Pittsburgh Piranhas

Continental Basketball Association (1994-1995)

Tombstone

Born: May 6, 1994 – The La Crosse Catbirds relocate to Pittsburgh
Folded: August 17, 1995

First Game: November 19, 1994 (W 126-114 @ Hartford Hellcats)
Last Game: May 1, 1995 (L 94-92 @ Yakima Sun Kings)

CBA Championships: None

Arena

A. J. Palumbo Center (5,084)¹
Opened: 1986

Marketing

Team Colors: Silver, Black & Teal²

Ownership

Owner: Robert W. Murphy, Jr.

PITTSBURGH FISH MARKET

Fish That Saved Pittsburgh
T-Shirt

Before the Piranhas, there were the Pisces!

The Pittsburgh Pisces were the fictional basketball team featured in the 1979 film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh. Filmed on location in the Steel City, this cult favorite starred real-life basketball legends Julius “Dr. J.” Erving, Meadowlark Lemon (of the Harlem Globetrotters), and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Available in sizes Small through 4XL at Old School Shirts!

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Background

In the 1979 cult movie The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh, a young team ball boy and an astrologer team up save the city’s pathetic pro basketball team, the Pittsburgh Pythons. They persuade the desperate ball club to re-brand itself as the Pittsburgh Pisces and to fill the roster with players born under the Pisces sign in order to complement Moses Guthrie, the team’s moody star played by Julius Erving. The title pretty much explains what happens next.

In real life, no such occult intervention could save the Pittsburgh Piranhas, a championship caliber minor league hoops team that went belly up after one season due to lack of interest.

The Piranhas began life as the La Crosse (WI) Catbirds, who were a model franchise in the Continental Basketball Association in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. In Wisconsin, the club won two CBA titles and topped the CBA in attendance five times. Pittsburgh golf club owner Bob Murphy purchased the Catbirds in May of 1994 and moved the team to the A.J. Palumbo Center on the campus of Duquesne University.

One & Done

Under Head Coach Don Zierden, a holdover from the Catbirds era, the Piranhas won their division despite a losing record (27-29). The Piranhas advanced to the best-of-seven CBA championship series, where they lost to the Yakima Sun Kings 4 games to 2.

At the box office, however, the Piranhas had the worst attendance in the 16-team CBA, announcing 1,635 fans per game. Owner Bob Murphy closed the team down in August 1995 after just one season of play.