George Carter obit

ABA Star George Carter has died 

He was not on the list.

 

Carter was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the eighth round of the 1967 NBA draft. Carter, Dave Winfield and Mickey McCarty are the only three people known to have been drafted by 4 different professional leagues in one year. He was also selected by the New Orleans Buccaneers in the 1967 ABA Draft. He was also drafted by the MLB's New York Mets and the NFL's Buffalo Bills.

Carter played only game for the Pistons and then joined the Washington Caps of the rival American Basketball Association. He went on to play seven seasons in the ABA, spending time with eight teams: the Caps, the Virginia Squires, the Carolina Cougars, the Pittsburgh Condors, the New York Nets, the Memphis Sounds, the Baltimore Claws (preseason games only) and the Utah Stars. Carter represented the Squires in the 1971 ABA All-Star Game. He scored 8,863 combined ABA/NBA career points.

Carter played collegiate basketball at St. Bonaventure University. Carter played at Silver Creek High School in New York, graduating in 1963. He was a two-time all-Western New York selection in basketball. He also played high school football and ran track.

During his professional basketball career from 1967 to 1976, Carter averaged more than 18 points and nearly 7 rebounds per game. When he retired, he finished with more than 8,000 career points.

Yet, the end to Carter's life was heart-wrenching. When he died, there was no family, no means to have a funeral. His remains were to be cremated and he would be buried in a grave with no marker.

No one would know that here lay a man who at one time lived a life of greatness, a man of remarkable athletic prowess, a sports hero.