 Born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan in 1934, John Augustus Ziegler, Jr. lived with his family in the Detroit area's northern, lakefront suburb of St. Clair Shores, graduating from Lake Shore High School in 1951.He would go on to attend the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, obtaining both an undergraduate degree and a graduate law degree, the latter in 1957.Before becoming National Hockey League President in 1977, Ziegler practiced law initially with the firm Dickson, Wright, McKean and Cudlip, in Detroit, Michigan, and after 1970 on his own.