Bill Fitch, legendary NBA coach, was a Cedar Rapids ‘thoroughbred’

Bill Fitch became famous in the NBA, but long before that 25-year coaching career, he was throwing no-hitters against the brick walls of old Lincoln Elementary School on Cedar Rapids’ west side.

“My late Uncle Wayne was five years younger than Bill,” Cedar Rapids’ Eric Oliver wrote in an email. “When he was 10 and Bill was 15ish they would play a game of 'baseball' ... Bill would draw a strike zone on the wall and they would play one-on-one for nine innings.

“My uncle told me one day Bill was throwing his typical 'no hitter' when in the ninth inning with two outs my uncle got a hold of one with a lucky swing and knocked it over the playground fence on to 16th Avenue (which was an HR in their game). He said Bill turned around and watched the ball fly over the fence and yelled, ‘Foul Ball.’”

Those are the kind of stories others are telling about Fitch, who died last week in Lake Conroe, Texas, at the age of 89.

William Charles Fitch was born in Davenport in 1932, but grew up in Cedar Rapids, attending Wilson High School and Coe College.

One of his best friends growing up was Wally Krouse, the former president of the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Krouse, 89, remembers many games of baseball and basketball with Fitch.

“I was the pitcher and Bill was the catcher,” Krouse said. “We were real close ... He was quite a guy.”

He said the two often would head down to the YMCA to take on all comers in basketball and the two would even hit the road to smaller towns around Cedar Rapids.

“We thought we were good,” Krouse said.

After high school, Fitch played baseball and basketball at Coe College. His coaching career started at Creighton with the late Theron “Tommy” Thompson. He coached at Coe (including baseball), North Dakota, Bowling Green and Minnesota before embarking on his long NBA career.

He started with the Cleveland Cavaliers, then moved on to the Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, New Jersey Nets and Los Angeles Clippers.

“Fitch was often hired in an attempt to improve failing teams,” his Wikipedia bio notes.

He was a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, was named one of the top coaches in NBA history and, in 2019, was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

His crowning achievement was coaching the Celtics to the 1981 NBA title.

But Cedar Rapids always was important to Fitch.

“He was a thoroughbred Cedar Rapids person,” said Cedar Rapids’ Bill Quinby, who often battled Fitch on the diamond and court during their high school careers.

“Very much so,” Krouse said when asked if Fitch remembered his Cedar Rapids roots. “It was important to him.”

Quinby, a longtime NFL official who worked the 1985 Super Bowl, remembers many basketball games while he was at Franklin High School, guarding Wilson’s star player.

“He’d score like 12 to 15 points and I’d score two or four,” Quinby said.

Quinby, who will be 90 later this month, said Fitch was an outstanding basketball player, for sure, but also was a very good baseball player who competed in the old M&J League.

“Probably one of the finest athletes that has come out of Cedar Rapids ... and one of the top coaches who grew up here,” Quinby said.

“He was a lot of fun,” Krouse said. “And he was a hard worker. He did real well for what he did.

“He sure will be missed.”

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