Women’s Professional Basketball League (1979-1981)
Women’s American Basketball Association (1984)
Tombstone
Born: 1979 – WPBL expansion franchise
Folded: Postseason 1981
Revived: 1984 – WABA founding franchise
Folded Again: December 1984
First Game: November 23, 1979 (L 106-93 @ New Orleans Pride)
Last Game: December 16, 1984 (W 101-94 vs. Women’s American Basketball Association All-Stars)
WBL Championships: None
WABA Championships:
Arena
1979-1980: The Dallas Convention Center
1980-1981, 1984: Moody Coliseum
Marketing
Team Colors: Blue & Silver
Ownership
Owners:
- 1979-1980: Judson Phillips
- 1980-1981: Michael Staver
- 1984: Ed Dubaj
Our Favorite Stuff
Dallas Diamonds
Women's Cut Logo T-Shirt
It’s hard to find shirts honoring the WBL, America’s original women’s pro basketball league from 1978 through 1981.
But our friends at Rebound Vintage Hoops have a nice line covering several of the WBL clubs. Shirts are available in a variety of cuts and styles, including the women’s cut shown here, along with unisex, long-sleeved and even hoodie sweatshirts!
When you make a purchase through an affiliate link like this one, Fun While It Lasted earns a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!
Background
This is really a page for two separate but closely linked teams called the Dallas Diamonds.
The original Diamonds were an expansion franchise during the second season of the pioneering Women’s Professional Basketball League (WBL). Founder Judson Phillips, a Dallas-area McDonald’s franchisee, expected to lose $100,000 over three years of operations. Instead he lost it in the first two months. In January 1980, Phillips called a press conference to fold the team in midseason. But a local real estate executive named Michael Staver stepped forward to rescure the Diamonds at the 11th hour.
The Diamonds experienced their greatest success under Staver. The team moved from the obscure Dallas Convention Center to SMU’s Moody Coliseum. The team signed the biggest star of the women’s game in that era, Nancy Lieberman, as a rookie for the 1980-81 season. With Lieberman on board, the Diamonds advanced to the 1981 WBL Championship Series, where they lost to the Nebraska Wranglers.
Unfortunately, the WBL would never played another game. The league disbanded after Lieberman’s rookie season concluded in 1981.
Revival in Women’s American Basketball Association
WBL founder Bill Byrne came back with a new women’s league in 1984. Byrne’s Women’s American Basketball Association hoping to gain a boost from the anticipated strong performance of the U.S. women in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The U.S. would compete against weak competition thanks to the Soviet bloc boycott. The American women held up their end of the bargain winning Olympic gold. But the Byrne struggled to find reputable investors. Most of the U.S. Olympians chose to return to their overseas clubs rather than try their luck in a shaky looking domestic league.
Lieberman Returns, McGee Twins Sign On
The Diamonds were the only WBL team to return three seasons later for the WABA. Nancy Lieberman came back to the Diamonds, as did former Head Coach Greg Williams. Moody Coliseum was the home arena again. The new owner was Ed Dubaj, a Memphis-based NFL agent who managed the business affairs for a half dozen Dallas Cowboys players, including starting quarterback Danny White.
Unlike his rival WABA owners, Dubaj managed to sign a U.S. Olympic star. On October 3, 1984, four days before the start of the WABA’s debut season, the Diamonds announced the signing of twins sisters Pamela and Paula McGee. The McGee twins helped the University of Southern California to back-to-back NCAA titles in 1983 and 1984. Pamela, a 6′ 3″ power forward, won Olympic gold with the U.S. in the summer of 1984.
Demise
WABA cities began dropping out of the league even before the season began in October 1984. By late November, it was all but over. Bill Byrne was forced out by the disgruntled owners (as he had been in the WBL). Dubaj assumed leadership of the league. The remainder of the season was cancelled. A hastily schedule championship game was played sometime in early December 1984, with the Diamonds defeating the Chicago Spirit. Dubaj spoke of reorganizing for a second season in 1985 but nothing came of it.
It’s strange to say that a league that lasted about eight weeks had a “best team”, but the Dallas Diamonds were clearly the class of the WABA, finishing the league’s abbreviated season with a 19-2 mark.
Trivia
13 years after the demise of the WABA, 34-year old Pamela McGee signed with the Sacramento Monarchs of the WNBA for that league’s debut season. She played for the Monarchs and Los Angeles Sparks in 1997 and 1998.
Dallas Diamonds Shop
Our Favorite Stuff
Dallas Diamonds
Unisex Logo T-Shirt
Here’s another variation on Rebound Vintage Hoops’ Diamonds throwback t-shirt. This time in a Tri-Blend unisex cut with a heathered styling.
This shirt style is available in Sizes Small through 2XL and in a variety of colors including Black, Blue, Cranberry & Indigo.
When you make a purchase through an affiliate link like this one, Fun While It Lasted earns a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!
FWIL COFFEE SHOP
Available now from our friends at Rebound Vintage Hoops, this fully-insulated porcelain mug is ideal for your morning brew.
Ceramic | Capacity: 11 fl oz
Dishwasher safe
Lead and Cadmium free
Imported; processed and printed in the U.S.A.
When you make a purchase through an affiliate link like this one, Fun While It Lasted earns a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!
In Memoriam
Former Diamonds owner Ed Dubaj passed away in November 2012 at the age of 72.
Diamonds Video
In 2011, former WPBL and WABA star “Machine Gun” Molly Bolin posted this rare cable TV footage of a 1984 game between the Dallas Diamonds and her Columbus Minks on her Youtube page.
Downloads
1984 Dallas Diamonds Season Ticket Brochure
1984 Dallas Diamonds Season Ticket Brochure
11-27-1984 Diamonds vs. Chicago Spirit Roster Sheet
1984 Women’s American Basketball Association Media Guide
Links
“The Short, Wild Run of Dallas’ First Professional Women’s Basketball Team“, Kathy Wise. D Magazine. November 4, 2019
Women’s American Basketball Association Media Guides
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One Response
@TheCrowneDallas Nah, I’m just a fan of the old WBL women’s basketball team. http://t.co/RzBdJLC3Mu