Thames Valley Tigers
| Thames Valley Tigers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| League | British Basketball League | |||
| Established | 1975 | |||
| Folded | 2005 | |||
| History | Southern Pirates 1975 Guildford Pirates 1975–1979 Team Talbot, Guildford 1979–1982 Bracknell Pirates 1982–1987 Bracknell Tigers 1987–1990 Thames Valley Tigers 1990–2005 | |||
| Location | Bracknell, Berkshire | |||
| Team colors | Orange, Marine Blue. Turquoise blue and white | |||
| Ownership | John Nike | |||
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Thames Valley Tigers was a British professional
Franchise history
The franchise originally started out as the Southern Pirates, playing out of the city of Portsmouth, however they were soon moved inland in 1975 to the town of Guildford, following their coach, Brian Naysmith who had been appointed Director of Sport at the University of Surrey. The name Southern Pirates was retained at first before being renamed Guildford Pirates. In the 1978–79 season Guildford Pirates were champions of the Second Division of the National Basketball League and accepted an invitation to join the top tier. Known as Team Talbot Guildford Pirates following a sponsorship deal, the franchise spent three seasons in Guildford. The team struggled in NBL Division 1, although they improved each year. The Junior (U-18) Men were more successful winning the National (U-18) Cup.
In 1982, the Pirates moved again to nearby
Immediately a
Honours
(All achieved as Thames Valley Tigers unless otherwise stated):
Senior Men
- BBL League Champions: 1993–94
- Runner Up: 1991–92, 1992–93, 1994–95, 1999–00 (South)
- BBL Play-offs Runner Up: 1991–92, 1992–93, 1997–98, 1998–99
- National Cup Winners: 1988–89 (as Bracknell Tigers) 1997–98
- Runner Up: 1991–92, 1993–94, 1994–95
- BBL National Trophy Winners: 1988–89 (as Bracknell Tigers), 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95
- English National League Division 2 Champions: 1978–79 (as Guildford Pirates)
Junior (Under-18) Men
- National Cup Winners: 1981–82 (as Team Talbot Guildford Pirates)
- National Under-18 League Play-offs Runner Up: 1981–82 (as Team Talbot Guildford Pirates)
Individual Honours
- Mick Bett - BBL Coach of the Year: 1992–93 and 1993–94
- Nigel Lloyd - BBL MVP: 1993–94
Season by season
| Season | League | Played | Won | Lost | % | Position | Play-offs | Cup | Trophy |
| TEAM TALBOT GUILDFORD PIRATES | |||||||||
| 1979–80 | NBL Div1 | 18 | 2 | 16 | .111 | 10th (10) | DNQ | R1 | |
| 1980–81 | NBL Div1 | 18 | 3 | 15 | .167 | 10th (10) | DNQ | Q-Final | |
| 1981–82 | NBL Div1 | 22 | 6 | 16 | .273 | 10th (12) | DNQ | R2 | |
| BRACKNELL PIRATES (aka HAPPY EATER BRACKNELL PIRATES) | |||||||||
| 1982–83 | NBL Div1 | 24 | 3 | 21 | .125 | 12th (13) | DNQ | R1 | |
| 1983–84 | NBL Div1 | 36 | 23 | 13 | .639 | 4th (13) | S-Final | R2 | |
| 1984–85 | NBL Div1 | 26 | 12 | 14 | .462 | 8th (14) | Q-Final | R1 | |
| 1985–86 | NBL Div1 | 28 | 11 | 17 | .393 | 12th (15) | DNQ | R2 | |
| 1986–87 | NBL Div1 | 24 | 11 | 13 | .458 | 6th (13) | Q-Final | Q-Final | |
| BRACKNELL TIGERS | |||||||||
| 1987–88 | BBL | 28 | 17 | 11 | .607 | 6th (15) | Q-Final | R2 | (group) |
| 1988–89 | BBL | 20 | 15 | 5 | .750 | 3rd (11) | S-Final | Winner | Winner |
| 1989–90 | BBL | 28 | 20 | 8 | .714 | 4th (8) | S-Final | S-Final | S-Final |
| THAMES VALLEY TIGERS | |||||||||
| 1990–91 | BBL | 24 | 14 | 10 | .583 | 3rd (9) | S-Final | S-Final | S-Final |
| 1991–92 | BBL | 30 | 25 | 5 | .833 | 2nd (11) | Finalist | Finalist | (group) |
| 1992–93 | BBL | 33 | 28 | 5 | .848 | 2nd (11) | Finalist | S-Final | Winner |
| 1993–94 | BBL | 36 | 31 | 5 | .861 | 1st (13) | Q-Final | Finalist | Winner |
| 1994–95 | BBL | 36 | 28 | 8 | .777 | 2nd (15) | Q-Final | Finalist | Winner |
| 1995–96 | BBL | 36 | 16 | 20 | .444 | 8th (13) | Q-Final | Q-Final | Q-Final |
| 1996–97 | BBL | 36 | 14 | 22 | .388 | 10th (13) | DNQ | Q-Final | Q-Final |
| 1997–98 | BBL | 36 | 24 | 12 | .667 | 5th (13) | Finalist | Winner | Q-Final |
| 1998–99 | BBL | 36 | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4th (13) | Finalist | S-Final | (group) |
| 1999–00 | BBL South | 34 | 18 | 16 | .529 | 2nd (6) | Q-Final | Last 16 | S-Final |
| 2000–01 | BBL South | 34 | 14 | 20 | .412 | 5th (6) | DNQ | S-Final | S-Final |
| 2001–02 | BBL South | 32 | 14 | 18 | .438 | 6th (6) | DNQ | S-Final | Q-Final |
| 2002–03 | BBL | 40 | 26 | 14 | .650 | 4th (11) | Q-Final | S-Final | (group) |
| 2003–04 | BBL | 36 | 18 | 18 | .500 | 7th (10) | Q-Final | S-Final | (group) |
| 2004–05 | BBL | 40 | 16 | 22 | .400 | 7th (11) | Q-Final | Q-Final | (group) |
See also
- Bracknell Bees
- British Basketball League
- Guildford Heat
Notes
- ^ BBC Sport (11 April 2005). "Backer Nike quits Bees and Tigers". BBC. Retrieved 2 December 2006.
- ^ BBC Sport (1 July 2005). "Tigers fans fail to secure deal". BBC. Retrieved 2 December 2006.