“When professional basketball came to Indianapolis in 1967, one of the key decisions would be what to call the new American Basketball Association franchise.

According to Indianapolis attorney, Richard D. Tinkham, the nickname “Pacers” was decided on through a collective decision of the original investors. Tinkham, one of those investors, recalled that the nickname was a combination of the state’s rich history with the harness racing pacers (investor Chuck Barnes was a horse racing enthusiast) and the pace car used for the running of the Indianapolis 500.

Tinkham said the “Pacers” decision was an easy one, but the real debate was whether the team should be called the Indiana Pacers or the Indianapolis Pacers. Since one of the original ideas for the team was to have it playing throughout the state with its base in Indianapolis, the official team name became the Indiana Pacers.”

Words by: Indiana Pacers
Photograph by: NBA

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Pagoda

+ Consists of 10 levels in the tower, two levels in race control.
+ Overall Pagoda height is 199 feet (60.65 meters), from ground to top of flagpole. Height of Pagoda structure is 153 feet (46.63 meters), from ground to roof.
+ 65,000 square feet (6,039 square meters) total area.
+ 6,100 cubic yards of concrete.
+ 1,170 tons (1,189 metric tonnes) of steel was used.
+ 19,500 square feet (1,812 square meters) of glass.
+ 17,855 square feet (1,659 square meters) of translucent panel that is outside the balcony levels surrounding the Tower.
+ 6,050 square feet (562 square meters) of composite panel.

Photograph by Jonathan Haag
Facts by Indianapolis Motor Speedway 

Behind the Sash

ACB Films spent Valentine’s Day 2012 with Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard as he visited radio stations, attended meetings and married 15 couples. The 65-minute documentary tells the story of a local boy who made good and shows that money doesn’t buy everything.

“In this election season full of big money and bigger cynicism, it’s refreshing to watch Mayor Ballard, a former Marine who no one thought could pull off what is widely considered to be the biggest political upset in Indiana history, go through his day with a smile,” filmmaker Alan Berry said.

With almost no funding or support from his party, Ballard, who faced an insurmountable financial handicap against his two-term incumbent opponent, hit the streets. He had a message, and he knew how to listen. With his opponent sitting on several million dollars of campaign funds, Ballard just showed up wherever people gathered. And he listened. By Oct. 14, 2007, with a Nov. 6 election day looming, Ballard had still not run a single television ad. He had $51,000 in his campaign fund; his opponent had 30 times that. Somehow, Ballard won and stunned nearly everyone.

“Behind the Sash” shows that, five years later, Ballard still enjoys the job of being mayor.

“I made this film because I was tired of seeing political documentaries made with their own agendas, like Dinesh D’Souza’s ‘2016: Obama’s America’ or Michael Moore’s ‘Fahrenheit 9/11,’” Berry said. “‘Behind the Sash’ was made by a Libertarian and a Democrat about a Republican. You can’t get more bipartisan than that. We felt it was more important to talk about the man than about the politics. Isn’t that how you should decide your vote – a vote for the person and not the party?”

Documentary and text by ACB Films

“I don’t know what it is about Hoosiers, but wherever you go there is always a Hoosier doing something very important there.” - Kurt Vonnegut