Late 1950s to early 1960s Long Beach (CA) Flying Wheels durene knit, made by Rawlings. Worn by John Cheves. National Wheelchair Basketball Association.
The Long Beach Flying Wheels are the original Men's Wheelchair Basketball Team of the Western USA. They were founded by Robert Rynearson, an original wheelchair-sports innovator from La Jolla, Calif. In 1946, Rynearson, while working as the athletic director at the Birmingham VA Hospital in Van Nuys, California, began to explore the idea of adapting various sports activities to create opportunities for World War II Veterans with spinal-cord injuries. Rynearson himself was a prolific high-school basketball player in Southern California and went on to play for the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins. Basketball was his favorite sport, and he tested, wrote, and published adaptations of rules that successfully enabled patients to compete in wheelchairs. These were known as the “Western Rules.” Rynearson’s passion for basketball and his commitment to veterans inspired him to introduce wheelchair basketball at other VA and Army/Navy hospitals. In 1947, Rynearson went on to be instrumental in conducting a national wheelchair-basketball tournament for VA hospital squads known as “paraplegic” teams. He negotiated a compromise between “Eastern” rules that the VA hospital teams on the East Coast developed and the “Western” version. Up until then teams used one set of rules in the first half of games and the other set in the second half. In addition, Rynearson helped organize the first chartered plane tour that flew the Birmingham VA team to the East. The squad later adopted the “Flying Wheels” name and continued the annual tours, introducing wheelchair basketball around the country.
The VA paraplegic teams became obsolete in 1948 with the formation of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA), which included civilians with other disabilities as well as paraplegics. In 1950, the Birmingham VA was relocated to Long Beach, California. It was at this time that Rynearson’s team joined the NWBA and took on the moniker of the Long Beach Flying Wheels. Coach Rynearson guided the Flying Wheels to their first NWBA championship (1955) at Chanute Air Force Base, ILL. They then won the title again in 1958. The pinnacle of the Flying Wheels storied career was when they went on to garner an unprecedented five straight NWBA titles (1960-64). Rynearson’s colleague, Russ Churchman (NWBA Hall of Fame, 1975), coached the team during those championship years, but he always credited Rynearson’s leadership for the team’s success in its formative years. In 1975, Rynearson received the Paralyzed Veteran’s of America coveted “Speedy Award,” the organization’s highest honor. He was recognized for his contribution to the field of paraplegia, especially for his pioneering work in wheelchair sports and recreation. He was inducted into the NWBA Hall of Fame in 1977. In conclusion, it was Rynearson’s dedication and efforts to wheelchair sports which laid the foundation for its success today.
