Yesterday in La Crosse
When the Catbirds and Bobcats ruled downtown La Crosse
La Crosse basketball fans all remember the names Stephen Jackson, Mark Davis, Vince “The Prince” Hamilton and Flip Saunders.
They were part of the show that were the La Crosse Catbirds and Bobcats in the 1980s and 1990s at the La Crosse Center in the heyday of the CBA (Continental Basketball Association).
The Center has hosted a ton of conventions and concerts since it opened in 1980, but for over a decade, the arena was pulling in 4,000 fans a game to watch basketball and eat free pizza.
Starting in 1985, La Crosse brought in the Catbirds, it’s whacky bird mascot that was a fan favorite and the Center even featured free pizza at halftime some games.
Local businessmen D.B. Reinhart and Norm Gillette bought the Louisville franchise and brought it to La Crosse. It was a success from the start.
Though the Catbirds finished their first season here with just a .500 record, they still reached the championship under coach Ron Ekker.
They averaged more than 4,000 fans per game those first five seasons.
Saunders began coaching the Catbirds in 1989. A year later, they had a CBA title. In 1992, they won it again under Saunders, who went on to become one of the most respected NBA coaches — leading teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards.
Both Catbird championships came against Rapid City.
In 1994, the team left for Pittsburgh. But La Crosse didn’t leave the CBA for long. The Chicago Rockers were brought to the Coulee Region in 1996, and renamed the Bobcats, under coach Don Zierden.
The Bobcats spent five years at the La Crosse Center but did not have any winning seasons.
The team folded in the middle of the 2001 season, after the NBA started its own minor league and the CBA declared bankruptcy.
The La Crosse Center also has hosted indoor football, but pro basketball was the big sports attraction for many years, yesterday in La Crosse.
