MD Sports Venture Folds After Coronavirus Cancels Expansion

MARYLAND — John Wolfe started planning his basketball venture about 10 years ago. In 2011, his dream came true. He started a minor league team called the Bay Area/Baltimore Shuckers.

The semi-professional squad played its home games in Severn at the Annapolis Area Christian School. After five seasons in the shuttered American Professional Basketball League and another three in the Central Basketball Association, Wolfe looked to expand.

He hoped to start his own league, dubbed Maryland 3x3 Basketball. The three-verus-three association was slated to tipoff this spring, but the ongoing coronavirus pandemic thwarted those plans.

"Although we are a basketball organization, at the heart of it, we are a small business," Commissioner Wolfe said in a statement.

Wolfe announced Monday afternoon that he closed his Pasadena business, named Bay Area Sports. The Shuckers and Maryland 3x3 Basketball also shut down, noting that it would be a while before large sporting events were safe.

The Maryland man cherished that family-friendly environment that "entertained thousands of fans." He was proud of his platform, which springboarded players and dancers to the next level.

"It is a sad day," Wolfe said, thanking his fans, staff and sponsors. "The pandemic killed those efforts."

Like what you're reading? Invite a friend to subscribe to free Annapolis newsletters and real-time email alerts.

Have a story idea? Please contact me at jacob.baumgart@patch.com with any pitches, tips or questions. Follow me on Twitter @JacobBaumgart and on Facebook @JacobBaumgartJournalist to stay up-to-date with the latest Anne Arundel County and Prince George's County news.