Fred Zollner

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Fred Zollner (born January 22, 1901 in Fergus Falls, Minnesota , † June 21, 1982 in North Miami ) was the American owner of the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (now the Detroit Pistons ) in the National Basketball League (NBL). The trophy of the Western Conference in the NBA was named after him.

biography

Fred Zollner was born in Fergus Falls , a small town of 13,000 people, in 1901 . He attended Central High School in Duluth, Minnesota . He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1927 .

In the following years, Zollner was the owner of Zollner Machine Works , the piston (dt. For pistons ) as a supplier to General Motors produced. In 1941, Zollner founded the Ford Wayne Zollner Pistons basketball team in Fort Wayne , Indiana. The Zollner Pistons played successfully in the National Basketball League (NBL for short) and won two titles in the NBL (1943/44 and 1944/45). Between 1944 and 1946, the Pistons won the World Professional Basketball Tournament three times in a row . In the 1948/49 season, the Fort Wayne Pistons took part in the championship of the Basketball Association of America (BAA for short). The Fort Wayne Pistons continued to play successfully in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and made it to the finals twice (1954/55 and 1955/56).

In 1952, Zollner was the first to introduce a team aircraft (DC-3 Airplane) that transported the team to basketball games. Previously, Zollner was also one of the first owners to sign a contract with an Afro-American player.

In 1957, the Fort Wayne Pistons were renamed "Detroit Pistons" and from now on they played in the 37,000 square meter Cobo Hall in Detroit . In 1974 Zollner sold his team to Bill Davidson , later chairman of Guardian Industries Corp., for $ 35 million . A year later, Zollner was named “Mr.” by the NBA at the “Silver Anniversary NBA All-Star Game”. Pro basketball ”explains.

Zollner was one of the sponsors of the BAA and NBA in the 1940s. He helped the league financially and provided transportation and personnel. He was also involved in important rule changes (e.g. the 24-second clock or the six-foul rule).

On October 1, 1999, Zollner was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame .

See also

Web links

literature

  • John Hareas: 100 years of basketball , Delius Klasing Verlag, Bielefeld 2005. ISBN 3-7688-1670-2

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame :: Fred Zollner. In: hoophall.com. Retrieved May 14, 2020 (English).
personal data
SURNAME Zollner, Fred
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American owner of the Zollner Pistons in the National Basketball League
DATE OF BIRTH January 22, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH Fergus Falls, Minnesota , USA
DATE OF DEATH June 21, 1982
Place of death North Miami