As I was doing some research on old school basketball stuff the other day, I came across something unusual. I found a program from a CBA game from 1986. The CBA, former home to now NBA coach Phil Jackson was celebrating its 40th anniversary in 1986. The CBA was a poor man's alternative to an NBA team, and filled those markets where a city could not sustain an NBA franchise. Here in Cincinnati, we had the pleasure of watching the Slammers and their brand of basketball at the Cincinnati Gardens. I'm sure everyone remembers the formidable Slammers Twin Towers combo of Ozell Jones and Dan Federmann!
In this old game program was an ad that allowed you to order a t-shirt with your favorite CBA team logo on it. The ad is presented in full black and white and features the graphics from all of the teams in the CBA for the 1986-87 season. Judging by the looks of the logos on the page, there weren't many powerhouse graphics firms used to create many of the looks of the teams. Everyone in the league used a basketball in their logo except the Jacksonville Jets. These shirts were a deal at $8.95 and came with a money back guarantee!
I think the CBA still exists in some form after reorganizing after the bankruptcy that followed Isiah Thomas' reign over the league. This old school ad provides a great look back to a time when basketball at all levels was going crazy and the CBA was riding high!
A money back guarantee? In case the shirt didn't work? How nice.
Posted by: johnny griswold | March 02, 2010 at 10:15 AM
aside from his success as a player, what has isiah thomas ever done to warrant an executive level position? what do i have to do to make isiah money, fail miserably, then get another job where people put me charge of stuff only to fail miserably yet again? the guy's a svengali!
love the shirt ad, though! is this the same CBA that plays today or is it a re-use of the initials like the modern AFL?
@ johnny: you got your money back in case of wardrobe malfunction. wait... old (and pretty bad) joke. sorry.
Posted by: marc | March 02, 2010 at 12:20 PM
The CBA had a rival league during the mid-eighties, the USBL.
I was living in Fort Lauderdale at the time and went to see the Miami Tropics, the USBL franchise play in some college arena. The Tropics big draw was Mitchell Wiggins, a former Florida State standout who was attempting to get back to the NBA. He eventually was successful catching on with the Houston Rockets during their Hakeem Olajuwon glory days. Any possibility of a USBL story?
Daniel J Leonard
Tucson, Arizona
Posted by: Daniel J Leonard | March 07, 2010 at 04:03 PM