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Team and League History

November 23, 2018
The Women's Basketball Development Association announces that Birmingham will be an inaugural franchise in 2019.

The league is scheduled to being play in late April or early May.

The local team's name will be the Birmingham Queens. No announcement was made regarding who owns the team or where games will be played.

While the league's name is new, the organization is basically a continuation of the Women's Blue-Chip Basketball League. The WBCBL was founded in 2004 by Willie McCray as a showcase for women to land jobs in the Women's National Basketball Association and other professional leagues. The league's first season was in 2005.

Against the odds, the WBCBL has survived over the years. Last year, the WBCBL had 37 teams, spread across the nation.

In 2017, Birmingham had a team in the WBCBL, the Alabama Reign. The Reign only played one season.

The new league was announced on September 24th and is owned by William Kelly, who also owns the Grand Rapids Galaxy.

Kelly said the new league would "continue the success and history of the original women’s basketball development league, while adding value and support to team owners and players. There are a ton of colleges across the county with thousands of women players graduating every year that are looking for opportunities to continue playing and go pro. We are here to provide those opportunities and be a bridge between college and the professional level."

Kelly is excited for his league's potential. "I'm hoping to increase the number of players we send pro every year. I also look for the WBDA to be a dominant factor in women's basketball."

December 17, 2018
Gibril Davies announces he is the owner of the Birmingham Queens. Davies is the CEO of the Olympus Group and is very active in local politics. He is also the director of media and branding for the league.

"I started the Birmingham Queens organization because I felt Birmingham was the perfect market for a women's pro development team. I'm going to create opportunities for women on and off the court while building relationships with our state institutions. Our goal is to provide a family friendly environment and second chance for players from Alabama to go pro," Davies said.

A part owner of the Queens is Kimberly Meadows Clark, who owns the local men's basketball team the Magic City Surge. The Surge are members of the American Basketball Association.

April 2019
At some point during the month, the Birmingham Queens were renamed the Birmingham Legends.

No official league or team announcement was made.

The Legends are now owned by Courtney Billingsley.

		2019                      Women's Basketball Development Association
xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx
	AS1 Hoops		Atlanta Monarchs		Baltimore Lions		Birmingham Legends		Canton Storm
	Chicago Lady Rage		Cleveland Crush		Dade County Lady Bulls		Dallas Crest		Detroit Dodgers
	Finesse Flight		Fort Myers Bobcats		Grand Rapids Galaxy		Greensboro Havoc		Jacksonville Lady Panthers
	Kansas City Heirs		Killeen Force		Lake Erie Strive		Las Tucson Sol		Las Vegas Gems
	Milwaukee Aces		New Jersey Sting		Oakland Rise		Orlando Boom		Philadelphia Reign
	Phoenix Lady Elite 1		Riviera Beach Heatwave		Shreveport-Bossier Lady Knights		Southern California Splash		Toledo Threat
	Twin Cities Queens Elite

2019   Women's Basketball Development Association
Eastern Division	Western Division
Atlanta Monarchs	AS1 Hoops (Mexico)
Baltimore Lions	Birmingham Legends
Canton Storm	Chicago Lady Rage
Cleveland Crush	Dallas Crest
Dade County Lady Bulls	Finesse Flight
Detroit Dodgers	Grand Rapids Galaxy
Fort Myers Bobcats	Kansas City Heirs
Greensboro Havoc	Killeen Force
Jacksonville Lady Panthers	Las Tucson Sol
Lake Erie Strive	Las Vegas Gems
New Jersey Sting	Milwaukee Aces
Orlando Boom	Oakland Rise
Philadelphia Reign	Phoenix Lady Elite 1
Riviera Beach Heatwave	Shreveport-Bossier Lady Knights
Toledo Threat	Southern California Splash
	Twin Cities Queens Elite

July 25, 2019
The Birmingham Legends end their inaugural season with five forfeits, leaving them with a 2-7 record.

No reason is given by the team, or league, for the forfeits.

February 2020
The Women's Basketball Development Association acknowledge the Legends would not return for a second season. The league says they hope to field a new team in Birmingham at some point in the future.

May 6, 2021
The Birmingham Legends are again listed as an active team on the Women's Basketball Development Association's website.

It appears the team is still owned by Courtney Billingsley.

Epilogue
In the end, the Birmingham Legends simply faded away, presumably because of funding limitations.

Champions of the   Women's Basketball Development Association
Year	Team
2019	Orlando Boom
2020	Season cancelled: COVID-19
2021	Southwest Desert Lynx
2022	Orlando Boom

	Years local team participated

		Teams of the                      Women's Basketball Development Association
xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx
	AS1 Hoops 2019; 2022		Atlanta Monarchs 2019		Baltimore Lions 2019		Birmingham Legends 2019		Canton Storm 2019
	Chicago Lady Rage 2019		Cleveland Crush 2019		Dade County Lady Bulls 2019		Dallas Crest 2019		Decatur Dynasty 2022
	Denver Dynasty 2021		Detroit Dodgers 2019		Finesse Flight 2019		Fort Myers Bobcats 2019		Grand Rapids Galaxy 2019; 2021
	Greensboro Havoc 2019		Houston Sparks 2022		Indiana Blaze 2022		Jacksonville Lady Panthers 2019		Kansas City Heirs 2019; 2021
	Killeen Force 2019; 2021		Lady Instinct 2022		Lady Patriots 2022		Lake Erie Strive 2019		Las Tucson Sol 2019
	Las Vegas Gems 2019; 2021		Maryland Jewels 2022		Midwest Lady Falcons 2021		Mile High Monarchs 2021		Milwaukee Aces 2019
	Mississippi Lady Lakers 2022		Mississippi Magnolias 2021		New Jersey Sting 2019		Oakland Rise 2019		Orlando Boom 2019; 2021 to 2022
	Philadelphia Reign 2019		Phoenix Lady Elite 1 2019; 2021		Riviera Beach Heatwave 2019; 2021 to 2022		Shreveport-Bossier Lady Knights 2019; 2021 to 2022		Southern California Splash 2019
	Southwest Desert Lynx 2021		Toledo Threat 2019		Triad Reign 2022		Twin Cities Queens Elite 2019

Contact Gene Crowley
Last update: March 10, 2024