The Story of the Detroit Pistons

The Story of the Detroit Pistons — page 3 — FROM THE HOOSIER STATE TO MOTOWN AT DUSK DETROIT’S CITY LIGHTS GLOW ALONG THE SHORES OF THE DETROIT RIVER FROM THE HOOSIER STATE TO MOTOWN 8

The Story of the Detroit Pistons — page 4 — Few American cities are as closely identiﬁed with a particular industry as Detroit is with automobile manufacturing Henry Ford built the ﬁrst factory there in 1899 and within a few years some of the nation’s best-known brands had made the city their home Many were named for men who played a key role in their growth and development railroad mechanic Walter Chrysler engine developer David Dunbar Buick Swiss race car driver Louis Chevrolet and French army officer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe sieur de Cadillac who founded Detroit in 1701 The industry quickly spread beyond Detroit to surrounding communities many of which made vital components for the cars and were also named for their founders Pistons which move up and down in the engine blocks to deliver the power that propels vehicles were made by Zollner Machine Works in Fort Wayne Indiana DAVE DEBUSSCHERE 9

The Story of the Detroit Pistons — page 5 — AS A DETROIT NATIVE FORWARD DAVE DEBUSSCHERE 22 BECAME A HOMETOWN FAVORITE The company was founded by Theodore Zollner in 1912 and Zollner’s son Fred took over as president in 1945 when his father retired The sports-loving Fred had already assembled a national champion softball team during the 1930s Then in 1941 he launched the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons a member of the National Basketball League NBL Before its move to Detroit 16 years later the Pistons team would become an accepted institution in Fort Wayne As writer Gerald Astor recorded on the payroll of the Zollner Machine Works are 10 long loose-limbed fellows who on the surface of the matter have little to do with the design development and manufacture of pistons These men do operate however and mighty effectively as the Zollner Machine Works basketball division Z as Zollner was nicknamed personally scouted his players and took a hands-on approach with them He also ensured that they received the highest pay in the league The Pistons quickly became the NBL’s top team racking up a 101 32 record on their way to four straight division titles 1943 to 1946 and two league championships 1944 and 1945 The Pistons ﬁrst star was guard Bob McDermott the team’s leading scorer in each 10

The Story of the Detroit Pistons — page 6 — The Flying Z In 1952 general manager Carl Bennett suggested ﬂying the team back and forth to away games instead of taking the train Train travel involved frequent overnight runs in sleeping cars with beds too short for the tall players to stretch out They were exhausted for games the next day Flying allowed them to return home and get a good night’s sleep in their own beds Because of the uncertainty of chartering a plane Zollner decided to buy one so that it would always be available The DC-3 he purchased was fondly dubbed The Flying Z and was outﬁtted with comfortable furniture a well-stocked bar a galley and several four-man tables where the players and coaches could play cards The plane made the Pistons the envy of their opponents and rival owners As author Rodger Nelson notes Every player asked about the Flying Z had an enthusiastic response Bennett however recalled that Zollner saw the plane differently The funny thing about the plane was that Fred was not a ﬂier he said I mean he was a real white-knuckler when it came to ﬂying COURTSIDE STORIES The Flying Z 11

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