Continental Basketball Association (1980-1983)
Tombstone
Born: July 1980 – The Hawaii Volcanos relocate to Billings, MT
Folded: July 1983
First Game: November 21, 1980 (W 102-99 vs. Anchorage Northern Knights)
Last Game: March 13, 1983 (L 111-107 @ Wyoming Wildcatters)
CBA Championships: None
Arena
Yellowstone Metra (10,500)
Opened: 1975
Marketing
Team Colors: Scarlet & Gold
Ownership
Owners:
- 1980-81: Jim West & June West
- 1981-82: Jim West, Bill Maxwell, et al.
- 1982-83: Sports International, Inc. (Bill Maxwell, Jim West, et al.)
Background
The Billings Volcanos were a minor league basketball outfit in the Continental Basketball Association for three seasons from 1980 to 1983. The franchise started out in Honolulu in 1979 where the club first gained its misspelled name. The team moved across the country to Billings after only one season in Hawaii.
During the club’s first season in Montana, management narrowed the list of head coaching finalists to two candidates. Ultimately they selected “Diamond” Dick Hammond, a youth basketball coach from Nashua, New Hampshire. The runner-up? NBA veteran Phil Jackson, also seeking his first pro coaching gig. Jackson would later hook on with the CBA’s Albany Patroons, before moving up to the NBA and winning 11 world championships. Dick Hammond does not have a Wikipedia page.
During the 1981-82 season, the Volcanos signed former University of Pittsburgh star Sam Clancy. Midway through the season, Clancy slugged Ron Valentine of the Montana Golden Nuggets and broke his cheekbone during a game at the METRA in Billings. Valentine was one of the top scorers in the CBA at the time. Clancy was suspended three weeks. Although he didn’t play football at Pitt, Clancy later signed with the Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League in 1984, thus beginning a 10-year pro football career as a defensive end in the USFL and the NFL.
Billings appeared in the CBA championship series at the end of the 1981-82 season, losing to the Lancaster Lightning 4 games to 1.
The Volcanos folded during the summer of 1983.
Billings Volcanos Shop
Downloads
1980-81 Volcanos vs. Montana Golden Nuggets Scorecard
1980-81 Billing Volcanos Scorecard
Links
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2 Responses
Dear Andy
Phil Jackson was not the runner up for head basketball coach. He was the first choice. He turned down the offer because owner Jim West would not give Jackson $600 in moving expenses from N.Y. to Billings.
Warren Harris
I coveted an exhibition game hosted by the Volcanos in Basin, Wyo. I remember speaking with Hammond after the game. Team was trying to draw fans from Northern Wyoming to Billings. Strategy didn’t work…