Lambda Basketball League
Lambda Basketball League was founded in 1990, following Gay Games III held in Vancouver, Canada. The three teams that participated returned to Los Angeles and formed the Lambda Basketball League.
Founders 1990
- Thorn Edwards
- Martin Rodrigu
- Mark Chambers'''1
The teams that competed in Gay Games III from the Los Angeles area were
- LA Motion
- LA Quake (AKA LA Heat)
- Long Beach Lancers2 (aka Rebels)the Silver Medal winners .
The creation of Lambda Basketball brought the first GLBT basketball league to Southern California and produced two of the premier travel teams in the country, Los Angeles Heat and Long Beach Rebels.
In 1991 Chicago hosted the first National Gay Basketball Championships, founded by Samuel Coady 3. In 1991 Lambda Basketball was represented in Chicago by a mix of players that won the Championship beating the San Fransisco Pacers. In 1992 and 1993 the Long Beach Rebels won the Championship.
Between 1991 and 1993 Lambda Basketball expanded to over 40 members and had a league of four (4) teams, but also during this time the league began suffered great loses between due to HIV related deaths.
In 1994 Lambda Basketball was represented at Gay Games IV in New York City by the LA Heat and the Long Beach Rebels. The Long Beach Rebels won the Gold Medal in a rematch of the 1990 gay games championship against the San Fransisco Pacers.
For 20 years, the LBL has been creating an environment where gay men and women can play basketball without fear of taunting or discrimination. The Long Beach Rebels of the LBL have reached the final round of the Gay Games an unmatched four times, winning one gold and three silver medals. The L.A. Heat, also of the LBL, won gold at the Sydney Games while the Rebels took silver.(By S. Wentworth4
Member of The National Gay Basketball Association