Western Basketball Association (1978-1979)
Tombstone
Born: June 29, 1978 – WBA founding franchise
Folded: August 14, 1979
First Game: November 11, 1978 (L 124-98 vs. Washington Lumberjacks)
Last Game: March 12, 1979 (L 112-97 @ Washington Lumberjacks)
WBA Championships: None
Arena
Branding
Team Colors:
Ownership
Owners: Al Donohoe & Charley Pride
Background
The Montana Sky were a One-Year Wonder pro basketball outfit in the short-lived Western Basketball Association. Great Falls radio station owner Al Donohoe co-owned the club with African-American country music star Charley Pride. Donohue was one of the first station owners to play Pride’s records in the 1960’s. Donohoe’s KMON also carried the game broadcasts for the Sky during the winter of 1978-79.
Prominent players included 34-year old Cazzie Russell, the NBA’s #1 overall draft pick in 1966 and a member of the New York Knicks’ 1970 championship team, and former Los Angeles Lakers first round pick Brad Davis (1977, #15 overall).
Davis earned a call-up to the Indiana Pacers during the season, but Sky owners Donohue and Pride grew upset that their team received no compensation from the Pacers for Davis. “They [the NBA] were taking the cherries and not even paying for fertilizer,” Donohoe groused to The Great Falls Tribune (8/15/1978).
The Sky were a lousy team on the court. The team fired head coach Bill Klucas after a 3-17 start and eventually staggered to an 11-37 last place finish in the 7-team WBA.
Demise & Aftermath
The WBA announced a merger with the rival Continental Basketball Association (CBA) in June 1978. The deal would have created a new league called the United Basketball Association that would seek a formal developmental league partnership with the NBA. But the deal collapsed when all 7 of the former WBA clubs went out of business during the summer of 1979, including the Sky.
The CBA continued on and did become the official developmental league of the NBA during the 1980’s. After a winter without pro hoops, the CBA put a new club into Great Falls, the Montana Golden Nuggets, in the fall of 1980. The Golden Nuggets lasted three seasons from 1980 to 1983.
Trivia
Brad Davis joined the NBA’s expansion Dallas Mavericks in the fall of 1980. Davis went onto play 12 seasons in Dallas and was the first Mavs player to have his number retired by the team shortly after his retirement in 1992.
Links
“Taking a Gamble on the Future“, Curry Kirkpatrick, Sports Illustrated, February 12, 1979
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