Continental Basketball Association (1985-1986)
Tombstone
Born: 1985 – The Lancaster Lightning relocate to Baltimore, MD
Moved: 1986 (Rockford Lightning)
First Game: December 6, 1985 (W 126-116 vs. Toronto Tornados)
Last Game: March 28, 1986 (L 118-114 @ Bay State Bombardiers)
CBA Championships: None
Arenas
1985-1986: Towson Center (5,500)11985-86 Continental Basketball Association Official Guide & Register
March 1986: Pittsfield Boys Club (2,200)
Branding
Team Colors: Blue & Yellow21985-86 Continental Basketball Association Official Guide & Register
Ownership
Owners: Dr. Seymour Kilstein & Dr. Joseph Danyo
Attendance
Baltimore Lightning attendance was pitiful during their only season in Charm City in 1985-86. And even the team’s anemic average of 647 fans per game seems to have been juiced by some face-saving fudging by league officials. The Baltimore Evening Sun reported attendance of just 117 fans for the Lighning’s home finale at the Towson Center on March 16, 1986.3NO BYLINE. “Poor crowds a fatal shock to Lightning”. The Evening Sun (Baltimore, MD). March 17, 1986 However, the CBA bumped this up to the curiously round number of 500 in the next season’s league media guide, which was the source used to compile this record.
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Source: 1986-87 Continental Basketball Association Official Guide & Register
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Before the NBA had the G-League, it had the CBA with teams stretched from Puerto Rico to Honolulu. During the CBA’s 1980’s and 90’s heyday, the league provided a launching pad for future NBA All-Stars such as John Starks and Michael Adams as well as coaching legends Phil Jackson and George Karl.
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Background
The Baltimore Lightning were a One-Year Wonder in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) during the winter of 1985-86. The CBA was the Official Developmental League of the NBA at the time.
The franchise had a long history in Pennsylvania dating back to 1975 when it formed as the Lancaster Red Roses of the Eastern Basketball Association. The Red Roses lasted until 1980, became the Philadelphia Kings (1980-81) for a single season, then moved back to Lancaster as the Lancaster Lightning (1981-1985).
Team owner Dr. Seymour Kilstein, a urologist from Lancaster, purchased the Red Roses with three partners for $8,000 in 1977. Kilstein hung with the team through various changes over the years and by 1985 was the longest tenured owner in the CBA. But his winter as an absentee owner in Baltimore would mark his last year of involvement with the league.
According to the Baltimore Evening Sun, the Lightning operated on a modest $250,000 annual budget in 1985-86, which included a $63,000 salary cap.4Reveron, Derek. “The selling of semipro basketball”. The Evening Sun (Baltimore, MD). November 29, 1985 Typical CBA players at the time earned salary of $400 to $500 per week.
Performance
Lightning Head Coach Henry Bibby won three straight NCAA titles as a point guard UCLA under John Wooden from 1970 to 1972 and added an NBA championship with the New York Knights in 1973. He played in the NBA from 1972 to 1981.
The team was solid on the court, finishing third in the CBA’s Eastern Division an earning a playoff entry with a 26-22 record. Baltimore boasted some solid players, including former NBA 1st round picks Don Collins (Atlanta Hawks #18 overall, 1980) and Brook Steppe (Kansas City Kings #17 overall, 1982). Rookie Adrian Branch out of the University of Maryland was one of the team’s most consistent scorers all season long.
Off the court, things were … rough. The Lightning drew well under 1,000 fans per game on the campus on Towson University. An early season article in The Baltimore Sun suggested the team was on the verge of folding, short-circuiting what little momentum the team had in its new city. The Lightning’s final home game at the Towson Center on March 16, 1986 against the Tampa Bay Thrillers drew an announced crowd of just 117 fans.
Kilstein’s later moved the team’s 1st round playoff “home” dates to a Boys Club in remote Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He simultaneously announced that the Lightning would not return to Baltimore for a second season.
The Bay State Bombardiers eliminated the Lightning in the quarterfinals of the CBA playoffs in March 1986.
After the season, the Lightning moved to Rockford, Illinois under new ownership. The Rockford Lightning played on for two more decades before closing for business in 2006.
Trivia
On January 21, 1986, Lightning forward Don Collins scored 63 points against the Detroit Spirits. Collins’ 30 field goals and 46 attempts were both league records dating back to the start of the CBA era in 1978. His 63 points were the second highest single game total in CBA history to that point.
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