World Basketball League (1992)
National Basketball League (1993)
Tombstone
Born: 1991 – WBL expansion franchise
Moved: 1993 (Edmonton Skyhawks)
First Game: May 1, 1992 (L 111-105 against Halifax Windjammers)
Last Game:
WBL Championships: None
NBL Championships: None
Arena
Copps Coliseum (17,000)
Opened: 1985
Marketing
Team Colors: Red & Blue
Ownership
Owners:
- 1992: Ron Foxcroft, et al.
- 1993: Ted Stepien
Our Favorite Stuff
World Basketball League
Logo T-Shirt
Yes, the professional basketball league with a height limit! You had to be under 6′ 5″ tall to play in the run-and-gun World Basketball League during it’s 1988-1992 existence. The WBL was rather popular in Canada, but its American clubs struggled badly and an embezzlement scandal finally sunk this entertaining circuit in 1992.
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Background
The Hamilton Skyhawks were an Ontario-based minor league basketball team that played for parts of two seasons in the early 1990’s, failing to complete either campaign.
The Skyhawks’ first go around was in the World Basketball League, a circuit which only allowed players 6′ 5″ or shorter. The WBL featured four franchises in Canada, all of which had some semblance of a following. The league’s U.S.-based teams were considerably less popular and the whole enterprise fell apart in July 1992 when it was revealed that the league’s primary patron was funding operations with embezzled money. The WBL folded in midseason on August 1, 1992.
The group of four Canadian franchises decided to form a new Canada-only league and re-group in 1993. Well, sort of. Skyhawks founder Ron Foxcroft was dubious and bailed out of the new effort, dubbed the “National Basketball League“. But former Cleveland Cavaliers owner Ted Stepien took over the team and kept the Skyhawks going in Hamilton. The NBL debuted in the spring of 1993.
Move To Edmonton
The Stepien-era Skyhawks ran out of momentum as the season wore on. The Skyhawks qualified for the 1993 NBL playoffs with a 24-22, but abruptly moved to Edmonton just before the playoffs got underway. Playing as the “Edmonton Skyhawks”, the team lost in the semi-finals to the Cape Breton Breakers. The team was never heard from again, in either Hamilton or Edmonton. Stepien took over ownership of the Cape Breton Breakers franchise for the NBL’s 1994 season.
The National Basketball League went out of business midway through the 1994 season.
Downloads
2012 interview with former WBL Director of Public Relations Jimmy Oldham
Links
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