The Quad City Thunder was a Continental Basketball Association (CBA) franchise that was based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa . They played in the CBA from the 1987–88 season until the CBA folded in 2001. The Thunder were successful on the court, capturing CBA championships in the 1993–94 and 1997–98 seasons, and runner-up in the 1990–91 season. The Thunder played in Moline, Illinois , first at Wharton Field House before moving to the new MARK of the Quad Cities in 1993.
24-809: The Thunder first began play at the Wharton Field House in Moline, Illinois , (former home of the NBA's Tri-Cities Blackhawks ) in the 1987–88 season, with 6,047 fans attending the first home game. The Thunder were the first professional basketball franchise in the Quad Cities since the Tri-Cities Blackhawks moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin , in 1953. Initially a great success in the CBA, the Thunder struggled with attendance towards
48-403: A facility is typically called a stadium . The use of one term over the other has mostly to do with the type of event. Football (be it association , rugby , gridiron , Australian rules , or Gaelic ) is typically played in a stadium, while basketball , volleyball , handball , and ice hockey are typically played in an arena, although many of the larger arenas hold more spectators than do
72-655: A major league in 1948. Don Otten was league MVP for the Blackkhawks in 1947–48. In 1950, Kerner drafted Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame player Bob Cousy in the 1st round (#4). Cousy was reportedly unhappy to go to a small market and demanded $ 10,000 to sign with the Blackhawks. Kerner countered with $ 6,000 and then sold Cousy to the Chicago Stags , which folded soon afterwards, ultimately resulting in Cousy being signed by
96-566: A new floor surface in 2015. The original floor had remained in place from 1928 until 1997, when it was first replaced. 7000 square feet of flooring was installed with mechanical ventilation. Wharton Field House was an early home to the team that is today's Atlanta Hawks , as well as a coaching stop of legendary coach Red Auerbach . Wharton Field House was home to the National Basketball League 's Tri-Cities Blackhawks from 1946 until 1951. Under owners Leo Ferris and Ben Kerner ,
120-531: Is a historic arena located at 1800 20th Avenue in Moline, Illinois . It opened in 1928 and was home to the NBA 's Tri-Cities Blackhawks , today's Atlanta Hawks , from 1946 to 1951. It has hosted professional teams, high school teams, concerts, and other events in its history. The approximately 7,000 seat Field House is adjacent to Browning Field , which has served as a baseball, football and track venue. Today, both Wharton Field House and Browing Field continue to serve as
144-476: Is also the sport of indoor American football (one variant of which is explicitly known as arena football), a variant of the outdoor game that is designed for the usual smaller playing surface of most arenas; variants of other traditionally outdoor sports, including box lacrosse as well as futsal and indoor soccer , also exist. The term "arena" is also used loosely to refer to any event or type of event which either literally or metaphorically takes place in such
168-534: Is that the event space is the lowest point, allowing maximum visibility. Arenas are usually designed to accommodate a multitude of spectators. The word derives from Latin harena , a particularly fine-grained sand that covered the floor of ancient arenas such as the Colosseum in Rome , Italy, to absorb blood. The term arena is sometimes used as a synonym for a very large venue such as Pasadena's Rose Bowl , but such
192-653: The Boston Celtics in 1951–52. In Boston, Auerbach coached the Celtics to nine NBA titles, won 938 games and coached numerous Hall of Fame players. Auerbach later served as Boston's general manager, (drafting Larry Bird , Kevin McHale and others) building seven more NBA championship teams. Auerbach's 28–29 record with the Blackhawks was the only losing season and non-playoff season of his 20-year coaching career. Wharton would serve as home to another professional basketball team, as
216-602: The Grand Rapids Hoops 4–1 in best-of-seven second round; Defeated the La Crosse Catbirds 4–0 in conference finals. Finally, the Thunder defeated the Omaha Racers 4–1, winning last three on road to claim franchise’s first league title. The Thunder won the opener in double overtime after Tate George tied the game with last-second buckets at both the end of regulation and of the first overtime. The Thunder then lost
240-641: The Quad City Thunder of the CBA played at Wharton Field House from 1987 until 1993. In 1993 the Thunder moved to the new MARK of the Quad Cities (now known as the TaxSlayer Center) in downtown Moline. Various future and past NBA players had tenure with the Thunder at Wharton, including Hall of Fame player George Gervin . and Illini great Kenny Battle. Local players Brent Carmichael (United Township), Tony Karasek (United Township), Troy Muilenberg (Davenport West), and Blake Wortham (Rock Island) all played for
264-627: The Boston Celtics. Cousy would play in 13 consecutive All-Star games, win MVP honors in 1957 and play point guard on six championship Celtic teams. After a 24–44 season in 1950–51, Kerner relocated the franchise to a larger market and the team became the Milwaukee Hawks . Two-time NBA All-Star Frankie Brian was the leading scorer on the 1950–51 Hawks during their last season in Moline. Eventually Kerner moved
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#1732858820516288-537: The Comets , The Kingston Trio , Martin and Lewis , and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra . Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre , musical performances , and/or sporting events . It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators, and may be covered by a roof. The key feature of an arena
312-612: The December 13, 1989 matchup against his brother Derrick Gervin and his Santa Barbara team. In that game, George scored 43 points and Derrick 39 in a Thunder record 172-122 victory. In 1992, history was made when, for the first time in the 45-year history of U.S. professional basketball, a father and son opposed one another as head coaches. Former Thunder Coach Mauro Panaggio went head to head against son Dan Panaggio when Mauro's Rockford Lightning played Dan's Quad City Thunder. From 2002-04 five former Thunder players/coaches/staffers were with
336-549: The Milwaukee Hawks to St. Louis in 1955. The Hawks would eventually settle in Atlanta in 1968 when Kerner sold the franchise. Local Moline High School basketball coach Roger Potter coached the Blackhawks briefly before being replaced by Red Auerbach. Auerbach was hired by Ben Kerner as head coach for the Blackhawks in 1949, but quit when he discovered that Kerner had traded a player without consulting him. Auerbach became Coach of
360-423: The NBA's Portland Trail Blazers simultaneously. Jeff McInnis (player), Maurice Cheeks (Head Coach), Dan Panaggio (assistant coach), Dave Cohen (Director of Sales) and Joe Bivona (Director of Game Operations). 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999-00 2000–01 Wharton Field House Wharton Field House
384-846: The Thunder during the Wharton era. Wharton Field House is the current and longtime home of the Moline Maroons basketball and volleyball teams. Moline High School is a member of the Western Big 6 Conference . The Moline High School graduation ceremony is held at Wharton Field House. Wharton Field House and Browning Field were the subject of a 2013 book A Century of Players, Performers, and Pageants: Wharton Field House and Browning Field, Moline, Illinois , by Curtis C. Roseman and Diann Moore. Entertainers: Gene Autry , Chuck Berry (1972), Jack Benny , Blue Öyster Cult (1972), Victor Borge , The Byrds (1969), Johnny Cash , Patsy Cline , Bill Haley and
408-628: The end of their existence, especially with competition from their co-tenants at the Mark, the Quad City Mallards hockey team. The Thunder folded when the CBA ceased operations following the 2000–01 season. The 1993–1994 team went 34–22 under Dan Panaggio. They swept through the playoffs. They first defeated the Rochester Renegades in overtime of a playoff play-in in Bismarck, N.D. They then defeated
432-599: The franchise started in 1946 as the Buffalo Bisons , before relocating mid-season to the Tri-Cities (now called Quad Cities ) area after only 13 total games. The NBL merged with the Basketball Association of America to form the NBA in 1949. Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame player William Pop Gates was on the 1946–47 Blackhawks, helping to integrate the league. Gates would become the first African-American coach in
456-676: The home for Moline High School athletic teams. In 2004, USA Today named Wharton Field House one of the top places to watch high school basketball. The building is named for Theodore Finley Wharton. In the 1920s, Wharton was President of the Moline High School Athletic Booster Club and organized a group, the Maroon and White Association, to raise funds for construction of a field house. The field house would be adjacent to Browning Field (opened 1912) and host Moline Maroon teams. The Maroon and White Association eventually raised
480-427: The necessary total of $ 175,000, aided by the sale of 620 $ 50 bonds, 100 $ 100 bonds and numerous bonds of higher value. The building was designed by local architect William Schulzke and completed in 1928. Originally named Moline Field House, it was renamed after Wharton in 1941. The facility opened with a basketball game between Moline High School and Kewanee High School on December 21, 1928. The facility received
504-733: The playoffs they swept the La Crosse Catbirds in three games and defeated the Rockford Lightning in five games. In the CBA Finals, they won a deciding seventh at home over the Sioux Falls Skyforce to capture their second CBA Championship. Key players were: Jimmy King 16.4ppg, Jeff McInnis 14.9ppg, Alvin Sims 13.6ppg, Doug Smith 12.8ppg, Willie Burton 11.6, Byron Houston 8.7Rpg, and Barry Sumpter . King won league MVP, McInnis
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#1732858820516528-647: The second game in triple overtime, but won three straight in Omaha, the last in overtime. Chris Childs averaged 17.4 points and 8.5 assists in the playoffs, was the Finals MVP and went on to the National Basketball Association . Other key players were Harold Ellis 21.4ppg, Tate George 16.4, Bobby Martin 13.6, Barry Mitchell 13.0, Matt Fish 7.1RPG, Ashraf Amaya 6.9, and Cedric Henderson 6.1. The 1997–98 Thunder finished 38–18 under Dan Panaggio. In
552-527: The stadiums of smaller colleges or high schools. There are exceptions. The home of the Duke University men's and women's basketball teams would qualify as an arena, but the facility is called Cameron Indoor Stadium . Domed stadiums, which, like arenas, are enclosed but have the larger playing surfaces and seating capacities found in stadiums, are generally not referred to as arenas in North America. There
576-571: Was Newcomer of the Year, Sims became the Thunder’s first Rookie of the Year and Dan Panaggio won his second Coach of the Year award. The Thunder and their fans enjoyed a spirited rivalry with the Rockford Lightning . The Thunder's mascot was Thor , the Norse god of thunder. Hall of Fame player George Gervin played for the Thunder during the 1989–90 season in a brief comeback attempt. His tenure highlighted by
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