The Caterpillar's team, funded by nickels and dimes it collected from vending machines inside company break rooms, just began to scratch the surface of its potential in the annual national AAU tournaments from 1945 to 1951 (all hosted at Denver).
Peoria would turn a corner without knowing it at the end of the 1947–1948 season with the acquisition of an obscure 29-year-old guard from Southeastern State College in Oklahoma named Warren Womble.
[2] The Cats ushered in a basketball renaissance in Peoria with a 66–53 victory over great rivals Phillips 66ers in the 1952 AAU national championship game.
Williams drained nine of 11 shots for a game-high 20 points and Dan Pippin added 17 in what proved to be the first of three consecutive national titles for Peoria.
Star college players like Allen Kelley, drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1954, and Howie Crittenden, selected by the New York Knicks in 1956, both chose to play for the Cats instead.
1 overall choice of the 1959 draft, Bob Boozer, an All-American from Kansas State, spurned Cincinnati Royals's pro franchise to play in Peoria, the Cats tacked on their last championship.
Escalating salaries offered by NBA franchises – gaining in popularity because of the infusion of college talent such as West, Baylor, Chamberlain and Russell – caused Caterpillar to think twice about continuing its program.