In our series of NBA franchises that moved to a new city, we’ve already discussed the Minneapolis Lakers moving to Los Angeles and the St. Louis Hawks moving to Atlanta. Next up in our series is the story of why a team from Fort Wayne decided to move to The Motor City.
The Detroit Pistons are a team every NBA fan knows. Their history is filled with many glorious moments and not-so-glorious moments.
From their back-to-back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990, the Pistons have done what no one thought was possible during the 80s… stop the mighty Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers from winning every title.
When the Pistons won back-to-back titles, things weren’t all great. They were dubbed the “Bad Boys” for their rough and hard-hitting style of play.
The Pistons heard criticism from both the fans and players in the league. Many believed their harsh style of play was bad for the league, but all the Pistons knew was it won them two titles.
This wouldn’t be the last time the Pistons saw success or criticism from the league. First, the 2003-04 Pistons upset the mighty Los Angeles Lakers, led by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, 4-1 in the 2004 NBA Finals, winning their third title.
The following season, the city of Detroit saw the worst brawl in NBA history. It was on Friday, November 19, 2004. Ron Artest of the Indiana Pacers was pushed by Ben Wallace of the Pistons after a hard foul.
Afterward, a fan threw a drink at Artest as he lay on the scorer’s table. This led to Artest storming into the stands to attack the fan he believed threw the drink, and everything after was chaos.
This moment was dubbed “The Malice at the Palace,” and every NBA fan will recognize this brawl occurred in Detroit, home of the Pistons. This brings me to the topic of this article. Did you know the Pistons played in Indiana before moving to Detroit?
Yes, the Pistons played in Fort Wayne, Indiana, before moving to Detroit. The question we now ask is, why did the Pistons move to Detroit? Stick around, and we’ll explain why the Pistons made the move.
The Fort Wayne Pistons Move To Detroit
In 1937, a semi-professional basketball team named the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons was founded by Fred Zollner, an owner of a company that manufactured pistons for cars and trucks. By 1941, this semi-professional team became a professional team when they joined the National Basketball League (NBL).
The Pistons saw success in the NBL, winning back-to-back championships in 1944 and 1945. They also won the World Professional Basketball Tournament three times in 1944, 1945, and 1946.
In 1948, the team changed its name to simply the Fort Wayne Pistons and joined the Basketball Association of America (BAA), the league that would become the NBA we all know today. Their previous success did not follow them to their new league.
The Fort Wayne Pistons made the 1955 NBA Finals but lost 4-3 to the Syracuse Nationals. Yes, losing in the Finals was bad, but the controversy around their loss was worse.
The Pistons were accused of intentionally losing the game, especially after blowing a 41–24 second-quarter lead. At the end of the game, key mistakes were made by Piston players, like a costly turnover and a foul to send a National player to the free-throw line. This all occurred in under 20 seconds left in the game.
The controversy wasn’t just about the 1955 NBA Finals. There were reports of Pistons players gambling and throwing games during both the 1953–54 and 1954–55 seasons.
The Pistons would make another NBA Finals in 1956 but lost 4-1 to the Philadelphia Warriors. After this season, the Pistons would not see another NBA Finals until 1988.
The Pistons were not making money as a team in the 50s. No, it wasn’t because of the controversy surrounding the team throwing games. It was because of another simple reason.
Fort Wayne, where the Pistons called home, was too small of a market. They couldn’t compete with teams in larger markets. Zollner understood this, and he knew to make money to save his franchise, he’d have to move his team.
After the 1956–57 season, Zollner announced that he would be moving his Pistons to a larger market. Zollner found the perfect city that was clamoring for a basketball team… Detroit.
The city of Detroit saw four different basketball teams leave their city in previous years. There was the Detroit Eagles that collapsed because of World War II. Then, there was the Detroit Gems of the NBL, who left to become the Minneapolis Lakers in 1947.
The Detroit Falcons of the BAA left in 1947, while the Detroit Vagabond Kings left in 1949. So, yes, the city of Detroit was looking for a team and one that would stay in their city.
Zollner chose Detroit since it was the fifth largest city in America at the time, and he decided to keep the Pistons name, as well. This was because Detroit was a city famous for its role in the automobile industry.
There you have it. You now know the reason why the Pistons left Fort Wayne, Indiana, to play in Detroit, Michigan. The only question left is, will the Pistons be able to bring another championship to the city of Detroit? And if so, when?
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