World Basketball League (original) (raw)

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HISTORY OF THE WORLD BASKETBALL LEAGUE

Contibutors - Chris Anderson, David Bender, Robert Bradley, James Clark and David Stewart-Candy.

The World Basketball League was founded as the International Basketball Association in November 1987, but changed its name prior to the 1988 season. The league allowed only players under 6'5" tall, changing the restriction to 6'7" in 1992.

WBL FRANCHISE CHRONOLOGY 1988 - 1992

1988 In- Calgary 88s 1988 - 1992 (charter franchise) Chicago Express 1988 (charter franchise) Fresno Flames 1988 (charter franchise) Las Vegas Silver Streaks 1988 - 1990 (charter franchise) Vancouver Nighthawks 1988 (charter franchise) Youngstown Pride 1988 - 1992 (charter franchise)

1989 In- Illinois Express 1989 - 1990 (formerly Chicago Express) Worcester Counts 1989 (disbanded) Out- Chicago Express (to Illinois Express)

1990 In- Erie Wave 1990 - 1992 (expansion franchise) Memphis Rockers 1990 - 1992 Saskatchewan Storm 1990 - 1992 (expansion franchise) Out- Worcester Counts 1989

1991 In- Dayton Wings 1991 - 1992 (expansion franchise) Florida Jades 1991 - 1992 (expansion franchise) Halifax Windjammers 1991 - 1992 (expansion franchise) Nashville Stars 1992 (formerly Las Vegas Silver Streaks) Out- Illinois Express (disbanded) Las Vegas Silver Streaks (to Nashville Stars)

1992 In- Hamilton Skyhawks 1992 (expansion franchise) Jacksonville Stingrays 1992 (expansion franchise) Winnipeg Thunder 1992 (expansion franchise) Out- Erie Waves (disbanded during season) Florida Jades (disbanded during season) Jacksonville Stingers (disbanded during season) Nashville Stars (disbanded)

WBL FRANCHISES BY SEASON 1988 - 1992

CAL - Calgary 88's [Calgary, AB] 1988 - 1992 CHI - Chicago Express [Chicago, IL] 1988 DAY - Dayton Wings [Dayton, OH] 1991 - 1992 ERI - Erie Wave (Erie, PA] 1990 - 1992 FLO - Florida Jades [Boca Raton, FL] 1991 - 1992 FRE - Fresno Flames [Fresno, CA] 1988 HAL - Halifax Windjammers [Halifax, NS] 1991 - 1992 HAM - Hamilton Skyhawks [Hamilton, ON] 1992 ILL - Illinois Express [Springfield, IL] 1989 - 1990 JAC - Jacksonville Stingrays [Jacksonville, FL] 1992 LVS - Las Vegas Silver Streaks [Las Vegas, NV] 1988 - 1990 MEM - Memphis Rockers [Memphis, TN] 1990 - 1991 NAS - Nashville Stars [Nashville, TN] 1991 SAS - Saskatchewan Storm [Saskatoon, Saskatchewan] 1990 - 1992 VAN - Vancouver Nighthawks [Vancouver, BC] 1988 WIN - Winnipeg Thunder [Winnipeg, Manitoba] 1992 WOR - Worcester Counts [Worcester, MA] 1989 YOU - Youngstown Pride [Youngstown, OH] 1988 - 1992

1988 - CAL CHI* FRE LVS VAN YOU 1989 - CAL ILL LVS WOR* YOU 1990 - CAL ERI ILL* LVS* MEM SAS YOU 1991 - CAL DAY ERI FLO HAL MEM NAS* SAS YOU 1992 - CAL DAY ERI# FLO# HAL HAM JAC# SAS WIN YOU

Notes:

- franchise disbanded or relocated during season

WBL ARENAS 1988 -1992

CAL - Olympic Saddledome, Calgary, ALB 1988 - 92 CHI - Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL 1988 DAY - Ervin J. Nutter Center, Dayton, OH 1990 - 92 ERI - Louis J. Tullio Center, Erie, PA 1990 - 92 FLO - Florida Atlantic University Arena, Boca Raton, FL 1991 - 92 FRE - Selland Arena, Fresno, CA 1988 HAL - Halifax Metro Center, Halifax, NS 1991 - 92 HAM - Copps Colisium, Hamilton, ON 1992 ILL - Praire Capital Convention Center, Springfield, IL 1989 - 90 JAC - Jacksonville Coliseum, Jacksonville, FL 1992 LVS - Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV 1988 - 90 MEM - Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, TN 1991 NAS - Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, TN 1991 SAS - Saskatchewan Place, Saskatoon, SK 1990 - 92 VAN - S.C. Place Stadium, Vancouver, BC 1988 WIN - Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, Manitoba 1992 WOR - Worcester Centrum, Worcester, MA 1989 YNG - Beeghlt Center, Youngstown, OH 1988 - 92

WBL YEARLY STANDINGS 1988 - 1992

1988 WBL W L Pct. GB Calgary 88's 32 22 .593 .. Las Vegas Silver Streaks 32 22 .593 .. Youngstown Pride 28 26 .519 4 Chicago Express 27 27 .500 5 Fresno Flames 25 29 .463 7 Vancouver Nighthawks 18 36 .333 14

WBL SEMIFINALS 8Sep88 Chicago 109, Calgary 107

8Sep88 Las Vegas 105, Youngstown 103

WBL CHAMPIONSHIP 9Sep88 Las Vegas 102, Chicago 95

1989 WBL W L Pct. GB Calgary 88's 31 13 .704 .. Youngstown Pride 30 14 .681 1 Illinois Express 29 15 .659 2 Las Vegas Silver Streaks 26 18 .591 5 Worcester Counts 18 26 .409 13 International Teams* 1 49 .020 ..

*Composite record of Finland, Greece, Holland, Italy, Norway and Soviet Union

WBL SEMIFINALS 27Aug89 Youngstown 100, Illinois 95 28Aug89 Youngstown 99, Illinois 97

27Aug89 Calgary 122, Las Vegas 115 28Aug89 Las Vegas 116, Calgary 115 29Aug89 Calgary 120, Las Vegas 115

WBL CHAMPIONSHIP 30Aug89 Youngstown 107, Calgary 98 1Sep89 Youngstown 118, Calgary 116

1990 WBL W L Pct. GB Youngstown Pride 38 8 .826 .. Las Vegas Silver Streaks 32 14 .696 6 Calgary 88's 29 17 .630 9 Illinois Express 27 19 .587 11 Memphis Rockers 27 19 .587 11 Saskatchewan Storm 19 27 .413 19 Erie Wave 12 34 .261 26 International Teams* 5 51 .089 38

*Composite record of Finland, Greece, Holland, Italy, Norway and Soviet Union

WBL FIRST ROUND 25Aug90 Calgary 113, Erie 98 26Aug90 Calgary 135, Erie 105

25Aug89 Illinois 110, Memphis 108 (OT) 26Aug89 Memphis 105, Illinois 101 28Aug89 Memphis 108, Illinois 98

27Aug90 Las Vegas 128, Saskatchewan 124 (OT) 28Aug89 Las Vegas 120, Saskatchewan 107

WBL SEMIFINALS 30Aug90 Memphis 92, Youngstown 89 31Aug90 Youngstown 106, Memphis 97 2Sep90 Youngstown 107, Memphis 104 (OT)

31Aug90 Las Vegas 125, Calgary 112 1Sep90 Calgary 125, Las Vegas 114 2Sep90 Calgary 127, Las Vegas 121

WBL CHAMPIONSHIP 4Sep90 Youngstown 111, Calgary 102 5Sep90 Calgary 111, Youngstown 106 7Sep90 Calgary 105, Youngstown 104 8Sep90 Youngstown 123, Calgary 104 11Sep90 Youngstown 109, Calgary 99

1991 WBL NORTHERN DIVISION W L Pct. GB Calgary 88's 37 14 .725 .. Youngstown Pride 26 25 .510 11 Saskatchewan Storm 25 26 .490 12 Halifax Windjammers 21 30 .412 16 Eire Wave 18 33 .353 19

SOUTHERN DIVISION W L Pct. GB Dayton Wings 36 15 .706 .. Florida Jades 30 21 .588 6 Memphis Rockers 29 22 .569 7 Nashville Stars 23 28 .451 13 International Teams* 7 38 .156 ..

*Composite record of Finland, Greece, Holland, Italy, Norway and Soviet Union

WBL FIRST ROUND 24Aug91 Saskatchewan 105, Youngstown 99 26Aug91 Saskatchewan 108, Youngstown 99

24Aug91 Florida 115, Memphis 111 (OT) 25Aug91 Memphis 120, Florida 107 27Aug91 Florida 114, Memphis 98

WBL SEMIFINALS 29Aug91 Calgary 146, Saskatchewan 93 31Aug91 Calgary 108, Saskatchewan 103

29Aug91 Dayton 111, Florida 107 30Aug91 Dayton 125, Florida 112

WBL CHAMPIONSHIP 3Sep91 Dayton 112, Calgary 96 4Sep91 Dayton 135, Calgary 110 6Sep91 Dayton 120, Calgary 89

1992 WBL W L Pct. GB Dayton Wings 26 7 .788 .. Calgary 88's 22 12 .647 4.5 Youngstown Pride 22 13 .629 5 Halifax Windjammers 19 14 .576 7 Hamilton Skyhawks 17 17 .500 9.5 Winnipeg Thunder 15 22 .405 13 Saskatchewan Storm 12 21 .364 14 Florida Jades* 9 10 .474 .. Erie Wave** 12 16 .429 .. Jacksonville Stingrays* 5 14 .263 .. Esonian Nationals 1 14 .067 .. Abruzzo (Italy) All-Stars 1 14 .067 .. Kiev All-Stars 1 14 .067 .. Bahamas Nationals 1 14 .067 ..

*Florida and Jacksonville disbanded 15Jun92 **Erie disbanded 20Jul92 Dayton disbanded 31Jul92 League disbanded 1Aug92

WBL AWARD WINNERS 1988 - 1991

ALL-WBL TEAMS

1988 Jamie Waller, LVS Anthony Jones, LVS Jim Les, CHI Carlos Clark, CAL Bryan Pollard, VAN

1989 Willie Bland, YOU Dave Henderson, CAL Alfredrick Hughes, ILL Andre Turner, CAL Jamie Waller, LVS

1990 Fred Cofield, YOU Mario Elie, YOU Chip Engelland, CAL Alfredrick Hughes, ILL Jamie Waller, LVS

1991 Joe Dawson, MEM Alfredrick Hughes, DAY Tracy Moore, FLO Milt Wagner, MEM Daren Queenan, NAS

WBL ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM

1988 Barry Mitchell, YOU Juden Smith, FRE Johnny Brown, LVS Bryan Pollard, VAN Jim Thomas, CAL

1989 Barry Mitchell, YOU Carlos Clark, CAL Cedric Hunter, LVS Perry McDonald, ILL Keith Smart, WOR

1990 Barry Mitchell, YOU Mark Wade, YOU Carlos Clark, CAL Cedric Hunter, LVS Perry McDonald, ILL

1991 Dudley Bradley, SAS Willie Glass, YOU Darryl McDonald, NAS Perry McDonald, DAY Keith Smart, HAL

WBL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

1988 22May88 - Jim Thomas, CAL 29May88 - Jose Slaughter, VAN 5Jun88 - Jim Les, CHI 12Jun88 - Clyde Vaughan, YOU 19Jun88 - Jamie Waller, LVS 26Jun88 - Kenny Natt, FRE 3Jul88 - Alfredrich Hughes, CHI 10Jul88 - Barry Mitchell, YOU 17Jul88 - Anthony Jones, LVS 24Jul88 - Greg Jones, YOU 31Jul88 - Prerry Young, FRE 7Aug88 - Sidney Lowe, CAL 14Aug88 - Mark Wade, LVS 21Aug88 - Willie Bland, YOU 28Aug88 - Anthony Jones, LVS Jamie Waller, LVS

1991 7May89 - Freddie Banks, LVS 21May89 - Alfredrick Hughes, ILL 28May89 - David Henderson, CAL 4Jun89 - Jamie Waller, LVS 11Jun89 - Doug Lee, ILL 18Jun89 - Sherman Williams, WOR 25Jun89 - Andrew Moten, ILL 2Jul89 - Willie Bland, YOU 9Jul89 - Dale Blaney, YOU 16Jul89 - Darryl Kennedy, LVS 23Jul89 - Barry Mitchell, YOU 30Jul89 - George Jackson, CAL 6Aug89 - Kenny Natt, YOU 14Aug89 - Willie Bland, YOU 20Aug89 - David Henderson, CAL 3Sep89 - Barry Mitchell, YOU

1990 13May90 - Mario Elie, YOU 20May90 - Andre Turner, MEM 27May90 - Perry Young, CAL 3Jun90 - Bryan Pollard, SAS 10Jun90 - Alfredrick Hughes, ILL 17Jun90 - Jamie Waller, LVS 24Jun90 - Fred Cofield, YOU 1Jul90 - Chip Engelland, CAL 8Jul90 - Mario Elie, YOU 15Jul90 - Vincent Askew, MEM [WBL All-Star Game MVP] 22Jul90 - Sherman Williams, ERI 29Jul90 - Kenny Sanders, SAS 5Aug90 - Jamie Waller, LVS 12Aug90 - Jim Barton, MEM 19Aug90 - Perry McDonald, ILL 26Aug90 - Barry Mitchell, YOU

WBL SIXTH MAN AWARD 1988 - Chip Engelland, CAL 1989 - Keith Smart, WOR 1990 - Troy Lewis, YOU 1991 - Kelsey Weems, CAL

WBL COACH OF THE YEAR 1988 - Mike Thibault, CAL 1989 - Bob Patton, YOU 1990 - Sonny Allen, LVS 1991 - Pat Haley, DAY

WBL CHAMPIONSHIP MOST VALUABLE PLAYER 1988 - Jamie Waller, LVS 1989 - Barry Mitchell, YOU 1990 - Barry Mitchell, YOU 1991 - Perry McDonald, DAY

WBL PLAYER OF THE YEAR 1991 - Tracy Moore, FLO

WBL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR 1991 - J.J. Eubanks, NAS

WBL ALL-STAR GAME MOST VALUABLE PLAYER 1988 - Jose Slaughter, VAN 1989 - Darryl Kennedy. LVS 1990 - Vincent Askew, MEM 1991 - Craig Neal, FLO

WBL SLAM DUNK CHAMPION 1988 - Jeff Collins, LVS 1989 - Willie Bland, YOU & Tim Legler, YOU [2-man competition] 1990 - Mario Donaldson, SAS 1991 - Milt Newton, HAL

WBL 3-POINT CHAMPION 1988 - Chip Engelland, CAL 1989 - Chip Engelland, CAL 1990 - Fred Cofield, YOU 1991 - Fred Cofield, YOU

WBL ALL-STAR GAMES 7Jul88 - Calgary, AB WBL West 131, WBL East 120 12Jul89 - Las Vegas, NV Las Vegas 144, WBL All-Stars 148 11Jul90 - Youngstown, OH WBL West 150, WBL East 123 10Jul91 - Halifax, NS WBL South 130, WBL North 120

WBL LEAGUE LEADERS

SCORING AVERAGE 1988 - Jamie Waller, LVS 26.7 1989 - Jamie Waller, LVS 21.7 1990 - Jamie Waller, LVS 26.5 1991 - Jamie Waller, NAS/ERI 26.3

REBOUNDING AVERAGE 1988 - David Boone, CAL 9.8 1989 - Alfredrich Hughes, ILL 11.5 1990 - Vincent Askew, MEM 9.8 1991 - Willie Bland, HAL 12.3

ASSISTS AVERAGE 1988 - Mark Wade, LVS 12.8 1989 - Cedric Hunter, LVS 11.0 1990 - Mark Wade, YOU 11.5 1991 - Mark Wade, YOU 8.7

STEALS AVERAGE 1988 - Mark Wade, LVS 1.83 1989 - Darryl Johnson, ILL 1.86 1990 - Andre Turner, MEM 2.43 1991 - Darryl McDonald, NAS 2.47

BLOCKED SHOTS AVERAGE 1988 - Andre Patterson, VAN 2.18 1989 - Perry Young, CAL 1.33 1990 - John Hegwood, CAL 1.30 1991 - Willie Glass, YOU 1.65

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE 1988 - Don Jacobs, LVS/FRE .601 1989 - Willie Bland, YOU .608 1990 - Vincent Askew, MEM .606 1991 - Mack Joyner, FLO .696

3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE 1988 - Jim Les, CHI .467 1989 - Chip Engelland, CAL .513 1990 - Chip Engelland, CAL .513 1991 - Chip Engelland, CAL .494

FREE THROW PERCENTAGE 1988 - Scott Brooks, FRE .884 1989 - Chip Engelland, CAL .864 1990 - Chip Engelland, CAL .936 1991 - Chip Engelland, CAL .935

WBL COACHES 1988 - 1991

CAL - Mike Thibault, 1988 Cory Russell, 1989
Roger Lyons, 1989 - 1992 DAY - Pat Haley, 1991 Mike Sylvester, 1992 ERI - Steve Hayes, 1990 Bill Kalbaugh, 1990, 1991 - 1992 Denny Hovanec, 1990 FLO - Matt Creamer, 1991 - 1992 FRE - Ted Owens, 1988 HAL - Ian MacMillan, 1991 Mickey Fox, 1991 - 1992 HAM - Kevin Billerman, 1992 CHI/ILL - Rich Falk, 1988 Walt Perrin, 1988 Dave Robisch 1989 - 1990 JAC - Eric Dennis, 1992 LVS - Sonny Allen, 1988, 1990 Denny Hovanec, 1989 - 1990 MEM - Tom Nissalke, 1990 Ron Ekker, 1991 NAS - Ron Greene, 1991 SAS - Mike Frink, 1990 Mike Riley, 1991 - 1992 VAN - Mike Frink, 1988 WIN - Tom Nissalke, 1992 WOR - John Clark, 1989 YOU - Mike Rice, 1988 Bob Patton, 1988 - 1991 Floyd Kerr, 1992

WBL VS. INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION 1988 - 1991

1988 3-0 1.000 Belgium SunAir Tournament 1989 3-0 1.000 Belgium SunAir Tournament 5-1 .833 Haarlem [Holland] Basketball Week 49-1 .980 WBL regular season 1990 2-1 .667 Belgium SunAir Tournament 5-0 1.000 Haarlem [Holland] Basketball Week 51-5 .911 WBL regular season 1991 4-1 .800 Singapore Merlion Cup 1-1 .500 Belgium SunAir Tournament 2-2 .500 Haarlem Basketball Week 38-7 .844 WBL regular season 1992 56-4 .933 WBL regular season Total 25-6 .806 International Tournaments 138-17 .890 WBL regular season games 218-31 .876 All games