1941 1944 – 1945 1948 Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons Formation The Detroit Pistons’ franchise was founded as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, a National Basketball League (NBL) team, playing in the gym of North Side High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Owners Fred Zollner and his sister Janet’s Zollner Corporation was a foundry, manufacturing pistons, primarily for car, truck, and …
Fort Wayne Pistons Team History
1948 1957 New Name Fort Wayne Pistons Joining the BAA the Pistons are starting over again as they drop the Zollner from their nickname. However, Fred Zollner remained a virtual part of the development of the league as he helps provide transportation arrangements for the entire league. In their first year in the BAA, the Pistons would struggle to finish …
Detroit Pistons Team History
1957 1978 1988 1989 1990 2004 Move to Detroit Though the Pistons enjoyed a solid local following, Fort Wayne’s small size made it difficult for them to be profitable, especially as other early NBA teams based in smaller cities started folding or relocating to larger markets. After the 1956 – 1957 season, Zollner decided that Fort Wayne was too small …
