Zollner Corporation, formed in 1912, was a Tier-1 supplier of pistons to companies such as Ford, General Motors, International Harvester (now Navistar), John Deere and Outboard Marine.
[1] Zollner Island in Lake Kabetogama in Voyageurs National Park, where he had a cabin, is named for him.
The 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.
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.
Kundla arrived shortly before halftime, and tried to sneak to the bench, but the fans spotted him and roared.
[3] By 1974, the Pistons' lackluster performance on the court was starting to hurt Zollner's bottom line; the team had never turned a profit since moving to Detroit.
[7] On October 1, 1999, Zollner was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor.