Fred Zollner, nicknamed "Mr Pro Basketball", was the founder and owner along with his sister Janet of the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons and a key figure in the merger of National Basketball League and Basketball Association of America into the National Basketball Association in 1949.
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Fred Zollner was inducted as a contributor into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
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Fred Zollner Corporation, formed in 1912, was a Tier-1 supplier of pistons to companies such as Ford, General Motors, International Harvester, John Deere and Outboard Marine.
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Fred Zollner had 230 employees when it was acquired by Kolbenschmidt Pierburg AG in 1999.
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Fred Zollner Pistons began playing in 1939 as an independent and in 1941 joined the National Basketball League, which was just shaking off its roots as an industrial league.
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The Fred Zollner Pistons were a very popular franchise, winning the world championship in 1944 and 1945, and reaching the NBA Finals in 1954 and 1955, losing both times.
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Fred Zollner was the first pro basketball team owner to hire a bench coach.
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Fred Zollner brought together leaders of the NBL and the BAA to meet at his house in 1949.
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Fred Zollner sent the plane to Milwaukee to meet the players and bring them to the game, but due to a mixup, coach John Kundla was left behind.
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On October 1,1999, Fred Zollner was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor.
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