Category: Basketball

Birmingham and Memphis have a long-standing relationship in professional sports.

The Birmingham Barons and Memphis Egyptians started the rivalry in 1903 in the Southern Baseball Association, while the Birmingham Black Barons and Memphis Red Sox began playing each other in the Negro National League in 1924. As members of the Southern League, the towns went head-to-head for decades.

The cities have also competed in several football leagues. The Birmingham Americans and Birmingham Vulcans faced the Memphis Southmen in the World Football League; the Birmingham Stallions met the Memphis Showboats in the United States Football League; the Birmingham Barracudas and Memphis Mad Dogs shared a division in the Canadian Football League; the Birmingham Bolts and Memphis Maniax opened the 2001 XFL season against each other; and the Birmingham Iron and Memphis Express lifted the lid on the Alliance of American Football campaign in 2019.

And continuing the football theme, Birmingham Legion FC and Memphis 901 FC currently compete against each other in the USL Championship.

Finally, the Mississippi River Kings (located in the Memphis suburb of Southaven, Mississippi) skated against the Birmingham Bulls in the Southern Professional Hockey League up until 2018.

But professional basketball?

I was all set to declare Monday night’s NBA G League clash between the Birmingham Squadron (5-5 in the Showcase Cup) and Memphis Hustle (6-4) a moment of living history, marking the first time professional roundballers representing these great Southern cities had ever met on the hardwood.

But a bit of research reveals that isn’t the case.

In fact, Birmingham and Memphis played each other for the first time in a play-for-pay hoops contest on December 8, 1947.

With player/coach Wheeler Flemming leading the way with 19 points, the visiting Birmingham Vulcans trounced the Memphis Legionnaires, 62-43, in a Southern Professional Basketball League game.

Birmingham never trailed and Flemming – also a minor league baseball player – got help from Bobby O’Brien, who scored 15 points, and guards Manuel Dorsky and Bubba Ball, who accounted for 11 points apiece.

Bob Murphy was high-point man for the hosts and led all scorers with 21 points.

Wheeler Flemming was an all-state product from Ramsey High School and starred at Samford (then Howard) University, and his brother, Frank, was also on the Vulcans’ roster.

Murphy was a Menlo (California) Junior College standout who was one of the most dominant scorers in the SPBL.

According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal the game was played before a small crowd at the Shelby County Arena located at the state fairgrounds, but sportswriter Emmett Maum made it sound exciting – at least for Birmingham fans:

“Birmingham Vulcans gave a basketball exhibition reminiscent of the old New York Celtics last night by passing the Memphis Legionnaires dizzy to win, 62-43.”

That was high praise, indeed. The New York Celtics (also known as the Original Celtics) were a barnstorming team that won championships in both the Eastern Basketball League and American Basketball League.

Ironically, Wheeler Flemming was on the Howard team that stunned the Celtics, 54-43, during a 1943 exhibition played at Municipal Auditorium in Birmingham.

As for the SPBL, it was formed on August 10, 1947, in Birmingham, with the idea of bringing minor league basketball to the Deep South. News reports had player salaries ranging from $400 to $600 per month.

The nation’s major leagues at the time were the National Basketball League, which had been formed in 1937, and the Basketball Association of America, founded in 1946 (the NBL and BBA merged in 1948 and was rebranded the National Basketball Association).

The American Basketball League (founded in 1925) was also still playing, but had been overshadowed by the NBL and BAA.

Yet none of those leagues had franchises anywhere near the southeast, so the Southern League set out to fill that void. The original SPBL lineup featured the Birmingham Vulcans, Gadsden Whiz Kids, Jackson Senators, Memphis Legionnaires, Mobile Bears, Montgomery Rebels and Nashville Vols.

The void would be filled for only two seasons.

With most of the teams facing financial woes and teams playing before miniscule crowds, the SPBL disbanded after its second season.

The Vulcans folded at the end of the 1947-48 campaign and were replaced by the Birmingham Steelers the following season, while the Legionnaires relocated to Mobile on January, 1948.

Before all the drama the Vulcans and Legionnaires played four times, with Birmingham winning three of the four including the last played on January 9, 1948. The Vulcans won that one, 73-71, in front of 400 fans at the National Guard Armory. Frank Flemming scored 27 points for the hosts and Murphy led Memphis with 31.

Seventy-four years and five days after the Vulcans and Legionnaires started it, the Squadron and Hustle continue the basketball rivalry between Birmingham and Memphis Monday at Legacy Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

BIRMINGHAM – Until today, a Birmingham-branded NBA affiliate hadn’t bounced a ball in the Magic City since March 25, 1992. That’s when the Continental Association Bandits fell to the Quad City Thunder, 116-109, in a playoff game at Bill Harris Arena.

Nearly 30 years later, 4,972 fans warmly welcomed a new team in a new league to a good-as-new arena.

The Birmingham Squadron, G League partners of the New Orleans Pelicans, tangled with the Mexico City Capitanes at Legacy Arena today. After 48 frenzied minutes it was Mexico City who earned the spoils in the Showcase Cup matchup, taking control in the second half on the way to a 123-114 victory.

Alfonzo McKinnie paced seven double digit scorers with a team-high 30 points for the winners, while Justin Reyes added 20. McKinnie also grabbed 11 rebounds and helped his team take command over the final 24 minutes.

Jared Harper led the Squadron and all scorers with 35 points, and Malcolm Hill and Joe Young each tallied 19 points with Zylan Cheatham adding 15 points and 12 boards in recording his third consecutive double-double.

Although the outcome wasn’t what the players wanted, the atmosphere certainly was – and ultimately what “opening night” will be judged by.

“It was great, especially me having played college ball here in Alabama (at Auburn),” said Harper, who also dished out eight assists. “It was good to have a home game and a home crowd. The arena is beautiful. It really has an NBA feel.”

University of Alabama product and Huntsville native John Petty Jr. scored 11 points in a losing effort and wished the home state debut had been just a bit happier.

“It was amazing … I feel like we saw the bright lights and all the fans, and it instilled energy in us,” Petty said. “We just have to have that kind of energy the whole game. The fans were great and all the guys were pumped up coming in. Emotions were high, and everybody was locked in.”

The win snapped a five-game losing streak for Mexico City while Birmingham has now lost five in a row.

The contest was the first event staged at Legacy Arena following extensive renovations, and professional basketball game hadn’t been played in the venue since the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies met in a 2018 exhibition.

Birmingham’s last foray into second-tier pro basketball was a one-and-done season for the Bandits, who were affiliated with the Atlanta Hawks and San Antonio Spurs.

Birmingham finished 27-24 and was eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs. Two months after their final game, the Bandits were relocated to Rochester, Minnesota, and renamed the Renegades.

But while low attendance plagued that team for its entire brief existence, the nearly 5,000 who showed up tonight were engaged and excited.

“Having our fans here is so important, and having family here for the first time is so important, too,” Birmingham coach Ryan Pannone said before tip-off. “John Petty’s a rookie, he’s playing his first pro home game, and he gets to have his kids here to watch him. There’s something special about having your fans here and something special about your family being here – and not just in any gym, but in an arena that’s so well done.”

Birmingham hit its first three shots of the game – including 3-pointers from Hill and Cheatham – and stayed in control for most of the quarter until the Capitanes rallied to cut the Squadron’s lead to 31-26 after 12 minutes.
Mexico City heated up in the second frame and managed to move in front, but Birmingham fought back, getting a huge boost from three consecutive treys courtesy of Petty. Things stayed close, and as time ticked down McKinnie drained a long 3-pointer for the visitors to knot things up 61-61 at intermission.

Mexico City came out smoking in the third as the Squadron had trouble finding the range, and the result was a 95-83 advantage for the Caps with one quarter to play.
Harper singlehandedly helped Birmingham make a run, scoring eight consecutive points during one stretch. But the guests always had an answer, and it was just a matter of keeping the Legacy Arena tenants at arm’s length for 12 more minutes.

“We didn’t do a really good job of controlling the game, and a lot of our turnovers came from carelessness,” Pannone said. “We weren’t really forced into it, we were just sped up and didn’t make the right decisions. But overall I thought our team fought hard and as a competitor, that’s what you like to see.”

The Capitanes are the G League’s only Latin American club and are as yet unaffiliated with an NBA franchise. Due to COVID restrictions they’re playing a limited, all U.S.-schedule in 2021-22, with their games coming in the Showcase Cup – the league’s in-season tournament played before the start of the 36-game regular season.

“It’s amazing how much the G League has grown from when I was first in it in 2014-15 until now,” Pannone said. “My path fortunately has been global and to have the G League somewhat global now, with a team in Canada and a team that will be in Mexico City, is excellent for the G league, for the game, for the growth of the game and the growth of the game in Mexico. There’s a lot of potential there. Playing our first home game against this opponent is really a cool experience for our guys.”

Birmingham is 2-5 in the eight-team South Pod of the Cup and Mexico moves to 3-6. While the pod winners and next four teams with the best record will advance to a single elimination tourney during the G League Winter Showcase December 19-22, all team records will be reset once the regular season begins on December 27.

Today was the first of a six-game homestand for the Squadron. Birmingham faces Mexico City in a rematch here Tuesday, and hosts the Lakeland Magic on Dec. 9 and Dec. 11. The Memphis Hustle comes to town for a two-game set on Dec. 13 and Dec. 14.

All games tip-off at 7 p.m.

I’ve been a fan of professional basketball for so long I couldn’t begin to tell you exactly when it started.

I know I was first and foremost a follower of the American Basketball Association in the late 1960s and early 1970s, wowed by those red, white and blue basketballs, high scores and eventually the New York Nets and Julius Irving.

Then I began paying more attention the Los Angeles Lakers and the National Basketball Association. As part of a grammar school project I had to draw the name of a state from a hat and write a letter to a business located there, requesting information about their organization. I drew California and chose the Lakers (mainly because I liked Happy Hairston and had recently seen them on TV) and in a couple of weeks I received a sheet of paper containing autographs of the players (a reproduction, but it still went up on my bedroom wall), a schedule, and team picture.

Man, that was great, and that cemented them as my favorite NBA team (until the 1976 merger, when they had to settle for the silver medal behind the Nets).

As for the G League, I became a fan when ESPN+ started televising games back in 2018. I was a Birmingham native living in Greenville, South Carolina, at the time, so there was no hometown or adopted town team to cheer for. And really, that made things easier for me.

Since I’d followed the Nets through two leagues, two states and eight arenas, it stood to reason I’d make their developmental team “mine.”

So I did. Starting three years ago, the Long Island Nets became my favorite second tier men’s professional basketball squad. And I figured they’d maintain that position until the Brooklyn Nets decided to relocate them.

But …

Now I’m back in Birmingham, which is home of the Birmingham Squadron. And having a team in my hometown compels me to pull for them, even though they’re the affiliate of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Thing is, even the Pelicans themselves weren’t always fans of the Pelicans.

Take Birmingham coach Ryan Pannone. A native of Clearwater, Florida, he had a team located just over a hundred miles away.

But that wasn’t the one he originally cheered for.

“The first NBA team that I followed was the Chicago Bulls, because of Michael Jordon,” Pannone said following Wednesday’s practice. “And then later the Orlando Magic, being from Florida. The first NBA game I ever got a chance to go to was when (Shaquille O’Neal) was traded to the Lakers and he was coming back to play Orlando, and we had nosebleed seats for the game.”

The Squadron’s leading scorer, Jared Harper, grew up in Metro Atlanta. So it stood to reason he’d get behind the hometown Hawks.

“The Hawks were definitely my favorite team and then maybe the Lakers, because Kobe (Bryant) was always my favorite player growing up,” said Harper, who averages 20.5 points per game. “With the Hawks being the home team, I had to follow them. But I just like basketball in general, so I watched all the games when I was a kid.”

After playing at Auburn, Harper had stints with the Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks organizations before signing with the Pelicans in September.

“I knew that I had trained to be in the NBA and that’s where I wanted to be,” Harper said. “So it just came down to having an opportunity from whichever team gave me one, regardless of who I might’ve cheered for growing up.”

And what’s my relationship with the Pelicans?

Frankly, I never had one.

I didn’t cheer for them when they were the Charlotte Hornets, or when they relocated to New Orleans, or when they finally shucked the Hornets nick for Pelicans. I didn’t hate them or anything, I just didn’t follow them or pay much attention unless they played Brooklyn or L.A.

But now I’m interested. When a guy from the Squadron moves up, I want to chart his progress. And when a Pelican is assigned to the Squadron, I want to see him play. That’s just the nature of fandom when you follow a minor league sport.

For example, in Major League Baseball I cheer for the New York Yankees in the American League and Chicago Cubs in the National.

My dad used to tell me of going to Birmingham Barons games back in the 50s when they were a Yankees’ farm club, and I guess that prompted me to favor the Bronx Bombers.

As for the Cubs, I watched Ernie Banks play on a Saturday afternoon NBC game once, thought he represented everything a baseball player was supposed to be, and decided I liked the Baby Bears.

The modern day Barons are affiliates of the Chicago White Sox, and have been since 1986. That means since 1986 I’ve kept tabs on the ChiSox to see how former Barons are faring in the bigs. I don’t consider myself a fan, but when I see an ex-Birmingham player step between the white lines for the South Siders, I want him to do well.

And that’s one of the beauties of sports; how you express your fandom is entirely up to you. I can support guys because they’re wearing Cubs uniforms, but I can also support guys despite the fact that they’re wearing White Sox threads.

And Sunday at 5 p.m., Birmingham’s newest team will finally play in friendly confines when the Squadron hosts Mexico City at newly renovated Legacy Arena. A league I’ve followed on TV is one I can now follow in person. And it’s cool to think that so many kids will get to see their first live basketball game this weekend. Hopefully it’ll be an unforgettable experience for them.

“It’s something you always remember,” Pannone said. “For me it was something I did with my dad. That always sticks out, especially because my father’s passed away and we were just talking the other day about some of our best memories. I got to see my first NBA game with my dad, and they were Christmas Day tickets. That’s pretty special.”

When I watch the NBA – as of the 2021-22 season – I’ll cheer for the Nets always, the Lakers unless they’re playing the Nets, and the Pelicans unless they’re playing the Nets or Lakers.

But the Squadron? Hey, I’ll always root for the home team – along with Pelicans players who once called Birmingham home.

For ticket information go to birmingham.gleague.nba.com.