Teams

1952 (Peoria) Caterpillar Cats AAU Men’s Team

Year Inducted: 1981

Category: Teams

Schools / Organizations: AAU

Biography: The 1951-52 (Peoria) Caterpillar Cats was one of the outstanding AAU teams of all time. Their season record of 41-10 earned them the National AAU Championship. They were 5-0 in the tournament that year. In addition, they represented the United States in the Olympics by winning the Olympic Trials Tournament with a perfect 3-0 record. The Caterpillar Cats, coached by Warren Womble then proceeded to win the 1952 Olympic Games Gold Medal with an 8-0 record.

Team Members in the Picture:

Back Row (L to R): Coach Warren Womble (Southeastern State University); Bill Dempsey (Peoria Manual HS); Frank McCabe (Marquette University): Marcus Freiberger (Oklahoma University): Bob Haarlow (Wisconsin University); Kirby Minter (Southeastern State University); Ron Bontemps (Beloit College); Don Leake, manager (Oklahoma University).

Front Row (L to R):  Dan Pippen, Captain (University of Missouri); Bob Dean (Xavier University); Bob Schmidt (St. Louis University ); George Lafferty (University of Missouri); Howard Williams (Purdue University).