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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

team that competed in the

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

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

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...

, the Pride was established in 1987 by

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

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

franchises Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television ...

from Calgary,

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

, and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. 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.

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