Billy Gabor obit

Syracuse great, NBA star Billy Gabor dies at age of 97

 He was not on the list.

Syracuse, New York -- Billy Gabor, who played at Syracuse University and in the NBA for the Syracuse Nationals, died on Tuesday at the age of 97.

Gabor died after a brief battle with pneumonia. He had turned 97 on May 13 and was believed to be the oldest living former NBA player. He had been living for the past several years in Jupiter, Florida.

Gabor’s son, Bill, confirmed the news on Tuesday.

. A 5'11" guard/forward known as "Billy the Bullet", Gabor played collegiately at Syracuse University in the 1940s. He averaged 12.1 points per game during his freshman year before joining the United States Army Air Corps in 1943. He returned to Syracuse in 1945 and played three more seasons, finishing with a (then) team-record 1,344 career points. Gabor's jersey was retired by Syracuse University on March 1, 2009.

Gabor spent his professional career with the Syracuse Nationals of the National Basketball League and later the National Basketball Association. He played with Syracuse until injuries forced him into retirement in 1955. In his NBA career, Gabor averaged 9.8 points per game and logged one NBA All-Star Game appearance. He won a league championship with Syracuse in 1955.

When Gabor first began playing basketball at Syracuse, there was a freshman and varsity team. He started all the freshmen games and then would suit up for the varsity game. Gabor started his first game on varsity against Cornell in 1942–43 season and scored 22 points. He started every game after that.

Gabor holds many school records, including:

Only person to lead the team in scoring all four years they took the court

First to score 400 points in a single season

First to score over 1,000 points in a career

He held the all-time scoring record until Dave Bing bested it.

On May 1, 2009, Gabor was invited back to the Carrier Dome to see his jersey number 17 retired.

In his time at Syracuse University, Gabor was a member of Theta Chi Fraternity.

Career information

High school     Binghamton Central

(Binghamton, New York)

College            Syracuse (1942–1943, 1945–1948)

NBA draft        1948: — round, —

Drafted by       Rochester Royals

Playing career 1948–1955

Position           Point guard

Number           35, 7

Career history

1948–1955      Syracuse Nationals

Career highlights

NBA champion (1955)

NBA All-Star (1953)

2× Second-team All-American – Helms (1946, 1947)

Third-team All-American – TSN (1946)

No. 17 retired by Syracuse Orange

Career NBA statistics

Points  2,997 (9.8 ppg)

Rebounds        448 (1.8 rpg)

Assists 626 (2.0 apg)