Major League Volleyball (1989)
Tombstone
Born: October 1988 – The Arizona Blaze relocate to Portland, OR
Folded: March 20, 1989
First Game: February 17, 1989 (L 15-2, L15-11, L 15-9 @ Los Angeles Starlites)
Last Game: ?
MLV Championships: None
Arena
Pamplin Sports Center
Marketing
Team Colors:
Ownership
Owner: Art Johnson, et al.
Attendance
Conflicting press accounts at the time of Major League Volleyball’s dissolution in March 1989 both indicated that the Spikers’ attendance ranked 3rd in the six-team league during the shortened 1989 season.
Hank Kimmel, covering the demise of the New York Liberties franchise, pegged Spikers attendance at 1,100 per game.1Kimmel, Hank. “Financial losses kill Liberties”. The Daily Times (Mamaroneck, NY). March 22, 1989
An Associated Press report in The Corvallis Gazette-Times in Oregon had Spikers paid attendance at 746 per match and quoted part-owner Art Johnson as saying the team had 49 season ticket holders.2ASSOCIATED PRESS. “Portland volleyball team folds”. The Gazette-Times (Corvallis, OR). March 21, 1989
Background
The Portland Spikers made an ever-so-brief appearance during the final season of the all-women’s Major League Volleyball (MLV) during the winter of 1989. During its years of operation from 1987 through 1989, Major League Volleyball was the only women’s professional sports league of any stripe in the United States.
The Spikers played at Pamplin Sports Center on the campus of Lewis and Clark College.
Spikers players worked under a standardized league contract. Players earned a base salary of just $250 per week during the season, with an additional $75 paid per game and a $50 bonus for each win. Individual bonuses were available based upon leading the league in certain statistical categories or winning the league’s Most Valuable Player award.3Faulconer, Marc. “Spikers are facing 22-match schedule”. The Statesman-Journal (Salem, OR). January 8, 1989 Despite these paltry wages, MLV still managed to attract a number of the leading women’s players of the era, including several members of the 1984 U.S. Olympic volleyball team.
The Spikers roster included middle blocker Anna-Maria Lopez, a product of Portland’s St. Mary’s High School who was a member of the University of Southern California’s back-to-back national college championship squads in 1980 and 1981.
Deflated
The Spikers managed to play just nine matches of a planned 22 match schedule, compiling a 2-7 record, before MLV owners voted to disband the 6-team league in midseason in March 1989.
League observers cited an inability to develop any momentum in its three major markets of Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. Attendance for those clubs remained in the low hundreds per match after three seasons of work and $3 million plus of investment.4Weiner, Jay. “Volleyball league might cease to play”. The Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN). March 20, 1989 Los Angeles Times writer Steve Lowery reported in February 1989 that home attendance for the two-time league champion Los Angeles Starlites during the 1988 season was sometimes as low as 25 people per game.5Lowery, Steve. “Starlites Enjoy a Familiar Result in Their New Home”. The Times (Los Angeles, CA). February 18, 1989 Portland was somewhat stronger, with estimates of home crowds in the 750 – 1,000 range (see Attendance tab above).
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