1956 NBA Finals vs Boston Celtics (Fort Wayne Pistons)

Lore & Background

The Fort Wayne Pistons were founded as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons in 1937, a semi-professional company team sponsored by Fred Zollner. They turned professional in 1941 in the National Basketball League (NBL), winning NBL championships in 1944 and 1945. In 1948, they joined the Basketball Association of America (BAA) as the Fort Wayne Pistons. After the BAA and NBL merged to form the NBA in 1949, the Pistons became part of the merged league. The team moved to Detroit in 1957. The Pistons have never won an NBA championship; their only NBA Finals appearance was in 1956, which they lost to the Philadelphia Warriors.

Reader's Guide

The Fort Wayne Pistons played in the NBA from 1949 to 1957. Their only NBA Finals appearance was in 1956, where they were defeated by the Philadelphia Warriors in five games. The team featured players such as George Yardley, a forward who set the NBA single-season scoring record in the Pistons' first season in Detroit. The franchise moved to Detroit after the 1956–57 season and became the Detroit Pistons.

Did You Know?

• The Fort Wayne Pistons were originally called the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, named after the Zollner Corporation, a foundry that manufactured pistons.
• George Yardley was a forward, not a guard, and became the first NBA player to score 2,000 points in a season.