Continental Basketball Association (1987-1995)
Tombstone
Born: March 16, 1987 – The Tampa Bay Thrillers relocate to Rapid City, SD
Moved: July 18, 1995 (Florida Beachdogs)
First Game:
Last Game:
CBA Champions: 1987
Arena
Rushmore Plaza Civic Center (8,200)11990-91 Continental Basketball Association Official Guide
Opened: 1977
Marketing
Team Colors: Red, White & Blue21990-91 Continental Basketball Association Official Guide
Ownership
Owners: John Tuschman, John Samuelsen, Pat Hall, et al.
Background
This is kind of a strange one, even by minor league standards…
The Tampa Bay Thrillers were a minor league basketball dynasty. Helmed by former ABA coach Bill Musselman, the Thrillers won back-to-back championships in the NBA’s developmental league, the Continental Basketball Association, in 1985 and 1986. Midway through the 1986-87 CBA season, the Thrillers were poised for a three-peat.
Off the court, the Thrillers were a circus. In 1986 the Internal Revenue Service seized the team and sold it at auction. New owner John Tuschman quickly grew disenchanted with Tampa (well, actually, St. Pete) and announced plans to leave town. This put him at odds with the famously volcanic Musselman, who called his boss “a goddamn idiot” during a press conference in January 1987.3Habig, Bob & Ward, Bill. “Thrillers’ boss, coach clash over talk of move”. The Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, FL). January 6, 1987 The Thrillers finished out the regular season at the Bayfront Center in St. Pete. Then Tuschman yanked team out of town and moved them 2,000 miles north to Rapid City, South Dakota to play the 1987 CBA playoffs.
Musselman and Tuschman’s re-named Rapid City Thrillers tore through the 1987 playoffs, earning a championship series date with the Rockford Lightning. On Easter Sunday 1987, the Thrillers sealed their three-peat with a 127-120 victory over Rockford in front of 2,856 at the Rushmore Civic Center.
Key Players & Coaches
Over the years the Rapid City Thrillers featured two players who hit iconic championship-clinching shots in the NCAA tournament. Lorenzo Charles, who sealed N.C. State’s shocking upset of the University of Houston in 1983, played for the Thrillers in 1989. Keith Smart (Thrillers ’89-’90) iced the 1987 Tournament for the University of Indiana with a buzzer-beating jumper against Syracuse.
Three Thrillers coaches – Bill Musselman, his son Eric Musselman, and Flip Saunders – went on to coach in the NBA after leaving Rapid City.
Demise & Re-Boot
The Thrillers would go play eight CBA seasons in the Rapid City. They returned to the finals twice in 1990 and 1992 but never won another title. During the summer of 1995 the team moved back to Florida (West Palm Beach this time) and became the Florida Beach Dogs. The franchise went out of business in 1997
In 1998, original owner John Tuschman attempted to re-boot the Thrillers in the lower-budget International Basketball Association. The new Thrillers failed after one season.
Rapid City Thrillers Shop
Contains Affiliate Links
Rapid City Thrillers Logo T from Rebound Vintage Hoops
Thrillers Women’s Cut Logo T from Rebound Vintage Hoops
In Memoriam
Head coach Bill Musselman (Thrillers ’87) passed away on May 5, 2000 at age 59. New York Times obituary.
Thrillers President and part-owner John Samuelson died of complications from pneumonia on December 29, 2005. Rapid City Journal remembrance.
Forward Albert Springs (Thrillers ’87-’88) died as a result of a pulmonary embolism during the summer of 2009 at age 43. Salt Lake Tribune obituary.
Forward Lorenzo Charles (Thrillers ’89) died in a highway crash on June 27, 2011 at age 47. ESPN.com obituary.
Head coach Flip Saunders (Thrillers ’88-’89) died of Hodgkin’s lymphoma on October 25, 2015 at age 60. Los Angeles Times obituary.
Links
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3 Responses
Is there any record of Albert Springs Jr. Playing for the Thrillers? If so, how would the family buy any highlights of him playing as he passed away a few years ago. Please point me in the right direction. Thank you, ~Christina
Hi,
According to a quick search on the Newspapers.com archive, Albert did play for the Rapid City (SD) Thrillers of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) during the 1987-88 season. I found one Rapid City Journal article from January 17th, 1988 where he had scored 28 points the night before against the Charleston Gunners during a home game in Rapid City. Here is a quote from the article:
“Albert Springs is starting to rise to the occasion,” said Thrillers coach Tom Nissalke. “He’s starting to get serious. He’s taking it to the basket. He’s a good player with NBA potential.”
The CBA did have a limited cable television deal with ESPN during the 1987-88 season. ESPN showed something like one game a week. It’s possible that Rapid City was featured a couple of times on these national cable broadcasts and that Albert might have been part of those games. A few people have posted full games or short clips of 1987-88 ESPN broadcasts of the CBA to YouTube. Unfortunately, none of these posted games include the Thrillers.
I don’t know if there is any other way you can track these game broadcasts down. ESPN might(?) have kept master copies of the game tapes, but I’m not sure how someone would approach them about old footage like this.
Best,
Drew
My hubby say he and his brother played for the Thrillers their names are Lawernce Agnew and Felix Brathwaite and newspaper’s archives with their name or team pictures, Rosters or anything thanks