The Detroit Pistons

Photo Credit:
  https://logos-world.net/detroit-pistons-logo/

1937 – 1957: Fort Wayne (Zollner) Pistons

Fred Zollner owned the Zollner Corporation, a foundry that manufactured pistons, primarily for car, truck, and locomotive engines in Fort Wayne, Indiana (9). In 1937, Zollner sponsored a semi-professional company basketball team called the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons after he received a request from his workers(10). In 1941, the Zollner Pistons shed their work team roots and joined the National Basketball League (NBL)(1). The Zollner Pistons were NBL champions in 1944 and 1945(1). They also won the World Professional Basketball Tournament in 1944, 1945 and 1946(11).

In 1948, the team became the Fort Wayne Pistons and jumped to the Basketball Association of America (BAA)(9). In 1949, Fred Zollner brokered the formation of the National Basketball Association from the BAA and the NBL at his kitchen table(9).

There are suggestions that Pistons players conspired with gamblers to shave points and throw various games during the 1953 – 54 and 1954 – 55 seasons. In particular, there are accusations that the team may have intentionally lost the 1955 NBA Finals to the Syracuse Nationals(12). In the decisive Game 7, the Pistons led 41 – 21 early in the second quarter before the Nationals rallied to win the game(13)(14). The Nationals won on a free throw by George King with 12 seconds left in the game(13)(14). The closing moments included a palming turnover by the Pistons’ George Yardley with 18 seconds left, a foul by Frank Brian with 12 seconds left that enabled King’s winning free throw, and a turnover by the Pistons’ Andy Phillip in the final seconds which cost them a chance to attempt the game-winning shot(13)(14). In the following season, the Pistons made it back to the NBA Finals. However, they were defeated by the Philadelphia Warriors in five games(15).

1957 – 1981: Decades of Struggles

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(1). After the 1956 – 57 season, Fred Zollner decided that Fort Wayne was too small to support an NBA team and announced the team would be playing elsewhere in the coming season. He ultimately settled on Detroit(1). Although it was the fifth largest city in the United States at the time, (16) Detroit had not seen professional basketball in a decade(1)(17)(18)(19). Zollner decided to keep the Pistons name, believing it made more sense given Detroit’s status as the center of the automobile industry(1)(9). George Yardley set the NBA single-season scoring record in the Pistons’ first season in Detroit, becoming the first player to score 2,000 points in a season(20)(21)

The Pistons played in Olympia Stadium (home of the Detroit Red Wings of the (NHL) the National Hockey League at the time) for their first four seasons, then moved to Cobo Arena beginning in the 1961 – 62 season(19)(22).

During the 1960s and 1970s, the Pistons were characterized by talented players including George Yardley, Bailey Howell, Dave DeBusschere, Dave Bing, and Bob Lanier, questionable trades, and frequent coaching changes(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27). At one point, DeBusschere was the youngest player-coach in the history of the NBA(25). Then a trade during the 1968 – 69 season sent DeBusschere to the New York Knicks for Howard Komives and Walt Bellamy, both of whom had their best seasons behind them(25). DeBusschere became a key player in leading the Knicks to two NBA titles(25). Howell had previously been dealt to the Baltimore Bullets in 1964 and former Pistons guard Gene Shue, who was the head coach of the Bullets at the time, assessed the Pistons thusly: “Detroit has the worst management in the league.(28)(29). Howell would go on to win two championships as a member of the Boston Celtics. Yardley, Lanier, and Bing all ended their Pistons tenure being traded away, frustrated with the direction and opportunities with Detroit(30)(31)(32).

In 1974, Zollner sold the team to glass magnate Bill Davidson, who remained the team’s principal owner until he died in 2009(33)(34).

The team had a winning season in 1971, having spent the 1960s below .500, and then had a brief period of success, in the mid-1970s, qualifying for the playoffs in four straight seasons (1974, 1975, 1976, and 1977)(35)(36)(37)(38). Hope was then placed in Dick Vitale 1978, the former head coach at the University of Detroit, but he was fired the following season, and the team limped into the 1980s with a 16 – 66 record in 1979 – 80 (39). The 1979 – 80 team lost its last 14 games of the season which, when coupled with the seven losses at the start of the 1980 – 81 season, constituted a then-NBA record losing streak of 21 games(40).

Over time, Davidson became displeased with Cobo Arena but opted not to follow the Red Wings to the under-construction Joe Louis Arena next door. Instead, in 1978, he moved the team to the suburb of Pontiac, where they played in the 82,000-capacity Silverdome, a structure built for professional football (and the home of the Detroit Lions at the time)(22)(41).

1981 – 1994: The Isiah Thomas Era

The franchise’s fortunes finally began to turn in 1981, when they drafted point guard Isiah Thomas from Indiana University(24). In November 1981, the Pistons acquired Vinnie Johnson in a trade with the Seattle Supersonics(42). They later acquired center Bill Laimbeer in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers in February 1982(43). Another key move by the Pistons was the hiring of head coach Chuck Daly in 1983(44).

Initially, the Pistons had difficulty moving up the NBA ladder. In 1984, the Pistons lost a tough five-game series to the underdog New York Knicks, 3 – 2(45). In the 1985 playoffs, Detroit won its first-round series and faced the defending champion Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals. Though Boston prevailed in six games, Detroit’s surprise performance promised that a rivalry had begun(39). In the 1985 NBA draft, the team selected Joe Dumars 18th overall, a selection that proved to be very wise(46). They also acquired Rich Mahorn in a trade with the Washington Bullets(47). However, the team took a step backward, losing in the first round of the 1986 playoffs to the more athletic Atlanta Hawks(48). After the series, changes were made to make the team more defensive-minded(39).

Detroit Pistons Links

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        2022. The Detroit Pistons Association Edition
        uniform is the traditional white-base uniform
        found in every team's uniform lineup. The
        Piston's core brand elements are brought to life
        using the team's classic red, white, and blue
        colorway along with the "Pistons" jersey
        wordmark and classic stripes on the side inserts.
        The shorts feature the team's primary and
        secondary logos, while also maintaining the stripe
        detail found on the jersey.

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