Kansas City Sizzlers

Continental Basketball Association (1985-1986)

Tombstone

Born: June 28, 1985 – CBA expansion franchise¹
Moved: May 14, 1986 (Topeka Sizzlers)²

First Game: December 7, 1985 (L 113-108 vs. Wisconsin Flyers)
Last Game: March 23, 1986 (L 124-114 vs. Cincinnati Slammers)

CBA Championships: None

Arena

Municipal Auditorium (8,743)³

Branding

Team Colors: Sizzler Red & Black⁴

Ownership

Owner: Bernie Glannon

CBA Expansion Fee: $500,000⁵

Attendance

The Sizzlers reportedly set a new CBA single-season record by selling over 2,100 season tickets for the 1985-86 season.⁶. It’s not clear how this jibes with the fact that the team often announced much smaller crowds than their season ticket base.

The Sizzlers opening night crowd of 7,012 at Municipal Auditorium on December 7, 1985 was the 7th largest in league history at the time, dating to the CBA’s formation in 1978.

Tap (mobile) or mouse over chart for figures. Tilting your mobile device may offer better viewing.

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

Two months after Kansas City lost its NBA franchise, the Kings, to Sacramento, local businessman Bernie Glannon spent $500,000 for an expansion franchise in the NBA’s developmental league, the Continental Basketball Association.⁷ While the Kings had played their final seasons at the 17,000-seat Kemper Arena, Glannon wisely put his minor league Sizzlers into the 8,500-seat Municipal Auditorium. The 50-year old Art Deco hall had been the Kings’ original home in the city during the early 1970’s when Kemper was still under construction and the NBA club split its home games between K.C. and Omaha.

On The Court

First and foremost, the CBA was a development league. So perhaps the most important measure of a club was its success in sending players up to the NBA, typically on so-called 10-day contracts used to fill in for injured players and other short term roster vacancies. The Sizzlers were able to send four players up to the NBA during the 1985-86 season:

Center Earl Jones (Milwaukee Bucks)
Forward Kevin McKenna (Washington Bullets)
Guard Tony Brown (Chicago Bulls)
7′ 2″ Icelandic center Petur Gudmundsson (Los Angeles Lakers)

With five games to go in the 1985-86 season, the Sizzlers record stood at an uninspiring 20-23. Then things got weird even by the CBA’s screwball standards. The Sizzlers reeled off five straight victories to finish 25-23. But due to to CBA’s novel scoring system that awarded bonus points for winning each quarter of a game, Kansas City was surpassed in the West Division standings by two teams with 24-24 records. Failure to win enough quarters left Kansas City one spot outside of the playoffs. But…

After the 2nd place Evansville Thunder franchise stopped paying its players or bills, the CBA expelled the team from the playoffs and awarded its spot to Kansas City instead. The Sizzlers scrambled to promote two hastily scheduled playoff games against the Cincinnati Slammers at Municipal Auditorium on March 22nd and 23rd, 1986. Meanwhile, the unpaid Evansville players sued the CBA over their expulsion and were re-admitted to playoffs under a legal settlement that would see them face the winner of the Kansas City-Cincinnati series. Ultimately, the Sizzlers fell to the Slammers in front of a near empty Municipal Auditorium, ending their season.

Sizzle Fizzle

The Sizzlers initially got off to a promising start in the Kansas City community. The team sold 2,168 season tickets for the 1985-86 season⁸, a figure that established a new CBA sales record.⁹ While countless CBA clubs died a swift and quiet death due to lack of promotion, Bernie Glannon shelled out for billboard, public transit, radio and television advertising campaigns to promote the Sizzlers.

The Sizzers’ opening night turnstile of 7,012 fans at Municipal Auditorium on December 7th, 1985 was the 7th largest crowd in CBA history up to that time. Crowds dwindled as the season went on, though Kansas City would still finish 2nd in the CBA in announced attendance.

After a season ticket renewal drive fizzled badly, owner Bernie Glannon announced the Sizzlers would move to Topeka, Kansas for the 1986-87 season. The Sizzlers kept their name after the move and played as the Topeka Sizzlers until 1990.