Richard Dunn
NEWPORT BEACH - George Yardley the engineer vowed to never retire.
So far he's on a good pace.
The Stanford-educated 6-foot-5 NBA forward, who once left professional
basketball to pursue business interests and make a better living for his
family, Yardley has seen life's glamorous side, as well as its school of
hard knocks and most difficult times.
Since last year, Yardley, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer from
Newport Harbor High (circa 1946), has defeated prostate cancer, and,
today, acts as if nobody was guarding him in the lane.
Nicknamed "the Bird" in his playing career, mostly with the Pistons,
Fort Wayne, Ind., and Detroit, Yardley is back on the courts once a week
at Palisades Tennis Club and playing golf regularly, while working about
"50 hours a week."
A doting grandfather, Yardley, who lost his longtime wife, Diana, in
January 1999, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the spring of 2000.
But after surgery and 30 days of radiation, Yardley was on his way to
recovery.
"My life is no different (than prior to surgery)," said Yardley, who
lends his name to various Newport Harbor athletic fund-raisers, such as
this summer's boys basketball tournament and a golf tournament in June.
Yardley, who also sends out 10 signed basketballs to charity each
month, has owned and operated the George Yardley Co. in Fountain Valley
for several years. Three of his four children, Robert, Marilyn and Anne,
as well as son-in-law Tim Nagle, work for him. Yardley's other son,
Richard, who used to work for him, "went off on his own" earlier this
year.
"I like what I do," said Yardley, who earned a master's degree at
Stanford, and, later, went out to prove he could make more money off the
basketball court than on it.
"I'm very fortunate to be able to go into something. I might not have
as much money as the guys nowadays (in the NBA), but most players after
they retire have nothing to capture their interest."
Yardley always worked summer jobs during his seven-year NBA career,
which included the 1957-58 campaign, when he became the first NBA player
to score 2,000 points in a season, finishing with 2,001.
One week after Yardley lost his wife, his daughter, Anne, and her two
boys, Kyle, 12, and Cody, 8, moved in with their father after a divorce.
"It's been a godsend," Yardley said of living with his daughter and
grandsons. "Kyle was just in a basketball tournament at the (Harbor Area)
Boys Club and was Player of the Tournament, so it's been kind fun to
