The Springfield Fame were a men's spring-professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
team in the
United States Basketball League
The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...
from
Springfield, Massachusetts, the hometown of the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, which gave the inspiration of the team name.
History
The Springfield Fame were founded in 1985. In their inaugural season, they finished with a record of 19-6 and were the first USBL Champions. The league did not add a playoff system until the 1987 season. In their second season, the Fame made national headlines by signing 27-year-old women's basketball legend
Nancy Lieberman
Nancy Elizabeth Lieberman (born July 1, 1958), nicknamed "Lady Magic", is an American former professional basketball player and coach in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) who is currently a broadcaster for the Oklahoma City Thun ...
. Lieberman thus became the first female basketball player to play regular season minutes in a men's pro league. They would finish second with a 23-10 record and 0.5 game behind the Tampa Bay Flash. The Fame would fold following the 1986 season.
Season-by-season records
Team awards
USBL Player of the Year
*
Tracy Jackson
Tracy Cordell Jackson (born April 21, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville, Maryland, and was named to the inaugu ...
(1985)
USBL Coach of the Year
*Gerald Oliver (1985)
*Henry Bibby (1986)
All-USBL Teams
''First Team''
*Tracy Jackson (1985)
*Billy Goodwin (1986)
''Second Team''
*Larry Lawrence (1985)
*
Michael Adams (1985 and 1986)
*
Jerome Henderson (1986)
USBL All-Rookie Team
*Andre Goode (1985)
*Michael Adams (1985)
*
Dominic Pressley (1986)
USBL All-Defensive Team
*Michael Adams (1985 and 1986)
*Jerome Henderson (1986)
References
{{United States Basketball League
United States Basketball League teams
Basketball teams in Springfield, Massachusetts