Continental Basketball Association (1982-1986)
Tombstone
Born: 1982 – CBA expansion franchise
Moved: 1986 (Savannah Spirits)
First Game: December 5, 1982 (W 113-110 vs. Wisconsin Flyers)
Last Game: March 31, 1986 (L 108-107 @ La Crosse Catbirds)
CBA Champions: 1983
Arenas
1982-1984: Cobo Arena (11,241)
1984-1986: Calihan Hall (8,837)11985-86 Continental Basketball Association Official Guide & Register
Marketing
Team Colors: Red, Black & Silver21985-86 Continental Basketball Association Official Guide & Register
Dance Team: The Detroit Spirit Dancers
Ownership
Owners:
- 1982-1983: Agustin Arbulu, et al.
- 1983-1986: Reginald Henderson
CBA Expansion Fee (1982): $100,0003George, Tommy. “Spirits to stay put; Arbulu finds a Detroit buyer”. The Free Press (Detroit, MI). July 21, 1983
OUR FAVORITE STUFF
Continental Basketball Association
Logo T-Shirt
This Old School Shirts release is strictly for the hardcore hoop heads.
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 Detroit Spirits were a minor league basketball franchise that toiled in the shadow of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons for five seasons in the mid-1980’s.
The Spirits attracted some attention at the outset of their first season in 1982-83 by signing cult basketball enigma Marvin “Bad News” Barnes. Barnes, a former Providence College star, was the American Basketball Association’s 1974 Rookie-of-the-Year. But his subsequent pro career was dogged by erratic behavior, arrests for firearms and narcotics, and general under achievement. Playing in the CBA was a form of penance. Barnes’ Spirits contract was worth $5,000 for the season. Rival big man Moses Malone, the runner-up to Barnes for ABA Rookie-of-the-Year honors in 1974, had a $2.2 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1982-83. As he had in previous stops, Barnes went AWOL for practices and games. The team eventually suspended him.
Inaugural Season Championship
The Spirits won the Continental Basketball Association championship in 1983, their first season of operation. They defeated the Montana Golden Nuggets, coached by George Karl, in the championship series. Minor league legend Tico Brown scored 60 points, a CBA playoff record, in Detroit’s Game 5 victory.
Despite the championship, Spirits owner Agustin Arbulu endured a number of headaches during his first season. Playoff games at Cobo Arena drew only a few hundred fans per game. Then there was a bizarre episode where inmates at the Dunes Correctional Facility in Michigan somehow got hold of the Spirits’ long distance calling code. The prisoners charged over $19,000 of long distance calls to the team account.
A return visit to the CBA championship series in 1985 resulted in a loss to the Tampa Bay Thrillers.
Move To Savannah
The Spirits started out at Cobo Arena downtown, but attendance was poor. The team moved to smaller, cheaper venues in subsequent seasons, including Calihan Hall at the University of Detroit.
In April of 1986 the Spirits moved to Savannah, Georgia where they became known as the Savannah Spirits.
Detroit Spirits Shop
Editor's Pick
"Bad News"
The Turbulent Life of Marvin Barnes, Pro Basketball’s Original Renegade
by Mike Carey
“So here’s the happiest, saddest, craziest basketball tale you’re going to read for a long, long time. This is a terrific book!”
-Leigh Montville, New York Times bestselling author of Ted Williams and The Big Bam
When you make a purchase through an affiliate link like this one, Fun While It Lasted earns a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!
In Memoriam
Center Marvin Barnes died of a drug overdose on September 8, 2014 at age 62. New York Times obituary.
Links
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2 Responses
I would like Detroit Spirits t-shirt and game jersey #22. How Do get one?
Hey Crawford,
Wish I could help you with that. I know a couple of t-shirt companies that make great CBA logo t-shirts, both of whom happen to be partners of this website: Streakers Sports (affiliate link) and Old School Shirts (affiliate links). But, unfortunately, neither of them seem to make a Detroit Spirits shirt.
And I don’t know of anyone making CBA replica jerseys.
Drew