I like to find the oddity or funny bits of history, the little stories that people seem to forget as time goes by. I think it is important to give history a platform which isn’t always so serious. In attending my first Pistons’ game I found a funny story in Detroit history.
I should preface I am not the a basketball fan, in fact my knowledge of the sport is as follows:
- Micheal Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Magic Johnson are famous players.
- The Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, and Indiana Pacers are professional teams.
- Space Jam was a children’s movie from 1996 which featured Micheal Jordan and the Loony Tunes.
- And you need a court, basketball, and a hoop with net to play.
Ok, I’m out. That’s all folks! Why is there a gap in my basketball knowledge? Simple St. Louis did not a basketball team when I was growing up; the Spirits of St. Louis where around for 2 years in the 70’s, 1974-1976. We are more baseball and hockey folks.
The Pistons play at The Palace of Auburn Hills, located in (you guessed it) Auburn Hills, Michigan. It takes fans traveling from Detroit a 45 minute drive up interstate 75 to enjoy a game. This didn’t make sense to me so I did a little digging into the history of the team.
The Pistons did not get their start in Detroit, they were founded in 1941 as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons from Fort Wayne, Indiana. The team gained their name sake from the Zollner Corporation which produced pistons for the automotive and locomotive industry. The team was successful in Indiana, winning the NBL championships in 1944 and 1945, but found that their location was limiting to become profitable. The team was moved to Detroit in 1957, as Detroit was the fifth largest city in the United States and has lost their basketball team, the Detroit Gems in 1947. Owners decided to keep the Pistons name as Detroit is a heart of the automotive industry.
With Detroit as their new home, the Pistons joined the Red Wings at the Detroit Olympia. The Olympia was host to many events from boxing to music, including The Beatles and Elvis Presley; however after the riots of 1967, the surrounding neighborhood fell into decline prompting teams to locate to new homes. The Pistons moved before the riots in 1961 to Cobo Arena. The team then moved to the Silverdome in Pontiac, which began the teams time outside of Detroit. The Piston eventually moved to the Palace in 1988. Why the move to from downtown to Pontiac? The simple answer is the Red Wings over did not want to share space with the Pistons. In 1978 the owner of the Red Wings acquired land on the riverfront of Detroit to build the Joe Louis Arena, the arena was opened in 1979 and has been the exclusive host of the Red Wings.
Flash forward to present day, a new arena is being constructed in Midtown Detroit. This new arena shall be home to the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Pistons. After more than fifty years the two teams will finally be under one roof and the Pistons will return to Detroit. Funny how things work out.
Check out the construction of the new arena in this time lapse.
If you like learning about things forgotten check out this awesome pod cast about extinct hockey teams by Surprisingly Awesome.