Sports in Fort Wayne, Indiana explained

Fort Wayne, Indiana, is home to several sports teams. These include the NBA's Fort Wayne Pistons (now in Detroit), the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, and the Fort Wayne Kekiongas of the National Association of Professional Baseball

History

Fort Wayne has been home to a few sports firsts. On June 2, 1883, Fort Wayne hosted the Quincy Professionals for one of the first lighted baseball games ever recorded.[1] [2] Fort Wayne has been credited for being the birthplace of the NBA when Fort Wayne Pistons owner Fred Zollner brokered the merger of the BAA and the NBL in 1949 from his kitchen table.[1] [3] Also, on March 10, 1961, Wilt Chamberlain became the first player in the NBA to reach 3,000 points in a single season while competing at Memorial Coliseum.[1]

Fort Wayne hosted two NBA Finals Games in 1955 and 1956, as well as the third city to host the NBA All-Star Game in 1953.[4] The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum was also venue to the 2000 NCAA Men's Division I Volleyball Championship matches, in addition to hosting the 2000, 2001, and 2002 Mid-Continent Conference men's basketball tournaments. Fort Wayne also annually hosts the U.S.S.S.A. National and Boys State Championships, held at Spiece Fieldhouse.[5]

On November 22, 1950, the Fort Wayne Pistons defeated the Minneapolis Lakers with a final score of 19 to 18 in the lowest scoring game in NBA history.[6]

Fort Wayne hosted another major league team in a Big Four sport, the Fort Wayne Kekiongas of the National Association. The National Association was the first professional baseball league and the forerunner of the National League; it is sometimes considered to have been a major league, and sometimes not. The Kekiongas were a founding member of the national association (in 1871), and played and won the first National Association game, but disbanded partway through the 1871 season.

Wildcat Baseball League was a baseball league in Fort Wayne formed by Dale McMillen in April 1960 as an alternative to Little League Baseball.[7] [8] [9] Fort Wayne was rated the "Best Place in the Country for Minor League Sports" in a 2007 issue of Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal.[10]

Current sports teams

+ Professional Sports in Fort Wayne
Team Sport Current League Established Venue Championships
2005 0
1952 10
Baseball 1993 1
2019 0

Former sports teams

+ Professional Sports in Fort Wayne
Team Sport League Existence Venue Championships
Basketball 1925–1926 0
Baseball 1917–1935 League Park 2
Baseball 1943–1954 North Side High School
Memorial Park 		0
Soccer 2003–2009 0
2004–2009 Hefner Stadium 0
2010 0
Soccer 1986–1989 Allen County War Memorial Coliseum 0
2007–2011 Woodlan Junior / Senior High School 0
2003–2006, 2008–2009 Allen County War Memorial Coliseum 0
Football Independent 1909–1917, 1920–1921 League Park
Basketball 1991–2001 Allen County War Memorial Coliseum 0
2007 Allen County War Memorial Coliseum 0
Fort Wayne General Electrics Basketball 1937–1938 0
Basketball American Basketball League 1926–1931 0
Baseball 1896–1900League Park 1
Baseball 1871 0
Basketball 2007–2023 1
Basketball 1941–1948
1949–1957 		North Side High School Gym
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum 		2 (NBL)
0 (NBA)
Baseball 1901–1914 League Park4
Fort Wayne River City Rhinos Football Mid Continental Football League 1998–2001 Zollner Stadium0
Football 2000–2002 Allen County War Memorial Coliseum (never played)
Hockey Continental Hockey League1978–1979 0
Soccer American Indoor Soccer Association 1989–1990 Allen County War Memorial Coliseum 0
Fort Wayne Warriors Football Continental Football League 1965 Zollner Stadium 0

Notable natives and former residents

Athletes

Professional baseball

Professional basketball

Professional BMX

Professional football

Professional golf

Professional hockey

Martial arts

Professional soccer

Olympic swimming and diving

Olympic track and field

Professional volleyball

Other notable individuals

Northeast Indiana's Top 50 Athletes

The News-Sentinel's Northeast Indiana's Top 50 Athletes of the 20th century are:[23]

  1. Rod Woodson
  2. Johnny Bright
  3. George Yardley
  4. Everett Scott
  5. Len Thornson
  6. Bobby McDermott
  7. Don Lash
  8. DeDee Nathan
  9. Lloy Ball
  10. Cathy Gerring
  11. Bill Kratzert
  12. Matt Vogel
  13. Sharon (Wichman) Jones
  14. Emil Sitko
  15. Eugene "Bubbles" Hargrave
  16. Dottie Wiltse Collins
  17. Willie Long
  18. Ivan Acosta
  19. Eddie Long
  20. Paul "Curly" Armstrong
  21. Bill Wambsganss
  22. MaChelle Joseph
  23. Steve Hargan
  24. Henry James
  25. Gene Hartley
  26. Bill West
  27. Bernie Kampschmidt
  28. Joanne Weaver
  29. Herm Schaefer
  30. Lionel Repka
  31. Vaughn Dunbar
  32. Walter Jordan
  33. Bruce Miller
  34. Lashanda Harper
  35. Nel Fettig
  36. Terry Pembroke
  37. Steve Platt
  38. Tom Beerman
  39. Cathey Tyree
  40. Jason Fabini
  41. Tiffany Gooden
  42. Lamar Smith
  43. Leslie Johnson
  44. Tom Bolyard
  45. Roosevelt Barnes
  46. Conan Myers
  47. Lee Ann Reed
  48. Tom Kelley
  49. Mike Augustyniak
  50. Colin Chin

See also

Notes and References

  1. (January 19, 2008). Fort Wayne Sports Moments . The News-Sentinel. Retrieved on June 11, 2009.
  2. Miklich, Eric, Night Baseball in the 19th century. Retrieved on May 16, 2008.
  3. Rushin, Steve, (February 5, 2007). Storming The Fort (wayne). Sports Illustrated. Retrieved on May 16, 2008.
  4. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCJ/is_5_29/ai_83446830 NBA All-Star Games – Names and Numbers
  5. http://www.gymratsbasketball.com/usssa_national_tournament.php U.S.S.S.A. National Tournament
  6. http://nbahoopsonline.com/History/NBAdateline.html NBA Dateline
  7. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19621005&id=k7tNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3Q4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=7165,453749 Lakeland Ledger article
  8. Web site: Home.
  9. Web site: Sports Illustrated .
  10. Web site: Fort Wayne's No. 1 . Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal . May 16, 2008.
  11. https://www.baseball-reference.com Baseball-Reference.com – Major League Baseball Statistics and History
  12. http://www.aagpbl.org/players/index.cfm?do=player.details&playerid=2 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players
  13. http://www.nba.com/historical/playerfile/index.html NBA.com: Historical Player Search
  14. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/ Football Encyclopedia of Players – Pro-Football-Reference.com
  15. http://www.cfhof.ca/members/johnny-bright/ Canadian Football Hall of Fame – Johnny Bright
  16. Sebring, Blake, (June 6, 2009). Duke star, Fort Wayne native ready for Red Coat. "The News-Sentinel". Retrieved on June 10, 2009.
  17. Web site: Drake Batherson at eliteprospects.com . 2024-01-29 . www.eliteprospects.com . en.
  18. Web site: Fred Knipscheer at eliteprospects.com . 2024-01-29 . www.eliteprospects.com . en.
  19. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=28491 Dale Purinton hockey statistics & profile at hockeydb.com
  20. Sports Illustrated . May 2, 2003 . New World Order: After years of battling for fair opportunities, people of color are finally running the show (in some places) and driving the economics in sports . June 11, 2009.
  21. (February 27, 2007). More than Just a Game . Big Ten Basketball. Retrieved on June 11, 2009.
  22. Web site: Jessie G. Lopez. ESPNscrum.
  23. http://fwnextweb1.fortwayne.com/ns/sports/top50/ News-Sentinel.com

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