page_title: Virtus Bologna
section_title: 1929–1956: Beginnings and post-war dynasty
hierarchical_section_title: Virtus Bologna / History / 1929–1956: Beginnings and post-war dynasty
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Vittorio Tracuzzi in palleggio con la maglia Virtus Bologna
context_page_description: Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Segafredo Virtus Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna.
  The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one of the oldest ones in Europe. Virtus is the second most titled basketball club in Italy after Olimpia Milano, having won 15 Italian national championships, 8 Italian National Cups and 1 Italian Supercup. Moreover, it is one of the most successful teams in Europe, having won two EuroLeagues, one FIBA Saporta Cup and one Basketball Champions League. It currently plays in the Italian first division LBA as well as in the EuroCup. The club is owned by the coffee entrepreneur Massimo Zanetti.
  Some of the club's star players over the years have included: Tom McMillen, Renato Villalta, Jim McMillian, Krešimir Ćosić, Micheal Ray Richardson, Roberto Brunamonti, Jure Zdovc, Predrag Danilović, Cliff Levingston, Arijan Komazec, Orlando Woolridge, Zoran Savić, Bane Prelević, Radoslav Nesterović, Antoine Rigaudeau, Hugo Sconochini, Marko Jarić, Manu Ginóbili, Matjaž Smodiš, Keith Langford and Miloš Teodosić.
context_section_description: Virtus was founded in 1871 as a gymnastics club, forming its first professional basketball team in 1929 as part of a multi sports club. The club's motto was Forte Franco Fermo Fiero ("Strong Frank Firm Proud") 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, which could hosted a few hundred people.
  The first official championship of Virtus dates back to 1934, the year in which the Bolognese team won the first division tournament, obtaining the promotion in the top tournament after a hard-fought group of playoffs against Unione Sportiva of Milan and Ginnastica Rome. Team's captain was Venzo Vannini, while other important players were Giuseppe Palmieri and Giancarlo Marinelli. After the promotion, Virtus settled permanently at the top of the national basketball league, and achieved a long series of honorable placings: in the nine championships disputed from 1935 to the outbreak of the Second World War, the Black V collected 6 second places, 2 third places and a sixth place, however Virtus never achieved to win a national title.
  From 1943 to 1945, the championship was suspended due to the outbreak of the war in the country and the beginning of the civil war. At the end of the world war, the Santa Lucia was no longer available for basketball games and after a brief period of outdoor matches on a field in Via del Ravone, the team moved to Sala Borsa, the city's stock exchange, readjusted in the evening for basketball matches. This unusual venue became the hallmark of a new Italian basketball season, compared to the worldwide famous Boston Garden. In July 1945, Virtus, led by Achille Canna, Luigi Rapini and Antonio Calebotta, won its first national Serie A title, defeating 35–31 Reyer Venezia in the final.
  In the following season, Renzo Poluzzi became the new head coach and led Virtus to its second championship. Under Poluzzi, Virtus won the title again in 1948 and 1949, achieving the so-called "four-peat". In 1949–50 season, the Black V arrived second after Olimpia Milano; during these years, the long-time rivalry with Olimpia, known as "derby of Italy", began. Olimpia won the title for the next four years too, while the Black V placed second in 1952 and 1953. In 1954, Vittorio Tracuzzi was appointed new head coach; Tracuzzi was a Virtus player too, acting as a "player-coach". At the end of the season, Tracuzzi led Virtus to its fifth national title. The team doubled the next season, achieving a so-called "back-to-back". During the 1950s the first derbies were played against Gira and Moto Morini, the other two teams of Bologna.
  Due to the increasingly fame of Virtus, the Sala Borsa was no longer suitable for hosting games; so in 1956, the long-time Mayor of Bologna, Giuseppe Dozza, inaugurated a new arena, which was simply known as "Sports Hall" and had a seating capacity of more than 7,000 people. The arena was later nicknamed Il Madison, after New York's Madison Square Garden and, in 1966, after Dozza's retirement from politics, it was renamed "PalaDozza". From 1956 to 1960, Virtus placed second, always behind its arch-rival Olimpia Milan. At the end of the 1959–60 season, Tracuzzi left Virtus after two championships in five seasons, with a winning record of 108–22, being widely considered one of Black V's greatest coaches of all time.
caption: Vittorio Tracuzzi at the Sala Borsa court
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