NEW YORK -- Contrary to conventional conviction, George Yardley's induction into Springfield's Hall of Fame in '96, leading the NBA in scoring (27.8) and becoming the league's first player to amass 2,000 points in a (72-game) season (Wilt doubled that output four years later) did not compare with his greatest basketball achievement.
No, his crowning honor occurred in '53-'54. "Dad was the first guy to finish rookie year with all his teeth," wryly bragged Rob Yardley via telephone from California earlier this week.
The 42-year-old son (as well as his twin brother, two sisters and mother) does a lot of his father's talking these days. Especially to inquiring outsiders wishing to pay their respects to one of the game's most valued treasures and Earth's all-time cherished characters.