A tribute night to remember

ROGER CARLSON

George Yardley was always known as a “gamer,” and Thursday’s night’s

tribute to George Yardley at the Big Canyon Country Club proved the

notion again as he went the distance and might have been ready for

overtime, if necessary, in his continuing battle with what is

commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The man who broke the 2,000-point barrier in one season in the

National Basketball Association and a member of the Naismith Hall of

Fame in Springfield, Mass., was once again the man of the hour as

family, friends and fans of the fabled “Bird” paid homage with words

and deeds.

The big guy, a product of Newport Harbor High, arrived at 6 p.m.

and well-wishers surrounded his frail frame.

And, with the help of fellow Hall of Famer Annie Meyers-Drysdale,

he got a second-wind at 7 p.m. and lasted out the two remaining hours

of accolades in a moving demonstration of affection from a

blue-ribbon crowd, including Peter Ueberroth.

“I loved it,” he said at the conclusion of the evening,

highlighted by a recently taped interview of George by Bob Costas,

the national spokesman for ALS.

In years past, and one of the reasons he was a darling of the

media, all you had to do was push the button and George was off and

running, often beyond the scope of what ended up in print.

It’s not quite that easy anymore, but Costas, with his silk-like

delivery, took over and it was a presentation which left this veteran

audience in awe.

George told of his lack of strength in his arms and told Costas,

“I’d like to live a little longer.”

“We’ll be writing a check for $100,000,” said George’s daughter,

Anne, in the aftermath, with the Ludwig Institute at UC San Diego and

the ALS Association Orange County chapter, the twin benefactors in

their quest for “Hope in the future.”

ALS ... Lou Gehrig’s disease ... amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

It’s all one in the same, a disease which attacks the patient’s

speech, swallowing, breathing and muscles, with life expectancy

ranging from 2-5 years after diagnosis.

For every 100,000, one will be singled out, as was George in,

roughly, early 2003.

George didn’t do a lot of talking Thursday night, but a lot of

others did.

Carl Bennett, an 88-year-old from the Fort Wayne Pistons days,

recalled when the Pistons were able to sign George in 1953 and said,

“If George could come back to Fort Wayne today he would be elected

mayor.”

UCLA’s George Stanich, Cal’s Tandy Gillis and one of Estancia

High’s great products, Ray Orgill, came forth with revelations, as

well as UCLA’s Ron Livingston, Newport Beach’s Buck Johns, the

Palisades Club’s Ken Stuart, longtime noted official Jim Tunney,

Stanford’s John Hall and USC’s Bill Sharman.

Said Orgill: “George’s [business] secret was to encourage those

not in the limelight. He invested in people.”

There was NBA great Al Attles, double-gold medal winning diver

Sammy Lee and one of the show-stoppers, Dolph Schayes of Syracuse

Nationals days.

“Of all the guys in the NBA, you’re my best friend,” said Schayes,

who revealed his salary at Syracuse in 1957 was $15,000 a year.

“George was making $25,000 a year at Detroit and when they wanted

to trade him to Syracuse [for the 1958-60 seasons] there was a

problem. Syracuse didn’t have that much money. So Detroit paid $7,000

of George’s salary and Syracuse picked up the remaining $18,000.

“They told me at Syracuse they couldn’t pay George more than they

were paying me,” said Schayes, “so they gave me a $3,000 raise. I

loved you then, and I love you now.”

Schayes said George Yardley was the one player in those days who

was as athletic as they are today.

It’s difficult for George Yardley to flash that familiar smile,

but Sammy Lee’s spiel brought forth the beam for which he’s known.

George’s son, Rob, Newport Harbor High product Peter Jason and the

one-and-only, Paul Salata, kept things moving.

By any standard, a great night and one which George Yardley can

hold on to as he continues the battle down the stretch.

Hey! See you next Sunday!

* ROGER CARLSON is the former sports editor for the Daily Pilot.

His column appears on Sundays. He can be reached by e-mail at

[email protected].