La Grande Bologna

Lore & Background

Virtus was founded in 1871 as a gymnastics club, forming its first professional basketball team in 1927 — considered the first reunion of members and players — as part of a multi sports club. The club's motto was Forte Franco Fermo Fiero and was inserted in the logo under the Black V, with a cross made by four F; the motto is still used by Virtus today. The team's home court was the former church of Santa Lucia in the city center. The first official championship of Virtus dates back to 1929.

From 1929 to 1934, Virtus played in the first and second divisions within Emilia region. In 1934, the Bolognese team won the division tournament, obtaining promotion to the top tournament. After the promotion, Virtus settled permanently at the top of the national basketball league. From 1943 to 1945, the championship was suspended due to the war.

At the end of the war, Santa Lucia was no longer available and the team moved to Sala Borsa, the city's stock exchange. In July 1945, Virtus won its first national Serie A title. In the following season, Renzo Poluzzi became head coach and led Virtus to its second championship, and the team won the title again in 1948 and 1949, achieving a four-peat. In 1954, Vittorio Tracuzzi was appointed player-coach and led Virtus to its fifth national title, doubling the next season.

In 1956, a new arena known as 'Sports Hall' was inaugurated, later nicknamed Il Madison and renamed PalaDozza in 1966. In 1968, Gianluigi Porelli was appointed at the head of the basketball section. In 1970, Virtus broke away from the multi sports club, becoming a joint-stock company. In 1973, Dan Peterson was hired and Virtus immediately won its first Italian Cup in 1973–74 season.

Reader's Guide

Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna currently plays in the Italian first division LBA as well as in the EuroLeague. The club is owned by the coffee entrepreneur Massimo Zanetti. Some of the club's star players over the years have included: Gianni Bertolotti, Tom McMillen, Carlo Caglieris, Renato Villalta, Marco Bonamico, Jim McMillian, Krešimir Ćosić, Roberto Brunamonti, Augusto Binelli, Micheal Ray Richardson, Predrag Danilović, Cliff Levingston, Arijan Komazec, Zoran Savić, Alessandro Abbio, Radoslav Nesterović, Antoine Rigaudeau, Alessandro Frosini, Hugo Sconochini, Marko Jarić, Manu Ginóbili, Rashard Griffith, Matjaž Smodiš, David Andersen, Travis Best, Keith Langford, Miloš Teodosić, Marco Belinelli, Daniel Hackett and Tornike Shengelia.

Some of the club's greatest coaches have been: Vittorio Tracuzzi, Dan Peterson, Terry Driscoll, Alberto Bucci, Ettore Messina, Aleksandar Đorđević, Sergio Scariolo and Duško Ivanović.

Did You Know?

• Virtus won its first national title in July 1945, defeating Reyer Venezia 35–31.
• Virtus won four consecutive championships from 1946 to 1949, known as the 'four-peat'.