George Yardley
This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(September 2014) |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Hollywood, California,U.S. | November 3, 1928
Died | August 12, 2004 Newport Beach, California,U.S. | (aged 75)
Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Newport Harbor (Newport Beach, California) |
College | Stanford(1947–1950) |
NBA draft | 1950:1st round, 7th overall pick |
Selected by theFort Wayne Pistons | |
Playing career | 1953–1962 |
Position | Forward/guard |
Number | 12 |
Career history | |
1953–1959 | Fort Wayne / Detroit Pistons |
1959–1960 | Syracuse Nationals |
1961–1962 | Los Angeles Jets |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Career statistics | |
Points | 9,063 (19.2 ppg) |
Rebounds | 4,220 (8.9 rpg) |
Assists | 815 (1.7 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Statsat Basketball-Reference.com | |
Basketball Hall of Fame as player | |
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006 |
George Harry Yardley III(November 3, 1928 – August 12, 2004) was an Americanbasketballplayer. He was the first player inNBAhistory to score 2,000 points in one season, breaking the 1,932-point record held byGeorge Mikan.Yardley was enshrined in theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famein 1996.
Early life
[edit]A two-time All-American atStanford University,Yardley was a member ofPhi Kappa Psifraternity, and earned the nickname "Yardbird" due to the chores he was required to complete by his fraternity brothers.[1]The nickname was later shortened to "Bird".After his three-year career at Stanford, Yardley played one year ofAAUbasketball and served in theUnited States Navyfor two years. During his navy stint, Yardley's amateur team won the national A.A.U. championship in 1951, with Yardley being selected the national amateur player-of-the-year. He was drafted by the NBAFort Wayne Pistonsin 1950.
NBA career
[edit]At 6'5 ", Yardley was a good-sized forward in 1950s basketball and was described as" an offensive-minded player with a knack for scoring "in hisNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famebiography.[1]
Described as a "flamboyant"[1]and "gregarious" player who "never did anything without flair",[2]Yardley had a stellar 7-year career, making the NBA All-Star team every year except for his rookie season. Paired with fellow all-starLarry Foust,Yardley led theFort Wayne Pistonsto twoNBA Finalsbefore the team moved toDetroitin 1957. In '57–58, the Pistons' first year in Detroit, Yardley led the league in scoring, averaging 27.8 points per game, and tallied 2001 points, just enough to make him the first NBA player to score 2000 points in a season. That year, Yardley also set NBA records for most free throws attempted (808) and most free throws made (655), and was named to the All-NBA First Team for the only time in his career.
On February 13, 1959, Yardley was traded to theSyracuse NationalsforEd Conlin.[3]Following a sixth All-Star selection the following season in1959–1960,in which he averaged 20.2 points per game, he retired from basketball at the age of 31. He was the first player in NBA history to retire after averaging at least 20 PPG in his final year. AlthoughAlex Grozahad a 21.7 PPG average in his final NBA season in 1951, his career ended as a result of a lifelong ban, instead of a voluntary retirement like that of Yardley's. He made a brief comeback in the short-livedAmerican Basketball Leaguewith the Los Angeles Jets in 1961–62.
Post-basketball career
[edit]Making use of his engineering degree from Stanford, Yardley started his own engineering company in California following his retirement from the NBA. In 1996, Yardley was elected to theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fameas a player.
In a tribute to Yardley posted after his death,Pete Newelllater said "George Yardley embodies what the Hall of Fame is all about. A marvelous athlete who made full use of his natural talents, a demeanor on the court a coach admires, and a life off the court and after his basketball career ended that has been very successful."[4]
Yardley died ofamyotrophic lateral sclerosis,also known asLou Gehrig's disease, at the age of 75.
NBA career statistics
[edit]GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goalpercentage | 3P% | 3-point field goalpercentage | FT% | Free throwpercentage |
RPG | Reboundsper game | APG | Assistsper game | SPG | Stealsper game |
BPG | Blocksper game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
* | Led the league |
Regular season
[edit]Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1953–54 | Fort Wayne | 63 | 23.6 | .425 | .712 | 6.5 | 1.6 | 9.0 |
1954–55 | Fort Wayne | 60 | 35.8 | .418 | .745 | 9.9 | 2.1 | 17.3 |
1955–56 | Fort Wayne | 71 | 33.1 | .407 | .742 | 9.7 | 2.2 | 17.4 |
1956–57 | Fort Wayne | 72 | 37.4 | .410 | .787 | 10.5 | 2.0 | 21.5 |
1957–58 | Detroit | 72 | 39.5 | .414 | .811 | 10.7 | 1.3 | 27.8* |
1958–59 | Detroit | 46 | 30.8 | .415 | .816 | 7.1 | 0.9 | 20.8 |
1958–59 | Syracuse | 15 | 28.0 | .482 | .648 | 6.9 | 1.7 | 16.7 |
1959–60 | Syracuse | 73 | 32.9 | .453 | .816 | 7.9 | 1.7 | 20.2 |
Career | 472 | 33.4 | .422 | .780 | 8.9 | 1.7 | 19.2 | |
All-Star | 6 | 21.8 | .433 | .706 | 5.8 | 0.7 | 10.7 |
Playoffs
[edit]Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1954 | Fort Wayne | 4 | 26.8 | .485 | .833 | 6.0 | 0.8 | 10.5 |
1955 | Fort Wayne | 11 | 38.2 | .399 | .759 | 9.0 | 3.3 | 15.8 |
1956 | Fort Wayne | 10 | 40.6 | .421 | .776 | 13.9 | 2.6 | 23.0 |
1957 | Fort Wayne | 2 | 42.5 | .453 | .818 | 9.5 | 4.0 | 28.5 |
1958 | Detroit | 7 | 36.3 | .409 | .896 | 10.3 | 2.4 | 23.4 |
1959 | Syracuse | 9 | 37.0 | .439 | .857 | 9.7 | 2.3 | 25.1 |
1960 | Syracuse | 3 | 29.3 | .385 | .833 | 5.7 | 0.3 | 13.3 |
Career | 46 | 36.8 | .422 | .817 | 9.9 | 2.4 | 20.3 |
References
[edit]- ^abc"The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame - Hall of Famers".Archived fromthe originalon June 4, 2011.RetrievedApril 24,2011.
- ^[1]ArchivedOctober 30, 2006, at theWayback Machine
- ^George Yardley Trasactions
- ^[2]ArchivedOctober 30, 2006, at theWayback Machine
External links
[edit]- 1928 births
- 2004 deaths
- Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players
- American Basketball League (1961–62) players
- Burials at Pacific View Memorial Park
- Deaths from motor neuron disease in California
- Detroit Pistons players
- Fort Wayne Pistons draft picks
- Fort Wayne Pistons players
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
- NBA All-Stars
- Basketball players from Orange County, California
- Stanford Cardinal men's basketball players
- Syracuse Nationals players
- American men's basketball players
- Newport Harbor High School alumni
- Forwards (basketball)
- Guards (basketball)
- United States Navy sailors