The Youngstown Pride was a professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team that competed in the

World Basketball League World Basketball League (WBL) was a minor professional basketball league in the United States and Canada which operated from 1988 to 1992. It was founded as the International Basketball Association in November 1987, before changing its name prior ...

during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Based in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

, the Pride was established in 1987 by

Phar-Mor Phar-Mor (stylized as ) was a United States chain of discount drug stores, based in Youngstown, Ohio, and founded by Michael I. Monus, Michael "Mickey" Monus and David Shapira in 1982. Some of its stores used the names Pharmhouse and Rx Place ( ...

executive Michael I. Monus and performed well during its five-year lifespan. They were one of only three teams to ever win a WBL championship. In 1988, the Pride closed its second season with a 28-26 record, placing third in a five-team league that included

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from

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

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, and

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. The following year, the team fared better, sweeping the WBL league championship in two games over the Calgary 88's. Youngstown closed the season with a 31-13 record, compared to Calgary's 31-13. In 1990, the Youngstown Pride enjoyed its best season, when it seized a second straight WBL championship with a stunning record of 38-8. The next year, the Pride competed well in the WBL's Northern Division, closing the 1991 season with a 26-25 record and placing second in the five-team division. During its final season in 1992, the Pride posted a 22-13 record, placing second in what was now a 10-team league. At this point, however, the WBL was in trouble, and it disbanded before the close of the season. The league's unraveling is attributed to waning public interest.

Season by season record

References

{{Reflist Sports in Youngstown, Ohio Basketball teams in Ohio World Basketball League teams Defunct basketball teams in the United States Basketball teams established in 1985 1985 establishments in Ohio 1992 disestablishments in Ohio Basketball teams disestablished in 1992