Can you launch a minor league basketball franchise in Chicago on the shoulders of Michael Jordan’s big brother Larry? Apparently not, as the Chicago Express of the World Basketball League learned during the summer of 1988, playing to acres of empty seats at the suburban Rosemont Horizon.
The Halifax Windjammers were a popular minor league basketball franchise that played parts of four seasons in two different leagues at the Halifax Metro Centre. The Windjammers started out as a 1991 expansion entry in the World Basketball League, a high-scoring circuit that restricted rosters to players 6′ 5″ tall and under.
The Dayton Wings were a short-lived minor league basketball team in the World Basketball League. The WBL was a league for players 6′ 5″ and under where guard play ruled and defense was anathema. Dayton won the WBL championship in their expansion season of 1991, but the league went out of business in the middle of the 1992 season, depriving the Wings of the opportunity to defend their title.
The Youngstown Pride were two-time champions of the World Basketball League, a summer time circuit for players 6′ 5″ tall or shorter. The Pride won back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990. Future NBA regulars Mario Elie (1990) and Tim Legler (1989) both spent summers in Youngstown playing for the Pride on their way to the NBA. But both the Pride and the World Basketball League were ultimately brought down by the financial crimes of local benefactor Mickey Monus.
The Fresno Flames were a One-Year Wonder in the World Basketball League, a quirky organization for basketball players 6′ 5″ and shorter. Though the Flames would play just one season during the summer of 1988, the team helped to launch the NBA career of 5′ 11″ guard Scott Brooks.
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