World Basketball League (1991-1992)
National Basketball League (1993-1994)
Tombstone
Born: 1991 – WBL expansion franchise
Folded: July 9, 1994
First Game: May 3, 1991 (W 111-106 vs. Saskatchewan Storm)
Last Game:
World Basketball League Championships: None
National Basketball League Championships: None
Arena
Halifax Metro Centre (9,851)11991 Dayton Wings Program
Opened: 1978
Branding
Team Colors: Navy Blue & Gold21991 Dayton Wings Program
Ownership
Owners:
- ????-1994: Walter Newton, Leo Arkelian, Roland Jung & Boyd Lutz
Our Favorite Stuff
World Basketball League
Logo T-Shirt
Yes, the professional basketball league with a height limit! You had to be under 6′ 5″ tall to play in the run-and-gun World Basketball League during it’s 1988-1992 existence. The WBL was rather popular in Canada, but its American clubs struggled badly and an embezzlement scandal finally sunk this entertaining circuit in 1992.
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Background
The Halifax Windjammers were a popular minor league basketball franchise that played parts of four seasons in two different leagues at the Halifax Metro Centre.
The Windjammers started out as a 1991 expansion entry in the World Basketball League, a high-scoring circuit that restricted rosters to players 6′ 5″ tall and under. Halifax’s WBL opponents included three Canadians teams – the Calgary 88’s, Hamilton Skyhawks, Saskatchewan Storm and Winnipeg Thunder – as well as team scattered across the United States and foreign clubs imported from Europe.
Attendance was strong in Halifax, especially by the standards of the struggling WBL. The Windjammers were tabbed to host the league All-Star Game during their expansion season. Heading into the All-Star break, Halifax led the league with average attendance of 5,601 per game, which was more than double the league-wide midseason average of 2,623. The All-Star Game itself drew 9,160 to the Metro Centre on July 10th, 1991. The Windjammers finished 1991 at 21 wins and 30 losses and out of playoff contention.
On-court results picked up in 1992 and Halifax sat 4th place in the league with a 19-14 record with a month to go. But then an accounting scandal sunk the World Basketball League when it was revealed that league coffers were being propped up with funds embezzled by Youngstown Pride owner Mickey Monus from Phar-Mor, his discount pharmacy chain in the United States. The WBL folded in mid-season on August 1, 1992 and Monus later went to federal prison.
Move to the National Basketball League
The Windjammers regrouped in 1993 to join the start-up National Basketball League. The NBL was an All-Canadian minor league, which included fellow WBL refugees the Hamilton Skyhawks and Winnipeg Thunder, along with new clubs in Cape Breton, Montreal and Saskatoon. If anything, the NBL was even more unstable than the World Basketball League had been. Montreal folded midway through the 1993 schedule and Hamilton pulled up stakes and moved to Edmonton before the season ended. In July 1994, the entire league folded without managing to complete it second campaign. Halifax was in first place at the time with a 15-6 record.
One notable player on the Halifax Windjammers roster in 1991 was former University of Indiana star Keith Smart who hit the famous winning shot in the 1987 NCAA title game to lift IU over Syracuse.
Downloads
2012 interview with former WBL Director of Public Relations Director Jimmy Oldham
Links
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