Gary R. Alcorn (October 8, 1936 – November 29, 2006) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He played parts of two seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) for the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

and

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

from 1959 to 1960.

Early life

Alcorn was born and raised on a small farm in

Calwa, California Calwa (formerly, Calwa City) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Fresno County, California, United States. The population was 1,776 at the 2020 census, down from 2,052 at the 2010 census. Calwa is located south-sou ...

. His father was an avid outdoorsman and taught him how to hunt and fish. Alcorn attended Theodore Roosevelt High School in

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

, and led the basketball team to a North Yosemite League title during his senior year.

Playing career

Alcorn started his

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

career at Fresno City College where he helped the Rams to a state championship in 1955 and a third-place finish in 1956. He also played for the

Fresno State Bulldogs The Fresno State Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent California State University, Fresno (commonly referred to as Fresno State). The university is a member of NCAA Division I's Mountain West Conference (MW). It was a ...

of the

West Coast Athletic Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCA ...

(WCAC) where his 333 points during the 1956–57 season surpassed a league record that was set by

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played Center (basketball), center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. He was t ...

the previous season. Alcorn led the Bulldogs in scoring and rebounds all three seasons he played. He was selected to the All-WCAC first team in 1957. Alcorn was selected by the

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, having played and won championships in both the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball League (NBL) and the Basketball Association of America (BAA) prior to ...

as the 83rd overall pick in the 1958 NBA draft and the

as the 18th overall pick in the

1959 NBA draft The 1959 NBA draft was the 13th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 31, 1959, before the 1959–60 season. In this draft, eight NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball pla ...

. He played in the

(NBA) for the Pistons during his rookie season in 1959–60. Alcorn signed as a free agent with the Lakers on October 24, 1960, and appeared in 20 games before he was waived on December 15, 1960. His basketball career ended prematurely because of knee problems. Alcorn was inducted into the Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982.

Post-playing career

Alcorn entered the

sporting goods Sports equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear, which varies in shapes, size, and usage in a particular sport. It includes balls, nets, rackets, protective gears like helmets, goggles, etc. Since the p ...

business in 1955 when he was hired as a salesman for Hanoian's Sporting Goods, where he later became manager of the fishing department. He opened his own Fresno store, Alcorn's Sporting Goods, in 1985. Alcorn sold the business in 1998. Alcorn was involved in the establishment of the organization Kokanee Power that helped to introduce popular game fish to lakes and reservoirs in central California.

Personal life

Alcorn was married to Margaret and had one son. He was an accomplished

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

and sport fisherman, trap shooter and hunter. Alcorn died on November 29, 2006, at the age of 70. Alcorn's grandson, Cade, played college basketball for the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcorn, Gary 1936 births 2006 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Fresno, California Centers (basketball) Detroit Pistons draft picks Detroit Pistons players Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball players Los Angeles Lakers players 20th-century American sportsmen