The Quad City Thunder was a Continental Basketball Association franchise that was based in the

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of cities (originally four, see History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are t ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

and

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

. 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 Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Island ...

, first at

Wharton Field House Wharton Field House 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 t ...

before moving to the new MARK of the Quad Cities in 1993.

History

The Thunder first began play at the

, (former home of the NBA's

Tri-Cities Blackhawks Tri-Cities most often refers to: *Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States *Tri-Cities, Washington, United States Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-Cities may also refer to: Populated places Americas Canada *Tri-Cities (British Columbia), consisting of Co ...

) 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 Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, in 1953. Initially a great success in the CBA, the Thunder struggled with attendance towards the end of their existence, especially with competition from their co-tenants at the Mark, the

Quad City Mallards The Quad City Mallards were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in the Quad Cities area of Illinois and Iowa that competed in the International Hockey League, Central Hockey League and ECHL. They were named after the Mallards team ...

hockey team. During their existence, the franchise was owned by Anne Potter DeLong (1987-1997), Jay Gellerman (1997-1999), Isiah Thomas (1999-2000) and a Blind Trust (2000-2001). The Thunder folded when the CBA ceased operations following the 2000–01 season. 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.

Championship seasons

1993-1994

The 1993–1994 team went 34–22 under Dan Panaggio. They swept through the playoffs. They first defeated the

Rochester Renegade The Rochester Renegade (later Rochester Renegades) were a professional basketball team based in Rochester, Minnesota. They played 2 seasons in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), the defunct development league for the National Basketbal ...

s in overtime of a playoff play-in in Bismarck, N.D. They then defeated the

Grand Rapids Hoops The Grand Rapids Hoops were a basketball team that played in the Continental Basketball Association based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Their first season was in 1989 and their final season was in 2003. Professional basketball later returned to Grand ...

4–1 in best-of-seven second round; Defeated the

La Crosse Catbirds The La Crosse Catbirds was an American basketball team based in La Crosse, Wisconsin and member of the Continental Basketball Association. The Catbirds were the 1990 and 1992 CBA champions. The team moved to La Crosse from Louisville in 1985, an ...

4–0 in conference finals. Finally, the Thunder defeated the

Omaha Racers The Omaha Racers were an American minor league basketball team based in Omaha, Nebraska. The franchise played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1989 to 1997. The team's franchise liage started in 1982 as the Wisconsin Flyers. Th ...

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 Tate Claude George (born May 29, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the New Jersey Nets with the 22nd overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft from the University of Connecticut. A and guard, he played a ...

tied the game with last-second buckets at both the end of regulation and of the first overtime. The Thunder then lost 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 The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

. Other key players were Harold Ellis 21.4ppg, Tate George 16.4, Bobby Martin 13.6, Barry Mitchell 13.0,

Matt Fish Matthew Edward Fish (born November 18, 1969) is an American retired professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Miami Heat and Washingto ...

7.1RPG, Ashraf Amaya 6.9, and Cedric Henderson 6.1.Qcthunder.Com
/ref>

1997-1998

The 1997–98 Thunder finished 38–18 under Dan Panaggio. In the playoffs they swept the Swept La Crosse Catbirds in three games and defeated the

Rockford Lightning The Rockford Lightning was a basketball team that played in the Continental Basketball Association. They were based in Rockford, Illinois. History The Lightning were the oldest team in the CBA, originally existing as the Lancaster Red Roses fro ...

in five games. In the CBA Finals, they won a deciding seventh at home over the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team plays their home games in the Sanford Pentagon, a place they have call ...

to capture their second CBA Championship. Key players were:

Jimmy King Jimmy Hal King (born August 9, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. King played in the NBA and other leagues. He is most famous for his time spent on the famed University of Michigan Wolverines Fab Five along with Ray Ja ...

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 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

. The Thunder's mascot was

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

, the Norse god of thunder. Hall of Fame player

George Gervin George Gervin ( ; born April 27, 1952), nicknamed "the Iceman", is an American former professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Virginia Squires, ...

played for the Thunder in 1989–90.

Quad City Thunder Personnel

Franchise Coaches

* Mauro Panaggio 132-88 15-18 (1987-1991) * Dan Panaggio 313-191 41-30 (1991-2000) * Bob Thornton 8-13 (2000-2001) .

Thunder CBA Most Valuable Player

* 1992 Barry Mitchell * 1993 Derek Strong * 1998

* 2000 Jeff McInnisContinental Basketball Association - Hoopedia
/ref>

Thunder NBA Callups

1988-89 * Kevin Gamble, Boston * Bill Jones, New Jersey * Anthony Bowie, San Antonio *

Corey Gaines Corey Yasuto Gaines (born June 1, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He played five seasons in the NBA, and was a four-time Israeli Premier League Assists Leader, in 1999 and in 2001 to 2003. He was also a forme ...

, New Jersey * Barry Sumpter, L.A. Clippers 1989-90 *

Nate Johnston Nate Johnston (born December 18, 1966) is an American professional basketball player. He played briefly in the NBA for the Utah Jazz and the Portland Trail Blazers during the 1989–90 season. Johnston, a 6'8" forward, played collegiately at ...

, Portland, Utah * Kenny Gattison, Charlotte 1990-91 * A. J. Wynder, Boston * Tony Harris, Philadelphia 1991-92 * Steve Scheffler, Sacramento * Anthony Bowie, Orlando 1992-93 * Derek Strong, Milwaukee 1993-94 * Harold Ellis, L.A. Clippers * Morlon Wiley, Miami 1994-95 * Greg Sutton, Charlotte * Kevin Pritchard, Philadelphia, Miami *

Randolph Keys Randolph Keys (born April 19, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player who played five National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons in his career for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers and Milwauke ...

, Lakers, Milwaukee *

, Milwaukee 1995-96 * Kevin Pritchard, Washington 1996-97 * Joe Courtney, Philadelphia * Erick Strickland, Dallas * Rich Manning, L.A. Clippers *

, Denver * Matt Steigenga, Chicago 1997-98 * Litterial Green, Milwaukee * Willie Burton, San Antonio 1998-99 * J.R. Henderson, Vancouver * Jeff McInnis, Washington 1999-00 * Jeff McInnis, L.A. Clippers *

Maceo Baston Maceo Demond Baston (born May 29, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at the University of Michigan. At a playing height of , and a playing weight of , he played at the power forward position. ...

, Milwaukee * Jamel Thomas, Boston, Portland 2000-01 * John Coker, Golden State .

Quad City Thunder All-Time Roster

References

{{Reflist

External links

* http://www.qcthunder.com/ Defunct basketball teams in the United States Defunct sports teams in Illinois Defunct sports teams in Iowa Basketball teams in Illinois Basketball teams established in 1987 Basketball teams disestablished in 2001 1987 establishments in Illinois 2001 disestablishments in Illinois Moline, Illinois Rock Island County, Illinois Sports teams in the Quad Cities