A trivial pursuit, from Fort Wayne to Detroit

Some stuff you might not know about those indomitable Detroit Pistons.

1. They began life in Fort Wayne, Ind., as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons. Fred Zollner was a manufacturer of, yup, pistons. As Shaughnessy always says, you can't make this stuff up.

2. They lost a tough seven-game series in the Finals to the Syracuse Nationals in 1955. That was the big moment for the Fort Wayne Pistons.

3. Tom Heinsohn says that when you took the train to Fort Wayne, you had to get off somewhere first and wait at the Green Parrot Cafe for another one. Again, who would attempt to make this stuff up?

4. Mr. Zollner flew them around in their own plane, an NBA first.

5. Their first team in Detroit (1957-58) originally was coached by Charley Eckman, who in a former life was an NBA ref. He was canned with a 9-16 record. See Items 1 and 3.

6. George Yardley celebrated their move to Detroit by becoming the first NBA player to score 2,000 points in a season. He cut it pretty close, scoring 2,001 (a 27.8 average). For the benefit of the young-uns: Yardley was a 6-foot-5-inch forward with a great jump shot and a noticeable absence of hair.

7. They once had a 7-foot center named Reggie Harding, who was distinguished for a few reasons. He hadn't gone to college, which was a rarity in the '60s. Legend has it that he once attempted to rob a store while wearing a mask. Seven-foot robbers being scarce, then and now, the would-be victim said, "C'mon, Reggie, I know that's you." See Items 1, 3, and 5.

8. For years they played in a very interesting, colorful venue known as Cobo Hall, which actually had a stage at one end. During the mid '80s, they had a sensational house organist named Tyrone Hemphill, as I recall.

9. Eleven games into the 1963-64 season, they fired coach Charley Wolf, who had gotten off to a 2-9 start. They did not conduct a nationwide search for a successor. They turned to their best player, Detroit-born and -bred Dave DeBusschere, and asked him to coach. Never mind that DeBusschere was all of 24 years old. And he actually coached them for the rest of that season, the entire '64-65 season, and the first 73 games of the following season. By this time DeBusschere was 44 years old. No, I made that up. But see Items 1, 3, 5, and 7.

10. For years the Detroit general manager was a nice man named Ed Coil. He had no basketball background. He was, in fact, Fred Zollner's right-hand man. He made so many bad deals and orchestrated so many bad drafts he was known throughout the league as "Friendly Ed Coil."

11. It's not as if they didn't have any good players in the late '50s and early '60s. Start with Yardley. And then factor in Gene Shue, Bailey Howell, DeBusschere, Don Ohl, Ray Scott, and Terry Dischinger, who would have been a terrific player if he hadn't gotten hurt. Tom Van Arsdale, Joe Caldwell, and Kevin Loughery all broke in with the Pistons.

12. They drafted Dave Bing and Jimmy Walker in successive years (1967-68). It took Walker a while to figure it out as a pro, but when he did, the Pistons had one of the most potent offensive backcourts in NBA history. In 1969-70, Bing averaged 22.9 and Walker 20.8. In 1971-72, Bing averaged 22.6 and Walker 21.3. Walker was traded to Houston following that season.

13. Friendly Ed should be in the Madison Square Garden Hall of Fame. He traded DeBusschere to the Knicks for Walt Bellamy and Howard Komives, the deal that solidified the Knicks and made it possible for them to win a pair of championships.

14. Ah, Dave Bing. What a smooth ballplayer. He did not jump; he levitated. He remained with the team for nine seasons, averaging 22.6 points a game. He has as much a claim for the title of Mr. Piston as anybody, even if he never came close to winning a ring.

15. The 1970-71 Pistons got off to a 12-1 start under flamboyant mentor Butch van Breda Kolff, who was practically two-platooning. According to Those Who Know, some of the bigger names went in to complain about playing time. Butch was forced to cave by management. The team went 33-36 thereafter.

16. God love Butch van Breda Kolff. Nowadays, the game ends and the coach heads either back home or, if on the road, to the hotel to study tapes and scouting reports for the next game. Not Butch. At home, he'd leave Cobo and head straight to the Lindell A.C., which he would close. On the road, the hotel bar, or somewhere. There always would be plenty of time to get ready for the next game. Butch had a life to lead.

17. Here's a fascinating item no one outside of Detroit remembers: The '73-74 gang was coached by Ray Scott, a really nice man whose claim to fame was that he owned an extensive collection of old fight films. Judging by that team's chosen style, he must have had the boys over fairly frequently to pick up some fistic pointers. Led by Bob Lanier, Curtis Rowe, and a now-forgotten, annoying, undersized, gritty power forward named Don Adams, the Pistons sneak-previewed the '90s with relentless, physical, sticky defense and a grinding offense. They went 52-30 and lost a grueling first-round Game 7 to the equally tough-minded Bulls, 96-94.

18. Bob Lanier. How could such a large man be so amazingly graceful? He was truly one of the most fascinating big men in NBA history. He edged out Bing (22.7-22.6) for the honor of the all-time Detroit per-game leader.

19. Kelly Tripucka, John Long, Terry Tyler, Vinnie The Microwave (whose nickname was bestowed upon him by Danny Ainge), Chuck Daly, Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn, Adrian Dantley, Joe Dumars, Mark Aguirre, James Edwards, John Salley, and Dennis Rodman: You guys know all that stuff.

20. This is the 20th season for the Palace of Auburn Hills, the building that did for indoor American sports venues what Camden Yards did for ballparks. Every arena built post-Palace has adapted, in some form or another, the Palace Hills blueprint, especially the idea of how to provide the maximum number of luxury boxes.

21. Yes, it's true. Dick Vitale really did coach them for one full season and 12 games of the next. See Items 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9.

22. I guess I should mention that Vitale was also the GM, and by shipping a No. 1 pick to the Celtics in exchange for his signing of Bob McAdoo, he made it possible for the Kevin McHale/Robert Parish deal to be made. So Dickie V was responsible for three Celtics championships. But he's still waiting for his ring.