Fort Wayne, IN Zollner Piston sponsor Fred Zollner knew a good thing or a good ball player. So when his Pistons were defeated 1-0 in 1940 on a one-hitter by pitcher Leo Luken and catcher Bernie Kampschmidt, Zollner asked the two players to join the team. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Kampschmidt wasn’t a stranger to national championship teams. In 1939, he played for the national champion Nick Carr Boosters of Covington, KY. But with the Pistons, he would play with a team comprised of the best players in the United States who won three consecutive national titles (1945-1947). Kampschmidt was named manager of the team in 1946 and held that position until the team disbanded in 1954. He was named to the all-star team of the National Fastball League four years in a row, 1946-1949. He called his greatest thrill in softball “winning the 1939 championship in Chicago with all the players being from Covington, KY, a town of eight thousand population.” Nicknamed Whitey, Kampschmidt had a rifle arm and was an excellent receiver who played softball 31 years starting in Covington, KY. After the Pistons disbanded, Kampschmidt remained with the company and had a 42 year career before retiring in 1982. He was born September 11, 1916 and died February 23, 1996 at age 79.
