[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 97 (Monday, July 12, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H5351-H5352]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO FRED ZOLLNER, NBA PIONEER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great 
Hoosier from Fort Wayne, the late Fred Zollner, who was just selected 
for the Basketball Hall of Fame. Too often we forget our history.
  Fred Zollner moved the Zollner Pistons Company from Duluth, 
Minnesota, in 1931 to the east side of Fort Wayne. During the 1930s the 
piston plant doubled in size, aided by hefty government military 
contracts because of war preparations.
  Sports Illustrated described Zollner this way:
  ``He is short and stocky, a dapper man sporting peak lapels, a silk 
shirt, a constant tan, and an unruly coiffure that suggests he is about 
to mount a podium and conduct Beethoven's Ninth. He is the sort who 
would not harm a fly. Rather than swat one, he would catch a cold 
holding the door open until the fly got ready to leave.''
  In 1938, Mr. Zollner had formed a company softball team for a local 
industrial league. In 1945, the Pistons instigated the National 
Softball League, which they hoped would open the way to major league 
softball. They won multiple national championships. Players were 
celebrities. By the late 1950's as I was growing up, softball was no 
longer as significant, but I remember my dad talking about Leo Luken 
and Bernie Kampschmidt as if they were Nellie Fox and Ernie Banks, my 
baseball heroes.
  After having success in softball, in 1939 Zollner fielded a team in a 
Chicago industrial league tournament and never looked back. The Fort 
Wayne Zollner Pistons, now known as the Detroit Pistons, were not Fort 
Wayne's first pro basketball team. The Fort Wayne Knights of Columbus, 
the Caseys, and the Fort Wayne Hoosiers were. And the Fort Wayne 
General Electrics played in the NBL, the National Basketball League, in 
1937. The Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons left Fort Wayne at the end of 1957 
but continue today as the Detroit Pistons.
  There were many eventful years in Fort Wayne. For most of the Fort 
Wayne era, the Pistons played at the North Side High School gym. The 
enthusiastic fans and confined quarters gave the Pistons a significant 
homecourt advantage. Minneapolis Lakers' star Slater Martin was quoted 
on the courtside seating at North Side: ``I never really saw the fans 
get physical with the players. But I did have them pull the hair on my 
legs.''
  Fred Zollner was a key in keeping the National Basketball League 
solvent. Carl Bennett, whose personal history with the Pistons is so 
intertwined with Zollner as to be inseparable, said that Zollner never 
wanted anyone to know how he kept the league--and pro basketball--
alive.
  He was constantly upgrading his team which eventually led to repeat 
national titles. The Zollner Pistons were multiple times national 
champions. Two of their famous players were ``Mr. Basketball,'' Bobby 
McDermott, who had long set shots from past half-court; and Paul 
``Curly'' Armstrong from Fort Wayne. These are some of the late 1940s 
cards that I have in my collection.
  They were also responsible for the invention of the 24-second clock, 
because George Mikan, who was not only a giant at 6'10'' but a talented 
athlete as well, had this huge height advantage. They tried a different 
way to win. In Minneapolis, as the crowd hollered, they stalled. It 
remains, and always will, as the lowest scoring game in NBA history, 
19-18. But the Zollner Pistons won and the league said this will never 
happen again.
  Fred Zollner, along with Carl Bennett, met then with the people from 
the BAA in Fort Wayne and merged the leagues which then became the NBA 
from the leagues in Fort Wayne.
  Fred Zollner's vision for Fort Wayne was for the Fort Wayne Zollner 
Pistons to be to the NBA what Green Bay was to professional football. 
But, alas, that was not to be. Fort Wayne was just too small.
  He saw the writing on the wall in the mid 1950s, but the final event 
was when they made the national championship, the NBA playoffs, but the 
Fort Wayne Coliseum had booked the national bowling tournament so the 
Pistons were booted out of the auditorium and had to play their games 
in Indianapolis. The next year they moved to Detroit.
  To quote a couple of the long-term people associated with this, Carl 
Bennett, who crusaded to get Fred Zollner into the Basketball Hall of 
Fame, said: ``If somebody would have asked me when I was a kid what I 
wanted to do with my career, I would have told them exactly what I did 
for Fred Zollner's organization. It was fun and extremely rewarding.''
  There are two books out. Indiana had three of the original members of 
the NBA. ``Pioneers of the Hardwood'' refers to that. The other is the 
Zollner Piston Story by Roger Nelson.
  George Yardley, a Hall of Famer, said about Fort Wayne:
  ``My wife and I didn't know what to expect when we got to Fort Wayne. 
We had never seen snow before. Major league sports to Fort Wayne was 
the Pistons. They were great basketball fans. But more importantly, 
they were great people. They wanted you to know that Fort Wayne was a 
great place to live, and they did everything they could to illustrate 
that to you. To this day I believe that Fort Wayne has some of the 
coldest weather and warmest people in the country.''
  In Fort Wayne we no longer have the Pistons basketball team, but we 
do have nearly 1,000 Zollner Pistons jobs that are part of the backbone 
of our community. We have the pride of having been there in the early 
days of the NBA, the first meetings occurring in Fort Wayne, and now 
having one of our community leaders being honored by his selection into 
the Basketball Hall of Fame. And we still have some of the coldest 
weather and the warmest people in America.
  I rise today to pay tribute to a great Hoosier from Fort Wayne, the 
last Fred Zollner, who was just selected for the Basketball Hall of 
Fame. Too often we forget our history.
  Fred Zollner moved Zollner Pistons from Duluth, Minnesota in 1931 to 
the east side of Fort Wayne. During the 1930s the piston plant doubled 
in size, aided by hefty government military contracts because of war 
preparations.
  Sports Illustrated described Zollner this way:
  ``He is short and stocky, a dapper man sporting peak lapels, a silk 
shirt, a constant tan, and an unruly coiffure that suggests he is about 
to mount a podium and conduct Beethoven's Ninth. He is the sort who 
would not harm a fly. Rather than swat one, he would catch a cold 
holding the door open until the fly got ready to leave.''
  Holiday magazine said: ``Zollner is a soft-voiced, curly-headed 
manufacturer, a friendly man with a taste for expensive, striped suits, 
and the engaging knack of making them look as if he'd worn them to 
bed.''
  In 1938 Mr. Zollner had formed a company softball team for a local 
industrial league. In 1945 the Pistons instigated the National Softball 
League, which they hoped would open the

[[Page H5352]]

way to major league softball. They won multiple national championships. 
Players were celebrities. By the late 50s, as I was growing up, 
softball was no longer as significant but I remember my father talking 
about Leo Luken and Bernie Kampschmidt as if they were Nellie Fox and 
Ernie Banks, my baseball heroes.
  After having success in softball, in 1939 Zollner fielded a team in a 
Chicago industrial league tournament and never looked back. The Fort 
Wayne Zollner Pistons were not Fort Wayne's first pro basketball team--
the Fort Wayne Knights of Columbus (the Caseys) and the Fort Wayne 
Hoosiers were. And the Fort Wayne General Electrics played in the NBL 
(National Basketball League) in 1937. The Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 
left Fort Wayne at the end of 1957 but continue today as the Detroit 
Pistons.
  There were many eventful years in Fort Wayne.
  For most of the Fort Wayne era, the Pistons played at the North Side 
High School gym. The enthusiastic fans and confined quarters gave the 
Pistons a significant homecourt advantage. Minneapolis Laker's star 
Slater Martin was quoted on the courtside seating at North Side: ``I 
never really saw the fans get physical with the players. I had them 
pull the hair on my legs through.''
  Fred Zollner was key in keeping the NBL (National Basketball League) 
solvent. He gave direct financial aid to other teams, he purchased 
players for cash to help keep teams afloat, and did other things to 
keep the league going. Carl Bennett who's personal history with the 
Pistons is so intertwined with Zollner as to be inseparable said that 
Zollner never wanted anyone to know how he helped the league--and pro 
basketball--alive.
  Zollner treated his players well, being known throughout the league 
as a generous owner. He was the first owner to purchase a plane for the 
team. He did this even though he did not like to fly. It gave the 
Pistons such an advantage--players weren't as tired from traveling--
that the league re-configured its schedule to the disadvantage of Fort 
Wayne.

  Zollner was constantly upgrading his team--which eventually led to 
repeat national titles. The nation knew he was serious when he signed 
``Mr. Basketball''--Bobby McDermott of the New York Celtics, then the 
most famous player in all of basketball famous for the towering two-
hand set-shots typically from half-court--or beyond. Paul ``Curly'' 
Armstrong was another favorite.
  The Zollner Pistons were also responsible for the 24-second shot 
clock. When George Mikan, who was not only a giant of his day at 6'10'' 
but a talented athlete as well, changed the nature of basketball with 
his huge height advantage, the Pistons decided to try a different way 
to win. In Minneapolis, as the crowd hollered, they stalled. It 
remains--and always will--as the lowest scoring game in NBA basketball 
history. 19-18. But the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons won. But the league 
said never again.
  Fred Zollner, coordinated by his able basketball specialist Carl 
Bennett, was key in creating the NBA as we know it today. The NBL and 
the BAA (Basketball Association of America) were competing for players 
in a market in which few were able to make money. The BAA had 
franchises in big cities with big arenas (Madison Square Garden for 
example) but few fans and not the best players. The NBL was a mixed bag 
but had four very strong teams--the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, the 
Rochester Royals (later moved to Cincinnati in Hoosier Oscar Robertson 
days), George Mikan's Minneapolis Lakers (now the Los Angeles Lakers--
ever wonder where the lake was in LA?), and the Indianapolis Krautskys 
(named after local grocery store owner Frank Krautsky). These teams 
actually dominated the NBA for most of its first years.
  Maurice Podoloff, the Commissioner of the BAA, came to Fort Wayne to 
Carl Bennett's home. After preliminary discussions, they were joined 
the next day by Fred Zollner and then the Indianapolis Krautsky's 
owners in Fort Wayne. The agreement to pull the four teams from the NBL 
and join with the BAA was the start of the NBA. Additional changes 
occurred over the next few years but the core remains until today.
  The Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons brought many thrills to northeast 
Indiana, including one of the early NBA All-Star games which features 
such stars as George Mikan (whose 1948 basketball card is the most 
valuable of all time), Bob Cousy and Dolph Schayes. The then brand new 
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum was a showpiece arena, packed to the 
ceiling with over 10,000 fans. Over 8,000 came to see the Zollner 
Pistons defeat the Boston Celtics, during Bill Russell's first visit 
there.
  Fred Zollner's vision for Fort Wayne was for the Fort Wayne Zollner 
Pistons to be to the NBA what Green Bay was to professional football. 
But, alas, it was not to be. New York, Chicago, Boston and other cities 
had millions of people to draw from whereas Fort Wayne had less than 
200,000. But Fred Zollner not only brought big-time basketball to a 
smaller size city, but he was instrumental in the founding of the NBA 
and much of its development.
  Zollner saw the writing on the wall in the mid-fifties. He knew that 
the big-city teams weren't thrilled to come to Fort Wayne. What may 
have finally pushed him over the edge, according to long-time sports 
broadcaster and Fort Wayne civic leader Hilliard Gates, was a situation 
that developed in 1955. Fred Zollner wanted badly to win an NBA 
championship. The Zollner Pistons made it to the finals. But the Fort 
Wayne Coliseum had booked the national bowling tournament so the 
Pistons were booted out of Fort Wayne for the NBA finals. Now bowling 
was big in Indiana--bowling still is very popular in Indiana--but it 
probably wasn't the wisest move. The Fort Wayne Pistons lost four games 
to three, so the record should show that they did win all the games 
played in Indianapolis.
  Dick Rosenthal, who played as a Piston and later was the University 
of Notre Dame's athletic director, said about Fred Zollner: ``He was a 
man of vision. Fred nurtured professional basketball from a very iffy 
proposition to a major business venture. He embodied the soul of the 
organization and the league. Professional basketball had come a long 
way. The game owes a great deal to the pioneer spirit of an owner like 
Fred Zollner.''
  Carl Bennett, who crusaded to get Fred Zollner into the Hall of Fame, 
and who for most of the years of the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons did 
most everything from coaching to managing to player personnel 
decisions, said: ``If somebody would have asked me when I was a kid 
what I wanted to do with my career, I would have told them exactly what 
I did for Fred Zollner's organization. It was fun and extremely 
rewarding.''
  For basketball buffs, there are two books that most of this special 
order was based upon. Rodger Nelson has written the Zollner Piston 
Story, covering both the basketball and softball teams. Todd Gould has 
written a book titled Pioneers of the Hardwood, about not only the 
Pistons but other early pro Indiana basketball teams as well. Indiana, 
in the second year of the merged leagues, had 3--three--of the NBA 
teams.
  Let me close with several quotes from the Pioneers of the Hardwood, 
from former Fort Wayne Zollner Piston basketball stars.
  Frank Brian: ``Whenever I hear the song `Back Home Again in Indiana' 
I get real nostalgic, because Indiana was like a second home to me. The 
fans were so congenial and really loved their basketball. Basketball 
was its own special culture there. When anybody ever asks me about the 
fans in Indiana, there's only one word I can say--unbelievable. Yes, 
sir, unbelievable. It was great.''
  Hall-of-Famer George Yardley, the first Piston and the first NBA 
player in history to score 2000 points in a season, said, ``If it's 
wintertime, and it's Indiana, it must mean basketball. The fans there 
were really wonderful. I loved it, truly loved it. It was the greatest 
experience in the world.''
  Yardley, a California boy and Stanford grad, also said about Fort 
Wayne: ``My wife and I didn't know what to expect when we got to Fort 
Wayne. We had never seen snow before. Major league sports to Fort Wayne 
was the Pistons. They were great basketball fans. But more importantly, 
they were great people. They wanted you to know that Fort Wayne was a 
great place to live, and they did everything they could to illustrate 
that to you. To this day I believe that Fort Wayne has some of the 
coldest weather and warmest people in the country.''
  In Fort Wayne we no longer have the Pistons basketball team. We still 
have nearly 1000 Zollner Pistons jobs that are part of the backbone of 
our community. We have the pride of having been there in the early days 
of the NBA and now having one of our community leaders being honored by 
his selection into the Basketball Hall of Fame. And we still have some 
of the coldest weather and warmest people in the country.

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