Roots

Killian Spanbauer, the owner of a sporting good chain based in Oshkosh

Oshkosh

Oshkosh may refer to:Places in the United States* Oshkosh, Wisconsin, a city and the largest place with the name* Oshkosh , Wisconsin* Oshkosh Township, Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota* Oshkosh, Nebraska...

, had publicly stated as early as 1981 that he wanted to form a minor league basketball circuit with 6-8 teams across Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

. Nothing more appeared in the media until the winter of 1981-1982 when Spanbauer announced he was seeking a franchise in the Continental Basketball Association

Continental Basketball Association

The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...

 for Oshkosh. The area had a rich history of basketball, dating back to the All-Stars of the National Basketball League

National Basketball League (United States)

Founded in 1937, the National Basketball League, often abbreviated to NBL, was a professional men's basketball league in the United States. The league would later merge with the Basketball Association of America  to form the National Basketball Association  in 1949.- League history :The...

 (1937-1949). At the time, Spanbauer made it quite clear that the CBA needed more than one franchise in the Midwest in order to expand. In May 1982, it happened, as the league added the Wisconsin Flyers (based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin), the Detroit Spirits, and the Ohio Mixers (based in Lima, Ohio

Lima, Ohio

Lima is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwestern Ohio along Interstate 75 approximately north of Dayton and south-southwest of Toledo....

). All three teams would be placed in the same division - the Central.

The 1982-1983 season

The Flyers suffered a setback immediately, when head coach Dave Wohl took an assistant's position with the New Jersey Nets

New Jersey Nets

The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

 before the season began. Dave Harshman was tabbed to take over the team. As an expansion team, Wisconsin never jelled, though it sent Joe Kopicki to the NBA. Steve Burks led the team in points, assists, steals and minutes played.

CBA moves

Most of the Western Division (Billings

Billings

-Places:In Canada:*Billings, OntarioIn Germany:*Billings, HesseIn Russia:*Billings, RussiaIn the United States:* Billings, Montana* Billings, Missouri* Billings, New York* Billings, Oklahoma* Billings County, North Dakota...

, Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

 and Reno

Reno

Reno is the fourth most populous city in Nevada, US.Reno may also refer to:-Places:Italy*The Reno River, in Northern ItalyCanada*Reno No...

) folded. The two remaining teams, Albuquerque (who had moved from Las Vegas

Las Vegas metropolitan area

The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...

 during the season) and Wyoming

Wyoming

Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

, were placed in a new Western Division with Wisconsin, Detroit, Ohio and Louisville

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

 (an expansion team). In the East, Rochester folded, while Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

 moved to Bay State. The Bombardiers joined Albany and Lancaster - holdovers from the Eastern Division - and three expansion teams, Sarasota, Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 and Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

.

1983–1984 season

Gene "Torchy" Clark

Torchy Clark

Eugene "Torchy" Clark was an American college basketball coach. He was the first head coach of the UCF Knights men's basketball team that represents the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. Then named Florida Technological University, Clark served as the university's head basketball...

, who had been coaching collegiate basketball in Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, was named the third head coach of the Flyers in the off-season. Clark had ties to the area as a successful high school coach in the 1960s and 1970s and he took a one-year sabbatical from his duties at Central Florida University to take the Flyers job, but he never coached an actual game for Wisconsin. A few weeks before training camp, Clark and owner Killian Spanbauer had a falling-out. The rumors were over certain player signings, but the facts were never revealed in the local media. The only answers available are from a November 30, 1983 article in the Appleton Post Crescent by John L. Paustain, who had interviewed Clark about his resignation. According to that article, Clark needed and wanted an assistant coach and had assumed that John Spanbauer, the son of owner Killian Spanbauer, would be available to help. When Clark's assumption proved false Killian offered to make player Joe Mertens Clark's assistant. Clark did not want this, but had another in mind for the job to whom Clark had previous ties. Killian refused Clark's request, and Clark quit. Clark summed it up saying "I just thought if we disagree about this, it could get worse." Clark's relationship with Killian had been troubled prior to this, and apparently Clark decided this was enough. Bill Klucas, who was CBA coach of the year with Anchorage in 1979–1980, was available and came on board. The 1983–84 Flyers featured an exciting cast of players - Jose Slaughter, Greg Jones (CBA Rookie of the Year), Steve Lingenfelter (CBA Newcomer of the Year), and Kevin Graham. Graham was named to the CBA Second-Team and the First-Team All-Defense. Slaughter was named to the Second-Team All-Defense. Wisconsin started out sluggish, then turned red hot down the stretch and held off the defending champion Detroit Spirits for the Western Division title.

Playoffs

Wisconsin (27-17) defeated the Ohio Mixers (23-21) in five games to win the Western Division semi-final series. The Mixers would announce they were moving to Cincinnati, as the Slammers, shortly afterwards. In the Western finals, Wyoming (23-21) shocked the Flyers by winning three of four. The Wildcatters would go on to lose to Albany and head coach Phil Jackson in the CBA finals.

League moves

Ohio became the Cincinnati Slammers and stayed in the Western Division, which welcomed the Evansville Thunder (who had Jerry Sloan as their first head coach). The Tampa Bay Thrillers joined the East.

The 1984-1985 season

For the first time, there were rumblings that the Flyers could be moving to greener pastures if attendance did not improve. They still played a majority of their games at Oshkosh North Fieldhouse. Bill Klucas returned, as did Jose Slaughter (24.0 PPG). Slaugher was named to the CBA All-League team and the All-Defensive team. Greg Jones was lost to Evansville in the expansion draft and would lead the Thunder to the playoffs. Dale Wilkinson would add to the offensive firepower before being called to the Clippers. His loss would send the Flyers from the top of the West to a battle for a playoff spot. Wisconsin would manage to hold off Louisville for the fourth and final berth. Another factor which hurt the Flyers down the stretch - in addition to Wilkinson being called up - was Killian Spanbauer announcing the franchise was up for sale in February. The remainder of the season would be played under the shadow of who was going to buy the team and where they would be in 1985-1986.

Playoffs

Wisconsin (21-27) faced the Western Division champion Wyoming Wildcatters (24-24). The 'Catters won the first two games in Wyoming, before the series swung back to Oshkosh. The Flyers won Game Three and then made it interesting with a Game Four win, which included a bench-clearing brawl which involved the fans. With a heavy police presence, Wisconsin crushed Wyoming in Game Five, 98-84. The Detroit Spirits (23-25) were rested after dowing Evansville (23-25) in four games. Detroit would crush Wisconsin in three games to win the Western Division title, but would lose the CBA title to the expansion Tampa Bay Thrillers in seven games. It would be the last playoff appearance in Wisconsin history, and the last of Bill Klucas. He would replace Jack Schalow in Wyoming, after he could not agree on a contact extension with Spanbauer.

League moves

Albuquerque would fold, but not before claiming Jose Slaugher in a complicated transaction with Wisconsin. Most of the Silvers' players would be dispersed to Kansas City, where the Sizzlers joined the league after the Kings moved to Sacramento. Elsewhere, Louisville moved to the La Crosse Catbirds

La Crosse Catbirds

The La Crosse Catbirds was an American basketball team based in La Crosse, Wisconsin and member of the Continental Basketball Association. The team has since disbanded.The Catbirds were the 1990 and 1992 CBA champions...

 (eliminating one possible site for Wisconsin to relocate), the Puerto Rico Coquis (who played in an open-air arena) became the Maine Windjammers, the Lancaster Lightning moved to Baltimore, and the Sarasota Stingers became the Florida Stingers.

The 1985-1986 season

The Flyers appeared to be on the right track, as Killian Spanbauer added five partners after turning down offers from La Crosse and Milwaukee to buy the franchise. Dean Moede, who was president of the team's fan club, was named General Manager, and former player Joe Merten, who was 27, was named head coach. McKinley Singleton picked up the offense after the loss of Jose Slaughter, averaging 20.0 PPG. Bryan Warrick led the CBA in assists with 9.9 PPG, and set a franchise record with 24 in one game. Cozell McQueen finished in the top ten in rebounding (9.9 PPG) and blocked shots (2.1 PPG). Tommy Davis was second in the CBA with 46 three pointers. In the end, the season was a disaster. Needing 1,800-2,000 fans per game to break even, the team drew 1,492 to its home opener, and it never got any better. Season ticket sales dropped from 560 to 250. Moede resigned as GM before the season began, and was replaced by former Ohio Mixer head coach John Nillen. Merten even had to suit up for the second half of the season due to roster problems and a lack of money.

League moves

During the season, the Toronto Tornados (owned by former NBA owner Ted Stepien

Ted Stepien

Ted Stepien was the former owner of the National Basketball Association's Cleveland Cavaliers. After becoming wealthy as the founder of Nationwide Advertising Service, Stepien purchased the Cavaliers in the spring of 1980...

) moved to Pensacola

Pensacola

Pensacola is a city in the western part of the U.S. state of Florida.Pensacola may also refer to:* Pensacola people, a group of Native Americans* A number of places in the Florida:** Pensacola Bay** Pensacola Regional Airport...

. During the off-season, they became the Jacksonville Jets. It was a turbulent off-season in general, as the CBA shrunk to 12 teams. Evansville and Maine folded. The Bay State Bombardiers moved to Pensacola, to become the second version of the Tornados. The Florida Stingers became the Charleston Gunners, the Detroit Spirits moved to Savannah, the Kansas City Sizzlers moved to Topeka and the Baltimore Lightning moved to Rockford.

The 1986-1987 season

The end was in sight for the Wisconsin Flyers. Bill Klucas, who had led Wyoming to a 21-27 record in 1985-86, returned as head coach. Greg Jones also returned and led the team in scoring (21.9 PPG). He led the CBA in three-pointers - 68. Jones was third in the CBA in steals (2.2 PPG) and assists (7.3 PPG), replacing Bryan Warrick, who was sent to Rockford, as point guard. McKinley Singleton was still an offensive force (19.3 PPG). He had the best free throw percentage in the league - 87.2 percent. T. Tony Brown finished in the top ten in rebounding (10.3 PPG) and blocked shots (2.3 PPG), and was named to the second team All-Defense. In the end, all of these positives could not contribute to a winning season. Wisconsin finished 22-26, and had 153.5 standings points, eight behind Rockford for the final Western Division playoff berth. Wyoming finished fifth with a 21-27 record, but had 160.5 points.

League moves

Things turned bizarre in the CBA, as the Tampa Bay Thrillers, who won two titles in their two seasons in Florida, moved to Rapid City, South Dakota

Rapid City, South Dakota

Rapid City is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek on which the city is established, it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. The population was 67,956 as of the 2010 Census. Rapid...

 just prior to the playoffs. The Thrillers would lose just two post-season games and become the only franchise in CBA history to win three consecutive titles. The only other move was the Flyers. The CBA did expand back to 14 teams, with the Quad City Thunder (no relation to Evansville) and the Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets (who were the old Cincinnati Slammers, whose franchise had been inactive).

The end

All through the 1986-87 season, it was apparent that the Wisconsin Flyers were in trouble. Killian Spanbauer and the minority owners placed the team back on the market during the season. The most serious offer came from Rochester, Minnesota

Rochester, Minnesota

Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...

. With no prospect of an arena being built in the Fox Valley, the franchise was moved for the 1987-88 season.

Rochester Flyers

The Rochester Flyers would finish fifth their first season, and last in 1988-89. In 1989, the team moved again to Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...

.

Omaha Racers

Under head coach Mike Thibault, the Omaha Racers went 29-27 in 1989-90 and made the CBA playoffs in the National Conference, where they lost to the San Jose Jammers in the first round. It was the first post-season appearance for the franchise since Detroit swept them in the 1984-1985 Western Division final. The 1990-91 Racers would have the best record in franchise history (39-17), but lost to Quad City in the American Conference finals. Moving back to the National Conference in 1991-92, Omaha finished second in the Northern Division (37-19) to Rapid City. After defeating the Oklahoma City Cavalry in the second round of the playoffs, the Racers lost to the Thrillers in the conference finals, 3 games to 2. The 1992-93 Racers finally made it to the top, after finishing second in the Northern Division (28-28) again to Rapid City. Omaha beat the Wichita Falls Texans in the first round, then slipped past Rapid City in a five-game conference final. In the CBA championship, Omaha defeated the Grands Rapids Hoops in six games. A 106-98 win on May 1, 1993 in Grand Rapids would be the highwater mark of the franchise. Rapid City finished ahead of Omaha (30-26) in the Northern Division for the third straight year in 1993-94. Omaha made it back to the CBA finals, after defeating the Tri-City Chinook in round one and Rapid City in the conference finals. The Quad City Thunder defeated Omaha in five games to win the league title. Omaha (26-30) moved to the Southern Division in 1994-95 and finished second to Oklahoma City. They beat the Sioux Falls SkyForce in the first round, but fell to Oklahoma City in the second round. Thibault missed seven games as head coach, being replaced by Eric Chapman, as he coached the US in the 1995 Pan American games in Argentina. Omaha (28-28) moved back to the Northern Division of the National Conference in 1995-96, and finished second again, this time to Sioux Falls. The Florida Beachdogs swept the Racers out of the playoffs in round one. With the CBA shrinking to 11 teams in 1996-97, Omaha was placed in the 5-team National Conference and finished in fourth place (22-34). In one of the biggest upsets in CBA playoff history, the Racers defeated Sioux Falls (47-9) in five games, winning the clincher in South Dakota, 98-92. Oklahoma City

Oklahoma city

Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...

brought them back down to earth, winning the conference finals, 3 games to 1. It proved to be the last hurrah for the franchise. With a record of 375-413, plus a 42-49 mark in the playoffs, and one CBA title (1992-1993), the Wisconsin Flyers-Rochester Flyers-Omaha Racers franchise was declared inactive in the summer of 1997. At the time, there was some faint hope that the franchise may start up again in 1998-99. The two teams who had the made the CBA finals in 1997, Oklahoma City and Florida, also folded.

Statistics

SEASON	RECORD	QUARTERS WON	STANDINGS POINTS	CONFERENCE	PLAYOFFS	HEAD COACH
1982-1983	14-30	78.0	120.0	3rd - Central Division	None	Dave Harshman
1983-1984	27-17	101.0	182.0	1st - Western Division	Defeated Ohio 3-2 Lost to Wyoming 3-1	Bill Klucas
1984-1985	21-27	91.0	154.0	4th - Western Division	Defeated Wyoming 3-2 Lost to Detroit 3-0	Bill Klucas
1985-1986	16-32	79.5	127.5	7th - Western Division	None	Joe Merten
1986-1987	22-26	87.5	153.5	6th - Western Division	None	Bill Klucas

External links

• This is the only remaining link on the net and appears not to have been updated in years
• http://slam.home.radiks.net/newmain.html Omaha Professional Basketball