Sports in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Fort Wayne, Indiana, is home to three minor league sports teams. These include the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA G League, and the Fort Wayne TinCaps of baseball's Midwest League.

Fort Wayne has also been home to three former professional 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 Base Ball Players (an early predecessor to the current MLB).

Intercollegiate sports in the city include Purdue Fort Wayne in the NCAA Division I Summit League as well as NAIA schools Indiana Tech and University of Saint Francis.

History
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum (top) and Parkview Field (bottom).

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
TeamSportCurrent LeagueEstablishedVenueChamp­ionships
Fort Wayne Derby GirlsRoller derbyWFTDA2005Memorial Coliseum0
Fort Wayne KometsIce hockeyECHL1952Memorial Coliseum9*
Fort Wayne Mad AntsBasketballNBA G League2007Memorial Coliseum1
Fort Wayne TinCapsBaseballMidwest League1993Parkview Field1
Fort Wayne FCSoccerNPSL2019Bishop Dwenger Field0

Former sports teams
Professional Sports in Fort Wayne
TeamSportLeagueExistenceVenueChamp­ionships
Fort Wayne CaseysBasketballAmerican Basketball League1925–19260
Fort Wayne DaisiesBaseballAll-American Girls Professional Baseball League1943–1954North Side High School
Memorial Park		0
Fort Wayne FeverSoccerPremier Development League2003–2009Hefner Stadium0
Fort Wayne FeverWomen's SoccerW-League2004–2009Hefner Stadium0
Fort Wayne FireHawksIndoor footballContinental Indoor Football League2010Allen County War Memorial Coliseum0
Fort Wayne FlamesSoccerAmerican Indoor Soccer Association1986–1989Allen County War Memorial Coliseum0
Fort Wayne FlashWomen's FootballWomen's Football Alliance2007–2011Woodlan Junior / Senior High School0
Fort Wayne FreedomIndoor footballContinental Indoor Football League2003–2006, 2008–2009Allen County War Memorial Coliseum0
Fort Wayne FriarsFootballIndependent1909–1917, 1920–1921League Park
Fort Wayne FuryBasketballContinental Basketball Association1991–2001Allen County War Memorial Coliseum0
Fort Wayne FusionArena footballaf22007Allen County War Memorial Coliseum0
Fort Wayne General ElectricsBasketballNational Basketball League1937–1938North Side High School Gym0
Fort Wayne HoosiersBasketballAmerican Basketball League1926–19310
Fort Wayne KekiongasBaseballNational Association of Professional Base Ball Players1871Kekionga Ball Grounds0
Fort Wayne PistonsBasketballNational Basketball League
National Basketball Association		1941–1948
1949–1957		North Side High School Gym
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum		2 (NBL)
0 (NBA)
Fort Wayne River City RhinosFootballMid Continental Football League1998–2001Zollner Stadium0
Fort Wayne SafariFootballIndoor Professional Football League2000–2002Allen County War Memorial Coliseum(never played)
Fort Wayne ScoutsHockeyContinental Hockey League1978–19790
Indiana KickSoccerAmerican Indoor Soccer Association1989–1990Allen County War Memorial Coliseum0
Fort Wayne WarriorsFootballContinental Football League1965Zollner Stadium0

Notable natives and former residents

Professional baseball
Manager of the Cleveland Indians from 2003–2009, Fort Wayne native Eric Wedge.

Professional basketball

Professional BMX
  • Barry McManus, BMX racer in 1980-'90s
  • Scott Yoquelet, BMX racer in 1990–2000s
  • Joey Marks, BMX dirt freestyle 1998–2010
  • Brian Doty, BMX racer 1980-'90s

Professional football
Pro Football Hall of Famer, native Rod Woodson.

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:[21]

  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

References
  1. (January 19, 2008). Fort Wayne Sports Moments Archived October 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. 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. NBA All-Star Games – Names and Numbers, Basketball Digest, March, 2002. Retrieved on May 16, 2008.
  5. U.S.S.S.A. National Tournament Archived May 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on May 16, 2008.
  6. NBA Dateline. Retrieved on February 2, 2008.
  7. Lakeland Ledger article
  8. http://wildcatbaseball.us/wildcatleaguehistory.html
  9. http://sportsillustrated.ca/vault/article/magazine/MAG1067140/index.htm
  10. "Fort Wayne's No. 1". Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
  11. Baseball-Reference.com – Major League Baseball Statistics and History
  12. All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players
  13. NBA.com: Historical Player Search
  14. Football Encyclopedia of Players – Pro-Football-Reference.com
  15. 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. Dale Purinton hockey statistics & profile at hockeydb.com
  18. "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". Sports Illustrated. May 2, 2003. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
  19. (February 27, 2007). More than Just a Game. Big Ten Basketball. Retrieved on June 11, 2009.
  20. http://www.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/player/8843.html
  21. News-Sentinel.com Archived December 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
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