The San Diego Wildcards were a men's professional basketball team based in San Diego, California , that competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) during the 1995–96 season. The team played its home games at the San Diego Sports Arena . The team was owned by sports executive Doug Logan and coached by Mauro Panaggio , who has the most wins as a coach in CBA history. The team folded on January 5, 1996 after placing a 4–17 record.
16-491: The team was brought to San Diego in 1995 after their predecessor, the Mexico Aztecas , folded. Southern California would prove to be the last stop for the franchise, which went through various incarnations in different cities since 1982: Detroit ; Savannah, Georgia ; Tulsa ; Fargo, North Dakota and Mexico City . In September 1995 it was announced that the team's nickname would be the "Wildcards". The name came from
32-526: A short stay in San Diego." Panaggio was originally hired for a front office position, but he stepped into the head coaching role after being told by Logan that he could not find anyone to fill the vacancy. Jarvis Basnigh was selected by San Diego during the 1995 CBA dispersal draft. The Wildcards chose three players during the 1995 CBA draft: Dwight Stewart out of Arkansas , Mike Williams from UMass , and Brian Fair from UConn . The Wildcards first game
48-719: Is considered the best player in CIMEBA and on the national team them. On February 10, 1995 the team lost 159-154 to the Tri-City Chinook in double overtime; this, despite the fact that Mexico City was nearly one hundred times the size of the Chinook's home of Kennewick, Washington , possibly the largest disparity in North American sports history. Despite a 19-37 record (lost tie-breaker), the Aztecas' home attendance
64-669: The Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota during the 1993–94 season. The franchise was put up for sale after the 1993–94 season and an ownership group from Mexico City purchased the franchise over two other bids. The team was known as the Mexico City Aztecas during the 1994–95 season. Jon Absey, who portrayed the Utah Jazz mascot Jazz Bear , got his start in basketball promotions as Fargo-Moorhead's mascot. His employment
80-617: The Los Angeles Lakers games on KSWB-TV the Wildcards hosted "one-minute ticket telethons" hosted by broadcaster Chris Ello . Mauro Panaggio was hired as the team's head coach . Panaggio, who had coached in the CBA for 14 seasons and had more wins than any coach in league history, warned the media that the team may have trouble catching on, stating, "No one should get too comfortable here. If they aren't producing, they will have
96-680: The Oklahoma City Cavalry . Two days later, they went on to delight their fans with a 90-88 win over the Chicago Rockers in their first home game. Attendance at the Palacio was 8,295. During the season, the Aztecas produced at least two NBA call-ups, Steve Henson in early November and Greg Grant in 1995. The Aztecas also drafted Andy Olivarez, formerly of USC and a member of the Mexico National Team, and
112-584: The Tulsa Zone (1991/92). The Aztecas played their home games at the Palacio de los Deportes (Sports Palace), where they were supported by a popular cheerleading squad. This was the same facility in which the United States basketball team won the gold medal in the 1968 Olympics. Mack Calvin was named the new head coach and general manager. The Aztecas opened their season on November 18, 1994, at
128-826: The 1994–95 season. One of the largest cities in the Western Hemisphere, Mexico City has a significant fan interest in basketball. In 1994, the owner of the Fargo-Moorhead Fever , Doug Logan, decided to move his team to the Mexican capital; in earlier incarnations, the club had played as the Detroit Spirits (1982/83 to 1985/86), the Savannah Spirits (1986/87 to 1987/88), the Tulsa Fast Breakers (1988/89 to 1990/91) and
144-517: The Wildcards officially ceased operations. Team owner Doug Logan claimed the team lost $ 35,000 per week. The team's final record was 4–17. Mexico Aztecas The Mexico Aztecas (or Mexico City Aztecs , Aztecas de México ) were a professional basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). Created as an experiment in fielding a team outside the United States and Canada, it played one season,
160-449: The franchise's principal sponsor Viejas Casino . who had their name on the team's jersey. At a press conference announcing the sponsorship, team owner Doug Logan wore multi-colored glasses with bells attached, resembling a Joker , the team's mascot. In an effort to boost ticket sales, a Wildcards radio advertisement claimed CBA games would be more entertaining than college basketball or Los Angeles Clippers games. During broadcasts of
176-697: The ones in Mexico) before folding in January 1996. Source Fargo-Moorhead Fever The Fargo-Moorhead Fever were a professional basketball team based in the Fargo–Moorhead metropolitan area on the North Dakota – Minnesota border. The Fever were members of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) for two seasons, from 1992 to 1994. Steve Bontrager served as the team's head coach during their two seasons. The team played their home games at
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#1732779895636192-599: The recession that followed. Most of the Aztecas' expenses, primarily player salaries, were in American dollars, but revenues, including ticket sales, were in the now devalued peso. Logan could not afford another season in Mexico. On September 20, 1995, the Aztecas announced their move to San Diego, as the San Diego Wildcards . They played just 21 games there (with a 4-17 record in front of much smaller crowds than
208-438: The team would have to move (again) or fold outright. San Diego's general manager Jeff Quinn told The San Diego Union-Tribune , "We're substantially less [in attendance] than I would have thought we would be right now. I would have thought we'd have been drawing somewhere around 3,000. I'm a little mystified. I don't know the answer right now." Panaggio's "short stay in San Diego" comment proved to be prophetic: on January 5, 1996,
224-654: Was at the San Diego Sports Arena on November 17, 1995 against the Chicago Rockers ; the Wildcards won, 108-106, on guard Kareem Townes' game-winning bucket with six seconds left. Mark Zeigler of the The San Diego Union-Tribune wrote, "They had a professional basketball game last night at the Sports Arena and — here's the weird part — people were actually standing and cheering. For the home team." But attendance that first night
240-470: Was huge by CBA standards, with several announced crowds over 9,000. In their final home game of the season, they beat the Omaha Racers 124-109 before 12,587 fans, an all-time record for the CBA. But it wasn't enough to keep the team south of the border. In December 1994, the Mexican peso crashed, losing half of its value against the U.S. dollar, ultimately costing over a million Mexicans their jobs in
256-521: Was only 3,310, in the 14,800-seat San Diego Sports Arena . Veteran NBA and CBA guard Greg Grant , who had been with the franchise in Mexico, played only one game with the Wildcards (with three points and nine assists ) before being signed by the Philadelphia 76ers on November 21, 1995. After the opening night win, though, the 'Cards were decked on a regular basis, losing ten of their next eleven games. Attendance remained low, causing concern that
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