World Basketball League

World Basketball League (WBL) was a minor professional basketball league in the United States and Canada. It was founded as the International Basketball Association in November 1987, before changing its name prior to the 1988 season. One of the major differences between it and other leagues was that it had a height restriction. Players over 6 ft 5 in (1.95 m) were not allowed to play; this restriction was raised to 6 ft 7 in (2.0 m) in 1991.

Basketball Hall-of-Famer and Boston Celtic great Bob Cousy was one of the league's founders. Norm Drucker, a 25-year veteran referee with the National Basketball Association and American Basketball Association, and a former supervisor of officials for the NBA, served as the WBL's supervisor of officiating. One of the league's founders, Michael Monus, was eventually convicted of having embezzled $10 million to finance the league, from a publicly owned company he had founded, Phar-Mor. He was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison.

In addition to games against other teams in the league, games were also played against international teams. The league had several of its games broadcast on television. In Canada, the games were broadcast on the CanWest Global System. In the United States, the games were broadcast on SportsChannel America. Mike Rice was the primary analyst for the SportsChannel broadcasts.

After the league folded in 1992, the surviving Canadian-based teams formed the National Basketball League. This league played two seasons before it folded as well.

Teams

Team	City	Arena	Seasons	Notes
Calgary 88's	Calgary, Alberta	Olympic Saddledome	1988–1992
Chicago Express	Chicago, Illinois	Rosemont Horizon	1988	Moved to Springfield, Illinois following the 1988 season.
Dayton Wings	Dayton, Ohio	Ervin J. Nutter Center	1991–1992	Team folded July 31, 1992.
Erie Wave	Erie, Pennsylvania	Louis J. Tullio Center	1990–1992	Team folded July 20, 1992.
Florida Jades	Boca Raton, Florida	Florida Atlantic University Arena	1991–1992	Team folded June 15, 1992.
Fresno Flames	Fresno, California	Selland Arena	1988
Halifax Windjammers	Halifax, Nova Scotia	Halifax Metro Centre	1991–1992	Joined the National Basketball League for 1993.
Hamilton Skyhawks	Hamilton, Ontario	Copps Coliseum	1992	Joined the National Basketball League for 1993.
Illinois Express	Springfield, Illinois	Prairie Capital Convention Center	1989–1990
Jacksonville Stingrays	Jacksonville, Florida	Jacksonville Coliseum	1992	Team folded June 15, 1992.
Las Vegas Silver Streaks	Las Vegas, Nevada	Thomas & Mack Center	1988–1990	Moved to Nashville following 1991 season.
Memphis Rockers	Memphis, Tennessee	Mid-South Coliseum	1990–1991
Nashville Stars	Nashville, Tennessee	Nashville Municipal Auditorium	1991
Saskatchewan Storm	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	Saskatchewan Place	1990–1992
Vancouver Nighthawks	Vancouver, British Columbia	BC Place	1988
Winnipeg Thunder	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Winnipeg Arena	1992	Joined the National Basketball League for 1993.
Worcester Counts	Worcester, Massachusetts	Worcester Centrum	1989
Youngstown Pride	Youngstown, Ohio	Beeghly Center	1988–1992

International Teams

Team	City	Seasons	Notes
Abruzzo All-Stars	Abruzzo, Italy	1992
Bahamas Nationals	The Bahamas	1992
Estonian Nationals	Estonia	1992
	Finland	1989–1991
	Greece	1989–1991
Holland	Netherlands	1989–1991
	Italy	1989–1991
Kiev All-Stars	Kiev, Ukraine	1992
	Norway	1989–1991
Soviet Union	USSR	1989–1991

Champions of WBL

• 1988 Las Vegas Silver Streaks 102 Chicago Express 95
• 1989 Youngstown Pride won best of three series 2 games to none over Calgary 88's
• 1990 Youngstown Pride won best of five championship series 3 games to two over the Calgary 88's
• 1991 Dayton Wings won best of five championship series 3 games to none over the Calgary 88's
• 1992 Dayton Wings declared champions due to league folding on August 1st

Notable players

• Mario Elie, guard/forward for the San Antonio Spurs in the 1990s
• Aivar Kuusmaa, guard for Panathinaikos B.C. in the 1990s, Soviet champion in 1991
• Keith Smart, former NBA player and current coach
• John Starks, guard for the New York Knicks in most of the 90s
• Tim Legler, former NBA player and 1996 NBA Three-Point Shootout champion

External links

• History of the league