Pittsburgh Xplosion

For the Pittsburgh Hardhats professional softball team, see Pittsburgh Hardhats (softball).

Basketball team in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh Xplosion

Leagues| ABA 2004–2006
CBA 2006–2008
Founded| 2004
Folded| 2008
History| Pittsburgh Hardhats (ABA) 2004
(never played) Pennsylvania Pit Bulls (ABA) 2004–2005
Pittsburgh Xplosion 2005–2008

Arena| Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Petersen Events Center
Location| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Team colors| black, gold, orange

Head coach| Carlos Knox
Ownership| Freddie Lewis
Richard Hersperger
Championships| 0

Home

Away

|

The Pittsburgh Xplosion was a professional basketball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh were members of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 2006 to 2008. Founded in 2004 as the Pittsburgh Hard Hats as a member of the American Basketball Association (2000–present) (ABA), the team, following an ownership change, took the court as the Pennsylvania Pit Bulls. The team became the Xplosion in 2005, and joined the CBA in 2006. It has been replaced in the ABA with the modern day Pittsburgh Phantoms and later the Pittsburgh Bassets. The Xplosion played at Pittsburgh Civic Arena and on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh at the Petersen Events Center, both in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

## Season by season

[edit]

Note: W = wins, L = losses, % = win–loss %

Season | W | L | % | Playoffs | Results

|
|
|
|
|

Pennsylvania Pit Bulls (ABA)
2004-05 | 8 | 9 | .471 |  |
Pittsburgh Xplosion (ABA)
2005-06 | 18 | 11 | .621 | Lost Quarterfinals | Bellingham 122, Pittsburgh 115
Pittsburgh Xplosion (CBA)
2006-07 | 10 | 38 | .208 | Won Quarterfinals
Lost Semifinals | Pittsburgh 119, Indiana 103
Minot 2, Pittsburgh 0
2007-08 | 29 | 19 | .604 | Won Quarterfinals
Lost Semifinals | Pittsburgh 129, East Kentucky 121
Minot 2, Pittsburgh 0

## History

[edit]

### Pittsburgh Hardhats

[edit]

The Pittsburgh Hardhats were an American Basketball Association team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team was created by Joseph Dydek after he failed to start an NBA team in Pittsburgh. To his surprise, the "Hardhats" were not very financially stable[citation needed]. The team essentially existed on paper only, as it folded prior to the start of the season due to financial difficulties. The team was replaced October 12, 2004, by the Pennsylvania Pit Bulls, who competed in the 2004-2005 ABA season.[1]

### Pennsylvania Pit Bulls/Xplosion

[edit]

After the dissolution of the Hardhats, the Pennsylvania Pit Bulls were admitted to the ABA on October 12, 2004, to play in the 2004-2005 ABA season. They finished with an eight win-nine loss record, good for 7th place in the Blue Division, but not good enough to advance to postseason play. The team's first game (19 November 2004) was marred by the myocardial infarction-induced death of coach Tom Washington, who collapsed on court in the fourth quarter.[2][3] The game was suspended; assistant coach Pat Blue was tabbed to be the team's head coach for the remainder of the season.

The Pit Bulls played a majority of their home games at Penn State Greater Allegheny, but later moved to McKeesport High School.

For the 2005-2006 season, the Pit Bulls became the Pittsburgh Xplosion. The team finished league competition with an 18 win-11 loss record, good for second place in the Freddie Lewis Division of the ABA White Conference. The Xplosion were eliminated in the playoffs by the Bellingham Slam. The team subsequently left the ABA and entered the Continental Basketball Association, in which it continued to play as the Xplosion through the 2007-08 season.[4][5]

Former Pitt stars, Antonio Graves, John DeGroat, and Carl Krauser started on the 2008 season roster.

In the 2008 American Conference Finals, the Xplosion lost to the Minot SkyRockets. The SkyRockets won the first two out of three games in Minot, but ceased operations after the 2008 campaign. The Xplosion lasted a little longer, folding just prior to the start of the 2008-09 season, citing the economy.[6]

## See also

[edit]

* Sports portal

* Pittsburgh Phantoms

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Pennsylvania Pit Bulls replace Hardhats
2. ^ Pit Bulls' coach collapses, dies[permanent dead link‍] \- The Daily News (McKeesport, Pennsylvania), 20 November 2004
3. ^ Former Pitt star Page bumps into death again \- Shelly Anderson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 26 November 2004
4. ^ "Pittsburgh Xplosion join Continental Basketball Association - OurSports Central". www.oursportscentral.com. September 27, 2006. Retrieved 2017-11-25.
5. ^ Waldstein, David (2009-02-08). "Continental Basketball Association Confronts an Uncertain Future". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-11-25.
6. ^ Wilkin, Tim (2008-12-05). "Shaky CBA getting help from ABA". Albany Times Union. Retrieved 2009-02-02.[dead link‍]

## External links

[edit]

* Official Site[usurped]
* CBA League Site
* Point Park University teams up with Xplosion
* Finder, Chuck (3 October 2004). "Death of local ABA team leaves trail of debt, anger". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on 27 October 2005. Retrieved 14 February 2019.

* v
* t
* e

Sports in Pittsburgh

* Dapper Dan
* Grand Prix
* Great Race
* Head of the Ohio
* Lore
* Marathon
* Mylan Classic
* Regatta
* WPHL

Baseball|

* Pirates
* Wild Things
* Panthers
* Dukes

Basketball|

* Yellow Jackets
* Panthers (m)
* Panthers (w)
* Dukes (m)
* Dukes (w)
* Colonials (m)
* Colonials (w)

Football|

* Steelers
* Panthers
* Maulers
* Steeler Nation
* heritage
* Colts
* Force
* Passion
* Renegades

Hockey|

* Penguins
* Colonials (m)
* Colonials (w)
* Three Rivers Classic

Soccer|

* Riverhounds SC
* Riveters SC

Other|

* Sledgehammers
* Bulls
* Harlequins
* PCC
* Thunderbirds
* Triangles
* Wallabies
* Studio Wrestling
* Dirty Dozen

Venues|

* PPG Paints Arena
* Acrisure Stadium
* PNC Park
* Clearview Arena
* Fitzgerald Field House
* Highmark Stadium
* Joe Walton Stadium
* Petersen Events Center
* Petersen Sports Complex
* Rooney Field
* Trees Hall
* UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse
* UPMC Events Center

Historical|

| Baseball|

* Chronicle-Telegraph Cup
* Allegheny
* Burghers
* Champions
* Crawfords
* Filipinos
* Grays
* Hardhats
* Keystones
* Stogies
* Rebels

|

Basketball|

* Roundball Classic
* Condors
* Ironmen
* Loendi
* Monticello
* Morrys
* Phantoms
* Pipers
* Piranhas
* Pirates
* Rens
* Xplosion

Football|

* 1898 All-Stars
* Allegheny
* Americans
* Duquesne C&AC
* Gladiators
* Homestead
* Lyceum
* Maulers
* PAC
* Power
* Odds
* Olympics
* Quakers
* JP
* Stars
* Early Pro Football Circuit

Hockey|

* Bankers
* Cougars
* Duquesne AC
* Duquesne C&AC
* Ft. Pitt
* Hornets
* Keystones
* Lyceum
* PAC
* Phantoms
* Pirates
* Pirates (WPHL)
* Pros
* Shamrocks
* Victorias
* Winter Garden
* Yellow Jackets

Soccer|

* Beadling
* Cannons
* Hurricanes
* Phantoms
* Spirit

Venues|

* Central Park
* Civic Arena
* Duquesne Gardens
* Exposition Park
* Forbes Field
* Josh Gibson Field
* Greenlee Field
* Motor Square Garden
* Pitt Stadium
* Recreation Park
* Schenley Gardens
* Sewall Center
* Three Rivers
* Winter Garden

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template