Sports Poets Society

https://www.nba.com/pistons/news/ftwayne_071023.html The Detroit Pistons’ first game was played downtown at Olympia on Oct. 23, 1957. The result, a 105-94 loss to the Boston Celtics, was the first of eight losses to the powerhouse Celtics that season. The Pistons would go 33-39, and Eckman was relieved as head coach. There were highlights, however. The Pistons had three All-Stars in 1958 - George Yardley, Gene Shue and Dick McGuire. Yardley became the first truly Detroit Pistons star, becoming the first NBA player to break the 2,000-point mark in a season. "They had one real good player," said the Pistons official game scorer in the 1950s, Morrie Moorawnick, referring to Yardley. "But other teams had three or four good players." Shue and center Walter Dukes started the 1960 All-Star game, the only time two Pistons have done so together. Their individual excellence, however, was no match for the brilliant Lakers, who didn’t let a move from Minneapolis to Los Angeles ...

https://www.nba.com/pistons/news/ftwayne_071016.html The Pistons' proud history began in Indiana  by Ryan Pretzer You won’t find a place in the United States with more tradition and reverence for the sport of basketball than Indiana. It makes a most fitting birthplace for the Detroit Pistons franchise. This is purely coincidental, of course. The real reason the Pistons started in Fort Wayne, Ind. - and left it, 50 years ago this summer - is Fred Zollner. For a man who made his fortune selling automobile parts, Zollner’s legacy was founded, quite unintentionally, in basketball. Zollner seemed to have a knack for seeing things for what they could become, not as they were. Aspects of the professional game that are standard today - namely a specialized bench coach and private air travel between games - were innovations that only the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons enjoyed in the pro game’s infancy. The signature works of Zollner’s clairvoyance were the modern day NBA and his team’s landmark...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sportsmoney/2011/02/17/what-the-next-owner-of-the-detroit-pistons-can-learn-from-bill-davidson/ Alana Glass Contributor SportsMoney Contributor Group - Feb 17, 2011 In 1974, William “Bill” Davidson, Mr. D. as he was affectionately known, entered the professional sports scene when he bought the Detroit Pistons. His $8 million investment eventually turned into a sports and entertainment empire. At its height the franchise was valued at $479 million. More recently, Forbes calculated its value at $360 million .  Mr. D died in 2009 and his passing felt like the death of a longtime friend or relative. While I never personally knew Mr. D, I get chocked up when I think about him and how much he meant to his players, Pistons fans, and professional sports. He was the face of the team and you can't think about DEE-TROOIT BASKETBALL without thinking of him.  His widow, Karen Davidson , took over as the principle owner nearly two years ago and she wasn’t shy ...

https://michiganchronicle.com/2013/12/04/reflections-on-dave-bing-s-tenure-as-mayor-of-detroit/ Miss AJ Williams December 4, 2013 The days of Mayor Dave Bing’s administration are winding down. In less than six weeks, Bing, after serving a four-and-a-half-year stint as Detroit’s mayor, will pass the baton to Mayor-elect Mike Duggan . The transition of mayoral responsibilities will turn yet another page in Detroit’s long and sometimes controversial political history book. Most will agree that the city of Detroit was in dire straits when Bing took office in May 2009, compounded by the prolonged trials, tribulations, and missteps of former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick , followed by the eventual appointment of an emergency manager and the filing for bankruptcy, all punctuated by rising crime, a steady loss of population, an eroding tax base, and escalating blight. What did Mayor Bing accomplish during his tenure to improve Detroit? In an exclusive interview with the Michigan Chronicle , Bing talk...

https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2010/07/05/la-seconda-vita-di-detroit.html L'appuntamento è davanti alla Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church. L'ex capitale dell'automobile è diventata una terra da missionari. Intorno alla chiesa c'è un quartiere di villette monofamiliari, qualcuna ancora linda e graziosa, con l'erba del prato tagliata di recente, ultimi fortini di resistenza aggrappati al benessere di una volta. Attorno, stringono l'assedio le case coi vetri rotti, le porte sfondate, i tetti pericolanti, i garage incendiati, uno scenario di distruzione violenta, come se un esercito straniero si fosse fatto largo coi tank e i lanciafiamme.  «Immagina cosa succede - mi dice il missionario Jeffrey Jones - quando a fianco a casa tua improvvisamente c'è il vuoto, i vicini scompaiono, qualcuno prima di fare le valigie inchioda alle finestre un asse di legno. È un mondo che crolla. Al posto dei tuoi vicini arrivano i senzatetto e gli...

https://www.corriere.it/esteri/13_luglio_20/detroit-fallimento_dd24b72e-f110-11e2-a0d2-06346f734deb.shtml IN 50 ANNI LA CITTÀ SI È DIMEZZATA Viaggio nei quartieri disabitati. Interi isolati di case abbandonate e bruciate. Nel 1950 aveva 2 milioni di abitanti, ora sono 700mila di MASSIMO GAGGI - Corriere della Sera, 20 luglio 2013 DETROIT - Jefferson North, il bianchissimo stabilimento nella parte nord-orientale della città dove si producono le Jeep Grand Cherokee della Chrysler, lavora a pieno ritmo. Nasce da qui «imported from Detroit», l'orgogliosa campagna pubblicitaria lanciata anni fa dal gruppo italoamericano guidato da Sergio Marchionne. Ma quello stabilimento è l'unico attivo nell'area urbana della città. Gli altri impianti della rinascita dell'industria USA dell'auto - Ford, Chrysler e General Motors - sono fuori dal perimetro di Detroit, non contribuiscono al suo esangue bilancio. UNA CITTA' SVUOTATA Anche questo spiega il perché della bancarotta - la ...