bill) Russell, (Bob) Pettit, Jerry West, guys like that. Earl Monroe, Walt Frazier were a couple more. I don't believe you can ever say that there was one single greatest player versus the world. I think there are several great players. What traits certain great players might have another great player might not do. That doesn't diminish other players from being called great."

As for today's Bucks, Robertson says that while he thinks they have a talented core of players led by Andrew Bogut and Brandon Jennings, luck certainly has not been on Milwaukee's side. Bogut has been lost for the vast majority of the season, and there has been internal discord with comments made by both Jennings and first-year Buck Stephen Jackson.

Some here cannot remember when Milwaukee was a basketball-first town, but the 1970's was a magical time for roundball fans. The Bucks were one of the best teams in the NBA, and Marquette won its only NCAA Championship under the legendary Al McGuire.

Especially for someone of Oscar Robertson's caliber, looking back on only one championship despite being hailed as one of the greatest players of all-time, 1971 was special time indeed. Some have said those Bucks were one of the best teams in league history. "I do think it's one of the best, Robertson says. "It's hard to say which one is the single best team of all time, but I though we had a very good, talented team. Then we went out there and proved it."

But no matter where the Bucks of 1970-71 stand in the pantheon of basketball's best teams, one of the game's all-time greatest players will always carry a part of Milwaukee with him wherever he goes.

"My time in Milwaukee was wonderful," Robertson concludes. "I enjoyed my time in Milwaukee thoroughly. My wife and I made lifelong friends while we were in Milwaukee. I'll always look back on it with fond memories. We had a great time in Milwaukee altogether."