Yardley An Early Pistons Rarity: He Was A Record Setter

George Yardley didn't look like a basketball player, even playing in an era in which basketball players didn't look like basketball players. But he was one of the deadliest scorers of his time.

49 years ago today, wearing super short shorts and canvas sneakers and floppy socks, Yardley became the first player in NBA history to score 2,000 points in a single season. And he did it playing for the Pistons, he being one of the stars that came with the franchise after it relocated from Fort Wayne, Ind.

Yardley was tall, gangly, and was conspicuous by his balding head that made him look like your high school science teacher rather than one of the best forwards of his time, which he was. His trademark was the set shot, which has gone the way of the bounce pass and raising your hand when you commit a foul.



But as was so typical of the Pistons in the slapstick years of the late-1950s thru most of the 1970s, Yardley was eventually traded, to Syracuse in 1959. He had fallen out of favor with Pistons owner Fred Zollner, who was angered by Yardley's negative remarks about the NBA in a Sports Illustrated article. So Yardley was shipped to the Nationals for Ed Conlin, one of the worst trades in team history, which is saying something for a franchise that was once famous for making them.

Gene Shue. Dave DeBusschere. Ray Scott. Bob Lanier. Dave Bing. These were some of the greatest players during the Pistons' leaner years, and all were traded away -- often times for inferior talent. But Yardley was the first of these fine players to be dealt, and less than a season after his history-making 2,000-point campaign.

Yardley died in August, 2004, at age 75. He was the first great Pistons player, even if he didn't look like a hoopster.

By the way, when was the last time you saw a set shot?