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Fort Wayne Fury: 1991-2001


Fort Wayne Fury

Credit: News-Sentinel


The Fort Wayne Fury were a CBA team from 1991-2001. So far, we've covered three other CBA teams: the Gary Steelheads, Rapid City Thrillers, and Detroit Spirits. Including the Fury, out of the four, the team with the least information about their front/back office is the Fury.


There is no info besides the fact that they played at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, and the former media relations director was Rob Brown. In addition, there was a bizarre and unfortunate incident in 1996. The Fort Wayne Fury's mascot, 'Sabre,' fell from 50 feet onto the ground. Thankfully, Tim DeLeon, who played the mascot, only suffered from a broken back...


Since there's barely any information, we'll instead delve straight into the Fury's most notable players and seasons!



Notable Players: Bruce Bowen, Stephen Jackson, and Master P

Bruce Bowen entered the 1993 NBA Draft but was unfortunately undrafted. As a result, for the first four seasons of his professional basketball career, Bowen played for teams overseas (Le Havre, Evreux, and Besancon) and CBA teams, one of those teams being the Fort Wayne Fury.


Bowen joined the Fury in the 1995-96 CBA season but only played two games. He played pretty horribly, playing 16.5 minutes per game and averaging 2/3/1 while shooting 22.0% from the field. After those two games, he ended up joining the Rockford Lightning from 1995-97. His stint with the Lightning was a lot better. In the 1996-97 season, he averaged:


17.3 Points, 4.4 Rebounds, 2.8 Assists, 1.8 Steals, and 1.1 Blocks

45.6 FG%, 32.6 3P%, 76.5 FT%

39 Minutes


After the 1996-97 season, Bowen would join the Boston Celtics and, from there on out, played twelve seasons in the NBA, becoming a 3x NBA Champion and one of the San Antonio Spurs' best defensive players (8x All-Defensive Team).


Similar to Bruce Bowen, Stephen Jackson also started his career overseas and in the CBA. Jackson entered the 1997 NBA Draft and was selected by the Phoenix Suns as the 42nd pick. Unfortunately, the Suns would waive Jackson, redirecting Jackson to the CBA's La Crosse Bobcats (1997-98).


Like Bowen, Jackson didn't play many games with the Bobcats. He only played six games, and within those games, like Jackson, he played horribly. He played 12.7 minutes per game and averaged three points and a steal while shooting 40.0% from the field.


After those six games, Jackson played Australia, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic before joining the Fort Wayne Fury in 1999. Jackon's time with the Fury was even shorter than with the Bobcats, only playing five games. He played 16.8 minutes per game and averaged 5/2/1 while shooting 38.7% from the field and 66.7% from the free-throw line.