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The Cincinnati Slammers, originally the Ohio Mixers, were a professional basketball team based in
Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...
,
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
from 1982 to 1984 and
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
,
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
from 1984 to 1987. They were members of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). The team was admitted into the CBA as an
expansion franchise An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...
in 1982. Team owner Tom Sawyer served as the Mixers' head coach during their two season. Jerry Robinson underwrote the re-location of the franchise to Cincinnati before the 1984–85 season. Sawyer stayed on as head coach to the newly re-branded Cincinnati Slammers, but resigned during their first season at which point
assistant coach A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the Hun ...
Tom Thacker took over the position.
Herb Brown Herbert Brown (born March 14, 1936) is an American basketball coach and the brother of Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown. He is the former head coach of the Detroit Pistons (1976–78). Career Brown succeeded Ray Scott when he was promoted from a ...
was hired as head coach before the 1985–86 season and led the team until they went defunct following the 1986–87 season.


History


Lima (1982–84)

The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) admitted an
expansion franchise An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...
from
Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...
,
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
on May 28, 1982, just before the CBA franchise fee increased from $100,000 to $125,000. They were designated to the Central Division of the CBA. They were branded as the Ohio Mixers. The Mixers played their first game on December 3, 1982. Ohio's
Center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
Rich Kelley Richard Ryland Kelley (born March 23, 1953) is an American retired basketball player. Kelley played college basketball at Stanford University and was the first round pick (7th pick overall) of the New Orleans Jazz in the 1975 NBA draft. Kelley ...
was their first player in franchise history to get signed to a
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
(NBA) contract when he signed a 10-day deal on December 28, 1982 with the Denver Nuggets. Kelly went on to play the rest of the season with in the NBA, eventually joining the
Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...
after Denver traded him for
Danny Schayes Daniel Leslie Schayes (born May 10, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who played for Syracuse University and played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), from 1981 until 1999. At 6' 11" and 235 pounds, h ...
and cash considerations. On December 31, 1982 Mixers'
guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...
Dwight Anderson was signed to a 10-day contract with Denver, but the deal was not extended so he returned to Lima on January 9, 1983.
Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the NBA, winning NBA championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and ...
, who was later inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a
head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
, made his professional head coaching debut against the Mixers on January 30, 1983 after the Albany Patroons fired
Dean Meminger Dean Peter "The Dream" Meminger (May 13, 1948 – August 23, 2013) was an American basketball player and coach. Early life Meminger was born in Walterboro, South Carolina, and came to Harlem, New York, with his family as a seventh-grader. He starr ...
and Jackson was hired to take his place. On February 9, 1983 Ohio guard
Kevin Figaro Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...
was named to the '83 CBA All-Star First Team. Ohio finished the 1982–83 CBA season with a
win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...
of 17–27. During the off-season in 1983 the Mixers traded
power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...
DeWayne Scales DeWayne Jay Scales (born December 28, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'8" forward from Louisiana State University, Scales played in the NBA from 1980 to 1984 as a member of the New York Knicks and Washington Bull ...
to the Detroit Spirits in exchange for center Cyrus Mann. It was reported in the '' Lexington Herald-Leader'' that the Mixers had a cooperative working agreement to develop players for the
Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...
and
San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...
of the NBA, essentially acting their
farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
. The 1983–84 Mixers featured NBA players
Wes Matthews Wesley Joel Matthews Sr. (born August 24, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won two NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is the father of curren ...
and
Billy Ray Bates Billy Ray Bates (born May 31, 1956) is a retired American professional basketball player. Bates played shooting guard at McAdams High in Mississippi and attended Kentucky State University. Bates played four seasons in the National Basketball A ...
. Matthews was called up to the NBA twice that season, first with the Atlanta Hawks and finally with the Philadelphia 76ers. Bates was attempting an NBA comeback, which on top of joining the Mixers included playing for
Crispa Redmanizers The Crispa Redmanizers were a multi-titled Filipino basketball team that played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) from 1975 to 1984. It was one of the nine founding teams of the PBA, winning a total of thirteen PBA championships, i ...
of the
Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...
. Although Bates never made it back on an NBA roster, he did play professional basketball until 1988. At the end of the season, their record was 23–21, which wasn't good enough to make the CBA
post-season The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
. During their two seasons in Lima, the Mixers played their home games at
Lima Senior High School Lima Senior High School, the only high school in the Lima City Schools District, was established in 1955, in Lima, Ohio. There are approximately 1,500 students currently enrolled at Lima Senior. Overview Lima Senior remained in the same building ...
, which had a capacity for 3,800 persons.


Cincinnati (1984–87)

During the off-season before the 1984–85 season, the CBA approved the re-location of the Mixers from Lima, Ohio to
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
. The Sawyer family of Lima, who owned the Ohio Mixers, had their re-location costs underwritten by Jerry Robinson, the president of the
Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati Gardens was an indoor arena located in Cincinnati, Ohio, that opened in 1949. The 25,000 square foot (2,300 m²) brick and limestone building at 2250 Seymour Avenue in Bond Hill had a entrance that was decorated with six three-dimens ...
where the newly branded Cincinnati Slammers would play. It was the first professional basketball team in that city since the
Cincinnati Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
re-located to Kansas City,
Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
. The first player Cincinnati signed was former
University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...
swingman
Roosevelt Chapman Roosevelt "Velvet" Chapman (born April 6, 1962) is an American former college basketball player who, while attending the University of Dayton from 1980 to 1984, became the university's all-time leading scorer with 2,233 points. Through the 2019– ...
when he inked a contract on October 16, 1984. When asked by the
United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...
how it felt to be close to his '' alma mater'', Chapman responded, "It feels good ..I'll be close to home and there will be a lot of BAscouts here watching us." The Slammers recorded their first win of the season against the Louisville Catbirds, by a score of 111–90. Cincinnati center Dewayne Scales scored a game-high 29 points and 13 rebounds, followed by Slammers player Darrell Gadsden who scored 26 points. Head coach
Tom Sawyer Thomas Sawyer () is the titular character of the Mark Twain novel ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876). He appears in three other novels by Twain: '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884), '' Tom Sawyer Abroad'' (1894), and '' Tom Sawyer, ...
resigned his position in early January 1985. Tom Thacker, who had been Cincinnati's
assistant coach A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the Hun ...
, was given the head coaching position following Sawyers resignation. Cincinnati's finished their first season with the worst record in the league (17–31), although based on the league's point system they were second to last (135 points). In June 1985 the Slammers hired Linda Reed as their general manager. That marked the first time a woman had been hired as general manager to a professional basketball team. Reed offered
Herb Brown Herbert Brown (born March 14, 1936) is an American basketball coach and the brother of Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown. He is the former head coach of the Detroit Pistons (1976–78). Career Brown succeeded Ray Scott when he was promoted from a ...
the Slammers' head coaching position for the 1985–86 season. The season before Brown had coached the Puerto Rico Coquis where he received a $500 fine for an altercation with a CBA referee. Tom Thacker, who had been the team's head coach since Tom Sawyer resigned in January 1985, stayed with Cincinnati as an assistant coach to Brown. Slammers' head coach Herb Brown was named CBA Coach of the Month for January 1986. Cincinnati player Victor Fleming was selected to the 1986 CBA All-Star Team. The Slammers finished the 1985–86 season with the best record in the Western Division (33–15). They also finished first in their division in points, which the CBA uses to determine their postseason seeding. During the first round of the 1986 CBA Playoffs the Slammers faced the Kansas City Sizzlers. Cincinnati swept Kansas City four games to none. The Slammers went on the 1986 CBA Western Division Semifinals where they played the
Evansville Thunder The Evansville Thunder were a professional basketball team who played in Evansville, Indiana, from 1984 to 1986. The team was a member of the Continental Basketball Association and played at Roberts Municipal Stadium. Evansville had previous exper ...
. The Thunder managed to win one game in that series, but the Slammers were victorious in four games advancing them to the 1986 Western Division Finals. The La Crosse Catbirds advanced the 1986 CBA Finals over Cincinnati after winning four games of the series to the Slammers' two games. In spite of their success during the 1985–86 season, Slammers' part-owner Jerry Robinson announced he was selling his interest in the Cincinnati CBA franchise. According to Robinson, the Slammers had lost $500,000 during their two seasons in Cincinnati. He also stated that the average attendance for home games was 940 spectators. During the playoffs, the Slammers could only muster 1,500 persons on average. Their small crowds did not deter the team from signing a contract with their home venue, Cincinnati Gardens, for the 1986–87 season. During a game on February 13, 1987 Cincinnati player Bill Martin knocked Charleston Gunners center Peter Verhoeven unconscious during a fight in the third quarter. Martin was suspended three games.


Hiatus and re-location to Cedar Rapids (1987–88)

Team owner Jerry Gordon, who purchased Jerry Robinson's interest in the Slammers, denied reports that the franchise was looking to relocate to Fort Wayne,
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
following the 1986–87 season. Gordon did say that there was still the possibility the Slammers could be re-located, just not to Fort Wayne. Several days later, Gordon backtracked on his previous statement admitting that the Slammers were looking to relocate to Fort Wayne. Cincinnati had the second lowest attendance during the 1986–87 season, averaging 705 spectators per game. Going into the 1987–88 season the CBA shifted their focus away from big markets (like Cincinnati) to smaller ones. Slammers owner Jerry Gordon was given a year to find a small market buyer who could re-locate before the 1988–89 season. Gordon looked at Canton, Ohio as a possible new home for the Slammers, but he found little interest from potential buyers and city officials. Krause Gentle, owner of the convenience store chain Kum & Go, approached Slammers owner Jerry Gordon about buying the franchise and re-locating it to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The deal was approved by the CBA and the team was re-branded as the
Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets The Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets were a professional basketball team based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa from 1988 to 1991. They played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), the defunct development league for the National Basketball Associat ...
before the 1988–89 season.


Season-by-season standings


All-time roster

* Maurice Adams * Richard Adams * Norm Anchrum * Dwight Anderson * Ken Austin *
Marvin Barnes Marvin Jerome "Bad News" Barnes (July 27, 1952 – September 8, 2014) was an American professional basketball player. A forward, he was an All-American at Providence College, and played professionally in both the American Basketball Association ...
*
Billy Ray Bates Billy Ray Bates (born May 31, 1956) is a retired American professional basketball player. Bates played shooting guard at McAdams High in Mississippi and attended Kentucky State University. Bates played four seasons in the National Basketball A ...
* Norris Bell *
Tom Bethea Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...
* Lewis Brown * Johnny Brown * Tony Brown * David Burns * Albert Butts * John Campbell *
Butch Carter Clarence Eugene "Butch" Carter Jr. (born June 11, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played college basketball at Indiana University. Early years Carter excelled in basketball and football at Middletown Hig ...
*
Roosevelt Chapman Roosevelt "Velvet" Chapman (born April 6, 1962) is an American former college basketball player who, while attending the University of Dayton from 1980 to 1984, became the university's all-time leading scorer with 2,233 points. Through the 2019– ...
*
Leroy Combs Edwin Leroy Combs (born January 1, 1961 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is a retired professional basketball small forward who spent one season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are a ...
* Mark Dorris *
Jerry Eaves Jerry Lee Eaves (born February 8, 1959) is an American head college basketball coach and athletic director at Simmons College of Kentucky in Louisville. He is the former head men's basketball coach at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical St ...
* Dan Federmann *
Kevin Figaro Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...
* Scott Fisher * Victor Fleming * Alvin Frederick * Darrell Gadsden * Lionel Garrett * Mike Green * Dino Gregory * Lamar Heard * Lawrence Held * Carl Henry *
Anthony Hicks Anthony Hicks (26 June 1943 – 26 May 2010) was a Welsh musicologist, music critic, editor, and writer. Born in Swansea, a city in Wales, Hicks read mathematics at King's College London during the mid-1960s and worked for roughly a quarter of ce ...
*
Johnny High Johnny Harold "Sky" High (April 25, 1957 – June 13, 1987) was an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the NBA. He spent four seasons with Phoenix and missed only one game in his first three years.
* Doug Jemison *
Jeff Jenkins Jeff Jenkins is an American producer known for his work in reality television. He is best known for producing '' The Simple Life'', ''Total Divas'', and ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' and its spinoffs. Career Bunim/Murray Productions Jenki ...
* Jim Johnstone *
Ozell Jones Ozell "Hoppy" Jones III (November 20, 1960 – September 7, 2006) was an American professional basketball player. He was listed at and weighed . Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, his family soon moved to Compton, California, and later to Long B ...
* Mike Kanieski * Daryl Lloyd * Nigel Lloyd * Bill Martin *
Wes Matthews Wesley Joel Matthews Sr. (born August 24, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won two NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is the father of curren ...
* Jim McCaffrey * John McCullough *
Hank McDowell Hank Leigh McDowell (born November 13, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, he was a 6'9" (205 cm) 210 lb (95 kg) forward and he played collegiately at Memphis State University (no ...
* Bob Miller * Brian O'Connor * John Pinone * John Schweitz * Jay Shakir * Wayne Smith * Lloyd Terry * Joel Thompson * Sedric Toney *
Steve Trumbo Esteban Dale Trumbo Hawkes, commonly known as Steve Trumbo (born May 20, 1960), is a former American professional basketball player, with Spanish citizenship. At a height of 6'9'' he played at the center position. He was best known for his succ ...
*
Horace Wyatt Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
* John Wiley * Kevin Williams *
Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager, impresario and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder o ...
*
Brad Wright Brad Wright (born May 2, 1961) is a Canadian television producer and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of the television series ''Stargate SG-1'' (with Jonathan Glassner), '' Stargate Atlantis'' (with Robert C. Cooper) and '' Sta ...
::''Sources''


References

{{reflist, 2


External links


McKay, Robert (February 1986). "Hearts on their sleeves, no names on their jerseys". ''Cincinnati Magazine''. pp. 72-75"CINCINNATI SLAMMERS CBA 1985-1987"
b
Cincinnati Sports History via Flickr
Basketball teams in Cincinnati Lima, Ohio 1982 establishments in Ohio Continental Basketball Association teams Basketball teams established in 1982 1987 disestablishments in Ohio Sports clubs disestablished in 1987