List of Continental Basketball Association seasons
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA)—and its previous incarnations as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, the Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL) and the Eastern Basketball Association (EBA)—was a professional basketball league which lasted 63 seasons from 1946 to 2009.
July 1978: the CBA board of directors unanimously approved the admittance of the Rochester Zeniths to the league. The Zeniths were previously members of the All-American Basketball Alliance. The EBA announced that the Providence Shooting Stars were folding due to unpaid debts. The league allowed the Long Island Ducks and the Brooklyn Dodgers to attempt to find financial backing.[1]
February 17, 1979: the Anchorage Northern Knights set CBA records for team points in a game with 183 and, points in a single half with 99 in the second half, and field goals in a game with 74.[2]
April 1, 1980: Maine Lumberjacks player Charles Jones had a CBA record 26 rebounds in a game. Maine lost the Eastern Conference Finals game to the Rochester Zeniths, 140–132.[4]
July to October 1980: After Darryl Dawkins shattered two basketball backboards during his 1979–80 NBA season, the CBA implemented a collapsible hinged rim for the 1980–81 season. The design was chosen from 10 prototypes which were set up in a New York City high school gymnasium in the summer of 1980. Unidentified college basketball players were asked to try to break the rims and the three strongest designs were chosen for a trail run in the CBA. All three rims broke away from the backboard and snapped back in place.[5] The NBA implemented one of the CBA's designs the following season.[6]
February 1984: To keep travel costs down, the CBA barred teams from bringing their assistant coach(s) on road trips. The Albany Patroons were fined $1,200 after assistant coach Charley Rosen accompanied the team on a road trip to Puerto Rico. The Partoons later skirted the rule by classifying Rosen as a trainer, as teams were permitted to have a trainer travel with them.[10]
May 21, 1984: During the annual board of directors meeting CBA commissioner Jim Drucker announced plans for expansion to at least 13 cities. Drucker also unveiled his plans for "CBA East", a developmental league for the CBA which would be the third-tier men's professional basketball league in the United States behind the CBA and the NBA, respectively. Possible sites for the CBA East franchises were Columbia, Maryland; Trenton, New Jersey; Springfield, Massachusetts; Syracuse, New York; Scranton, Pennsylvania; Allentown, Pennsylvania; Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; Wilmington, Delaware; and Long Island, New York. Drucker was quoted by UPI reporter David Nathan, "This year the CBA will take off [...] We're moving into larger markets and I have no doubt the CBA East will exist". Rule changes were adopted which included a change to three point fouls where the shooter would be granted three free throws as opposed to two. A rule similar to the clear path foul was adopted where a foul on a "uncontested breakaway" would result in an automatic two points and possession of the ball. Rosters were decreased from 10 spots to nine. The board of directors approved an expansion franchise in Evansville, Indiana and another in Hartford, Connecticut contingent on the required ticket sales. Changes to the CBA drug policy were described by UPI's David Nathan, "a tough drug policy, much like the NBA's".[11][12]
May 22, 1984: The CBA board of directors approved the re-location of the Ohio Mixers from Lima, Ohio to Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati's last professional basketball team was the NBA Cincinnati Royals who left the city in 1972 for Kansas City.[13]
September 7, 1984: The CBA announced it had signed a broadcasting agreement with Black Entertainment Television to air 15 games during the 1984–85 season.[14]
February 16, 1985: CBA commissioner Jim Drucker and the league was profiled in a UPI article by Joe Juliano titled "CBA is providing games, gimmicks". Juliano notes that one of Drucker's strategies for promotions are unique like the "Ton of Money CBA Free Throw" in which a randomly selected spectator is given a chance to make two shots from the free throw line for a chance at 5,000 pennies ($5,000). When asked about the gimmicks and promotions Drucker responded, "You can't touch anything at a basketball game [...] so we've got to be able to guarantee our fans 10 memorable moments, five of which are totally detached from the game. We have to guarantee that our fans go home happy." Other promotions included "The 1 Million Dollar CBA Supershot" where a spectator could win $50,000 a year over 20 years if they made a shot from 69 feet and 9 inches away from the basket. The "Fly In, Drive Away" promotion gave spectators a chance to fly a paper airplane into the sunroof of a vehicle for a chance to win its title. During the 1977 season the expansion franchise fee was $5,000 as opposed to the $500,000 fee in 1985. Drucker laid out his plans for further expansion to the UPI telling Juliano there was inquiries from investors in San Diego, California; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Vancouver, British Columbia and Tacoma, Washington. Drucker also announced plans for a league called the "CBA East" which would be a developmental league for the CBA. He said the CBA East would begin during the 1985–86 season.[16]
^"Sports News Briefs; Rochester to Replace Providence in E.B.A.". The New York Times. New York, New York. United Press International. July 11, 1978. p. B16.
^"CBA weekly". oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. February 16, 2005.
^"Cannon Rides Middle Of Road After First Metro Tryout Camp". The Evening Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. 25 September 1978. p. 29. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
^"CBA Weekly". oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. April 1, 2003. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
^Finney Jr., Frank (October 1, 1980). "NBA Begins Testing Dunk-proof Rims". United Press International.
^"Untitled". United Press International. New York, New York. July 30, 1981.
^"Bulls new affiliate for CBA Vols". The Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. 26 September 1981. p. 21. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
^"CBA History; 1981-82 Season Highlights". cbahoops.com. CBA Properties. 2000. Archived from the original on August 24, 2000.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l"CBA". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyoming. 1 December 1983. p. D5. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
^Vecsey, George (February 21, 1985). "Sports of the times; On the road to Oshkosh again". The New York Times. New York.
^Nathan, David (May 21, 1984). "Untitled". United Press International. Louisville, Kentucky.
^Nathan, David (May 22, 1984). "Untitled". United Press International. Louisville, Kentucky.
^"Untitled". United Press International. Cincinnati, Ohio. May 22, 1984.
^"Sports Briefs". United Press International. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. September 7, 1984.
^"The Soviet National basketball team beat a team of..." United Press International. Albany, New York. 29 October 1984. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
^Juliano, Joe (February 16, 1985). "CBA Is Providing Games, Gimmicks". United Press International. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l mGroves, Chuck (1 December 1984). "6,000 expected for CBA debut of the Thunder". Evansville Press. Evansville, Indiana. p. 12. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
^Quindt, Fritz (5 August 1983). "Wildcatters choose NBA affiliate club". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyoming. p. 39. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
^Bordman, Sid (6 December 1985). "CBA All-Star Game to be played in Kansas City in 1987". The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. p. 67. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l"The Opponents". Pensacola News Journal. Pensacola, Florida. 18 November 1987. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l"Let's play ball". Times Record News. Wichita Falls, Texas. 17 November 1988. pp. 4D, 5D. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p"CBA thumbnails". Rapid City Journal. Rapid City, South Dakota. 15 November 1989. p. 25. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q"CBA-NBA Affiliates". Lansing State Journal. Lansing, Michigan. 28 June 1991. p. 16. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
^"2008-09 Continental Basketball Association Standings". justsportsstats.com. Just Sports Stats. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac adBradley, Robert; Anderson, Chris; Astolfi, Mark; Bradley, Robert; Foster, Marc; Grasso, John; Smith, John Z. "History of the Continental Basketball Association". apbr.org. Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
^"Untitled". United Press International. Great Falls, Montana. August 2, 1983.
External links
CBA history
CBA seasons on usbasket.com
Continental Basketball Association Yearly Standings on statscrew.com
Formerly the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League (1946–48), Eastern Professional Basketball League (1948–1970), and the Eastern Basketball Association (1970–78)
American Conference teams — 
National Conference teams
American Conference teams — 
National Conference teams