Leo Luken was one of the mainstays of the Fort Wayne, IN Zollner Piston pitching staff during the 1940s and 1950s when the Pistons won three consecutive ASA national titles. Nicknamed the Lion-Hearted, Luken started his 21 year career pitching in church league competition (1936-1938) before helping the Nick Carr Boosters of Covington, KY win the 1939 ASA national title with Luken compiling a 42-6 record. He joined the Pistons in 1940 and remained with them until the team disbanded in 1954. Luken won 12 games and lost none in national championship play. He won three games apiece in the 1942 and 1944 nationals. One of the wins in 1942 was a no-hitter against the defending national champion Bendix Brakes. In 23 innings, he allowed four hits, one run and fanned 33 batters. In 1945, he won four games including beating the Joe Louis Punchers in the final, 1-0 in Cleveland, OH. In 1946, he won a pair of games beating Cleveland , OH in relief of Bill West, 2-1 in 11 innings and shutting out Longview, WA 7-0, on a two-hitter.. Over three seasons, 1944-1945 and 1946, Luken put together a 53 game win streak before losing July 5, 1946 to Briggs Beautyware of Detroit, MI 21. He also had a 17 game win streak from May of 1953 to September of 1954. Luken had some impressive seasons for the Pistons including 1942 (29-2 with three no-hitters and 11 shutouts; 1944 (30-2), 1945 (35-0), 1946 (31-2); 1947 (17-4), 1949 (17-1 with 151 strikeouts in 145 1/3 innings), 1950 (15-3), 1951 (6-1) and 1954 (9-1). After the team disbanded, Luken remained with the Zollner Corporation as production and traffic manager before retiring in 1982. Since his retirement he also has been elected to the Indiana (1978) and Kentucky (1984) ASA Halls of Fame. Luken was born July 14, 1918 and passed away on August 2, 2014.
