Columbus Horizon

Continental Basketball Association (1989-1994)

Tombstone

Born: 1989 – The Charleston Gunners relocate to Columbus, OH
Moved: May 31, 1994 (Shreveport Crawdads)

First Game: November 14, 1989 (L 123-113 vs. Santa Barbara Islanders)
Last Game: March 26, 1994 (W 137-131 @ Fort Wayne Fury)

CBA Championships: None

Arenas

1989-1992: Fairgrounds Coliseum (5,750)¹

1992-1994: Battelle Hall

Marketing

Team Colors: Black, Red & Gold²

Ownership

Owner: Eli Jacobson

Attendance

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Sources: CBA Official Guide & Registers (1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93)

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Hard Luck Man

Columbus Horizon owner Eli Jacobson was a glutton for punishment. The insurance man spent nearly a decade as an investor in the Continental Basketball Association – an eternity by CBA conventions. He owned teams in Pensacola, Florida, Columbus and Shreveport, Louisiana between the mid-80’s and mid-90’s. Jacobson’s teams were consistently terrible. He enjoyed two winning seasons out of ten and finished in last place five times. Jacobson stayed in Columbus, Ohio for the longest stretch of his CBA adventure – five seasons and four last place finishes between 1989 and 1994.

Debut in Columbus

The Horizon debuted in Columbus in November 1989. The team’s best known player that first winter was native son Jay Burson. At the time Burson was the all-time leading scorer in the history of Ohio high school basketball. He was also a standout at Ohio State until an injury during his senior year set back his pro prospects. After getting cut in training camp by the Houston Rockets in 1989, Burson signed with the Horizon and averaged 13.6 points during the 1989-90 campaign. The Horizon finished last in their division at 18-38 and averaged 2,608 fans at the 5,700-seat Fairgrounds Coliseum.

Later Years

The Horizon continued to lose for the next several seasons. A move to Battelle Hall downtown, which was a graveyard for pro sports teams during the 1990’s, failed to improve the team’s fortunes. Former NBA #1 overall draft pick and All-Star Cazzie Russell coached the team for its final two seasons from 1992 to 1994.

The End

In March of 1994, Horizon owner Eli Jacobson announced that the Horizon had lost $2.5 million over five seasons in Columbus. The team was looking at relocation to Asheville, North Carolina; Bismarck, North Dakota; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Kenner, Louisiana; Springfield, Illinois and Worcester, Massachusetts. Ultimately, Jacobson chose the 5,000-seat Ponchartrain Center in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner.

But on May 23, 1994, Fred Hofheinz, a Texas attorney and the former Mayor of Houston, announced the purchase of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves. Hofheinz intended to move the ‘Wolves to New Orleans. Jacobson scrambled to find a new home for his CBA club. Within the span of seven days, he negotiated a deal to move to Hirsch Coliseum in the Louisiana city of Shreveport.

Eli Jacobson stayed two seasons in Shreveport, playing as the “Crawdads” in 1994-95 and the “Storm” in 1995-96. As always, his team was awful. The franchise finally folded in 1996.