Hawaii Volcanos
CBA 1979-1980

The Hawaii Volcanos became the first franchise in league history that required air flight to and from EVERY home game. Some fans even had to fly BETWEEN home games, as two contests were played in Hilo, on the Island of Hawaii; while the other games were played in Honolulu, on the island of Oahu.

There was even some talk that the great Wilt Chamberlain would come out of retirement and play for the Volcanos; at a tryout camp in Los Angeles, Chamberlain hit 57 of 58 field goals - but was 7-for-21 from the stripe. But when the team started play in October 1979, the Big Dipper did not join the Volcanos. Instead, the team was headed by Bruce O'Neil, a former coach at the University of Hawaii, and he was able to front a lineup that included Rickey Green, Bobby Wilson, and several other players.

While Madame Pele provided an eruption at Pauahi Crater, almost to signal the start of a new professional franchise on the Hawaiian Islands, there was another eruption that threatened to scuttle the Volcanos' opening night. Hawaii's United Public Workers union were in the middle of a strike, and the Volcanos' home court, Neal Blaisdell Center, was a union shop. A makeshift work crew, led by Volcanos team owner Jim West and his son, got the floor installed in 3 1/2 hours - a full hour faster than it normally took the UPW union workers to lay down the basketball floor!

The Volcanos lost their first home game, a 118-117 scrape against the Anchorage Northern Knights. In that game, Anchorage's Ron Davis scored 46 points - including several on a replacement shoe. His sneaker fell apart in the second quarter, prompting the PA announcer to ask if a Size 10 high-top sneaker was in the house. One was acquired, and a freshly-shod Davis led the Knights to victory.

By Christmas 1979, the Volcanos were having trouble drawing fans, and finances were tight. Coach Bruce O'Neil quit the team over a financial budget issue, and the team looked like it would fold in mid-season. At that point, player Bobby Wilson became a player-coach, and the Volcanos went back on the road, splitting a two-game series in Anchorage against the Northern Knights.

To replace O'Neil, who was also the team's general manager as well as its coach, the Volcanos' radio announcer Larry Jones was hired as the team's general manager. His first promotion did draw a large crowd, as 1,476 people showed up for a Volcanos-Uniersity of Hawaii alumni exhibition game. But a few games later, Jones and the Volcanos parted ways. There was some talk that Jones wanted the head coaching job, currently held by player-coach Bobby Wilson, and hoped that a long losing streak would allow him to put pressure on owner Jim West to hire Jones as the general manager and coach. After Jones left the team, a replacement radio broadcaster discovered that the team's radio communications wire had been severed.

The Volcanos won their final two home games, both against the Utica Olympics, the final win being a 138-135 overtime victory. Sadly, it would be the last home game for the Volcanos - in their opening round playoff series, a best-of-five affair against Anchorage, Volcanos owner Jim West agreed to have all five games played in Alaska. The Knights and Volcanos played a hard-fought five game series, with the Northern Knights taking the final victory. The franchise moved to Billings, Montana for the 1980-81 season.

CBA STATISTICS
             W   L  PCT   GB     Result
1979-1980   20  25 .444   10.5   lost in semifinals

CONTINENTAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
1979-1980 Lost in semifinals to Anchorage, 2 games to 3