1981 Season

A seven-win improvement catapulted The Bay Bishops to the #1 spot in the league for the first time in the team's history. John Hamilton and Junior Black earned All-League honors for leading an explosive Bishop offense. Hamilton set the single season record for made 3-pointers. Hitts Weckerthaul had another incredible campaign and led the Moonmen to the second seed. The Irving Crows and the Remolvo Choristers will make their debut in the postseason. The Crows had been middling for most of their existence and, captained by big man Felix Grant and point guard Quentin Crown, turned things around in 1981. Harlow Rivers had the best season of his young career as Remolvo took down Gin City in the final week, completing the series sweep and clinching the last playoff spot.

Although the season ended in heartbreak for the Porkers, fans have a lot to be excited about with the amount of young talent they have. After all, Gin City turned a last place finish in 1980 to being one game short of the playoffs. Ibrahim Mohammed led the league in blocks and rebounds. Boothtown, McQuelsey and Ensylvan had positive campaigns. Navon Oren of Boothtown improved upon his 1980 season as a pin-down shooting maestro, creating chaos for opposing defense. Bryson McMurray took over for the Woodpeckers as their primary scoring option and showcased brilliance as a 3-and-D competitor.

Luva was severely disappointing to watch. Sinclair Journey spent most of the season on the training table with various hamstring and ankle injuries. As such, Luva's offense - and their fans - suffered as the Mountaineers tumbled down the standings. The Monocles, despite a phenomenal season by Cameron Murphy Jr., struggled mightily. The Razors followed suit. Evans Strong won the MVP for dominating nearly every game in the regular season, but Carl Baker was, frankly, abysmal. He had season lows in points and assists, while his turnover numbers skyrocketed. With three weeks left in the season, Baker confirmed to news sources that he was retiring at the season's end.

The bottom three teams all had one thing in common - a need for replacement of a star player. Mike Beck showed up on the scene for the Dachshunds, carrying the Dogs to more wins than they would have had otherwise. Since Brian Williams' retirement, Desherd City had to readjust their offensive strategies to be more paint-minded. The Team of the River Galloway was led by Marlin Drew, who demonstrated exceptional shooting numbers despite his frame. Drew earned All-League honors for the second consecutive season. Rookie forward Stanley Sweetney showed promise, but he, along with Drew, only added weight to the narrative that The Team did not play any defense.

The Ricos, still stunned by Uisto Aldivando's gruesome injury from the 1980 playoffs, were the punching bag of the league. They lost their first six games, and had additional losing streaks of four and five games later in the season. Needless to say, Aldivando's absence was severely felt. Ricos management hopes that he will be able to return in 1982.

1981 All-OBA Teams

As we did in 1980, we look at the accomplishments of Carl Baker, the crafty, headband-sporting point guard who spent his entire career with the Murdlock Razors:

Carl Baker
x2 MVP (1971, 1972)
x11 All-OBA
OCS Finals MVP (1979)
Champion (1979)
All-1970s First Team

Congratulations to Carl Baker on his influential and incredible career!

1981 Playoffs
#1 The Bay Bishops vs. #4 Remolvo Choristers
The high-powered offense of the Bishops will provide a formidable challenge for any team that plays them. The Choristers are planning to rise to the occasion. While John Hamilton and Junior Black will get their shots and their points, can they stop the larger, stronger Harlow Rivers from getting to the rim? Can Michael Williams provide a needed boost for the Choristers to pull off the upset? Will the Bishops commandeer their third trip to the OCS Finals and - this time - turn it into their first championship victory?

#2 Mescudi Moonmen vs. #3 Irving Crows
This is one of the more intriguing first round matchups in recent memory. Them Moonbois have the veteran presence, *arguably* the best player in the league, and the playoff experience to boot. The Crows do not have any previous postseason appearances to their name. Is championship #5 on the horizon for the Moonmen? Will Hitts Weckerthaul further increase the distance between himself and the next best player in the OBA's young history? Can the younger Crows matchup against the wiser Mescudi team? Can Quentin Crown and Felix Grant stop the dominant Weckerthaul and his new running mate Bojan Turk?

The 1981 OCS Playoffs is upon us!!
 

1981 OCS FINALS

#3 Irving Crows 86, #4 Remolvo Choristers 80
CA-CAW!!! The Crows emerge victorious in their first OCS Finals!! It was Quentin Crown who led the way for the Crows, netting 29 points to go along with 12 assists. Crown was hot from the get-go, getting his teammates involved immediately, The largest beneficiary of his play was the big man Felix Grant, who collected 23 of his own. Seven of those field goals came from Crown passes. Kermitt Duval chipped in 15 of his own. Where Grant and Duvall shined, however, was on the defensive end. While Choristers forward Harlow Rivers scored 27 points... it was on 30 shots. The quickness of Duval, combined with Grant's length, completely disrupted and sense of offensive flow for Rivers and the Choristers' supporting cast. Michael Williams was held to 10 points. Rivers also had six turnovers, and, at times, looked visibly frustrated. While Remolvo closed in on the Crows' lead late in the game, it was ultimately untimely. Crown closed out the game with six made free throws during the Remolvo comeback attempts. For his efforts, the Crows' point guard was awarded the OCS Finals MVP, the first of his career.

Congratulations to the Irving Crows on their first OCS Finals victory!

1981 Irving Crows Championship Banner
 

1982 Offseason
How exciting! For the first time since 1975, the league will see some major changes!!! The Table in The Back Room of The Bar of The River Galloway was adorned with the most food of any offseason meetings in league history.

LEAGUE EXPANSION - The OBA announces that they will add FOUR new teams, beginning competition in the 1982 season. There will now be EIGHTEEN teams in the league. Each new team will receive an individual subsequent post.

PLAYOFF EXPANSION - Playoffs will expand from four teams to eight teams, beginning in 1982.

Dovinwitt Louds
The Dovinwitt Louds will be the farthest-west team in the league by a considerable margin. Previously, this honor was given to the Boothtown Mobsters. The team is named for the novel contest held every five years at Dovinwitt, where people travel all over the world to break the Country Record of Yelling, Based on Decibels. This contest actually started from inhabitants of a Dovinwitt neighborhood screaming at each other for the sake of screaming. The team will chose a camoflouge green and gold color scheme.


The uniforms will feature the logo and wordmark separated. A cursive "D" is written on the shorts. The home jerseys will included green ribbing and gold trim. The aways are all green with white trimming.

Home Jerseys

Away Jerseys

Home Court
The Louds will claim the Mrs. Rock's Cookies Venue of Dovinwitt as their home.

The Dovinwitt Louds have entered the OBA!!!

Simeka Sleuths
Simeka is one of the largest cities to add an expansion squad. They went with the Sleuths in honor of the many detectives that rode in on horseback from Simeka to Boothtown in an attempt to put a stop to crime. The Sleuths will go with a magenta, black, and white color scheme. They will go with a simplistic letter "S" for their logo.


Home Jerseys

Away Jerseys

Home Court
The Sleuths will host visitors at the (Detective) Danny Trotter Complex of Simeka.

Our fourth and final team... the Simeka Sleuths!!!

That's it for our expansion teams!! Which one of these new ones is your favorite? Let me know! Who do you think will be the most successful in their inaugural season???