Category: Continental Basketball Association

1994-95 Pittsburgh Piranhas Program from the Continental Basketball Association

Pittsburgh Piranhas

June 20, 2013

In the 1979 cult movie The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh, a young ball boy and an astrologer team up save the Pittsburgh’s pathetic pro basketball team, the Pythons.  They persuade the desperate ball club to re-brand itself as the Pittsburgh Pisces and to fill the roster with players born under the Pisces sign in order to complement Moses Guthrie, the team’s moody star played by Julius Erving.  The title explains what happens next. In real life, no such occult intervention could save the Pittsburgh Piranhas, a championship caliber minor league hoops team that went belly up after one season due to lack of interest.

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Shreveport Crawdads Continental Basketball Association

Shreveport Crawdads

June 20, 2013

This woeful and well-travelled Continental Basketball Association franchise touched down in Shreveport in 1994. Founded in Sarasota, Florida in 1983, the club trekked through Ohio and West Virginia before arriving in Louisiana eleven seasons later. Along the way, the various versions of the club never made the playoffs and finished in last place six times. The change of scenery didn’t help, as the Crawdads finished dead last again during the 1994-95 CBA season. The following year they were replaced by a new Shreveport CBA entry, the Shreveport Storm.

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Vince Hamilton on the cover of a 1988-89 La Crosse Catbirds program from the Continental Basketball Association

La Crosse Catbirds

May 30, 2013

The La Crosse Catbirds were a popular minor league basketball franchise in western Wisconsin during the late 1980’s and early 90’s.  At the time, the Continental Basketball Association was the official developmental league of the NBA. The Catbirds arrived in a move from Louisville, Kentucky in 1985 and broke the CBA’s single season attendance record during their debut season of 1985-86.  La Crosse would go on to pace the CBA in attendance for each of their first five seasons. The team was also strong on the court, winning CBA titles in 1990 and 1992.

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Allentown Jets Eastern Professional Basketball League

Allentown Jets / Lehigh Valley Jets

April 26, 2013

The Allentown Jets were a minor league basketball powerhouse in the 1960’s and 1970’s, winning eight championships between 1962 and 1976.  During these years, the Jets had a special but informal relationship with the New York Knicks of the NBA.  The Knicks used the Jets as a training ground for prospects and high draft picks such as Tom Riker, Mike Riordan and Harthorne Wingo who helped fuel Allentown’s success in the Eastern league.

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Harrisburg Hammerheads Basketball

Harrisburg Hammerheads

March 19, 2013

Continental Basketball Association (1994-1995) Born: May 24, 1994 – The Rochester Renegades relocate to Harrisburg, PA Folded: February 2, 1995 First Game: November 18, 1994

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