Billy Gabor

William A. Gabor
William A. Gabor
Born	13 May 1922 (age 104)
Died	4 June 2019 (aged 97); Jupiter, Florida, U.S.
Other names	"Billy the Bullet"
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	1940s–1955
Known for	NBA champion (1955), NBA All-Star, Syracuse University basketball scoring record holder

William A. Gabor (May 13, 1922 – June 4, 2019) was an American basketball professional famously nicknamed "Billy the Bullet." Standing 5 feet 11 inches tall and playing as a guard/forward, Gabor competed at the collegiate level for Syracuse University during the 1940s. As a freshman, he averaged 12.1 points per game before his service in the United States Army Air Corps. After returning in 1945, he completed three additional seasons and established a then-team record with a total of 1,344 points scored throughout his college career. On March 1, 2009, Syracuse honored him by retiring his jersey.

Gabor's pro basketball tenure was spent with the Syracuse Nationals initially in the NBL and subsequently in the National Basketball Association. His playing days concluded in 1955 due to injuries. Throughout his NBA career, he maintained an average of 9.8 points per game, was selected once for the NBA All-Star Game, and secured an NBA championship with Syracuse in 1955.

Time at Syracuse University

During his time at Syracuse, Gabor started on the freshman squad before advancing to varsity play. He made his varsity debut against Cornell in the 1942–43 season, scoring 22 points. He led the team in scoring each year over four seasons and became the first player to surpass both 400 points in a single season and accumulate over 1,000 points across his collegiate career. His scoring record stood until it was broken by Dave Bing. On May 1, 2009, Syracuse retired his number 17 jersey as a tribute. Additionally, he was affiliated with Theta Chi Fraternity.

Family

Gabor was married once and fathered three children: Bill, Bob, and Hallie. He also had eight grandchildren. His final residence was in Jupiter, Florida.

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1949–50	Syracuse	56	–	.337	.689	–	1.9	10.9
1950–51	Syracuse	61	–	.342	.740	2.5	2.0	11.3
1951–52	Syracuse	57	19.0	.322	.776	1.6	1.5	8.6
1952–53	Syracuse	69	19.4	.350	.764	1.5	1.9	9.4
1953–54	Syracuse	61	19.9	.370	.716	1.6	2.7	9.0
1954–55†	Syracuse	3	15.7	.318	.600	1.7	3.7	5.7
Career		307	19.4	.344	.737	1.8	2.0	9.8
All-Star		1	25.0	.000	.000	5.0	2.0	0.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1950	Syracuse	'10'
'–'	' .258'	' .839 '	'–'	'2.5'	'7.6'
'1951'	'Syracuse'	'7'	'–'	' .375'	' .643'	' 2.9 '	' 2.6 '	' 9.0 '
'1952'	'Syracuse'	'7'	'11.4'	' .333'	' .750'	'0.9'	'1.4'	'4.9'
'1953'	'Syracuse'	'2'	'14.0'	".417"	" .615"	"1.5"	"1.0"	" 9.0 "
"1954"	"Syracuse"	"10"	" 19.6 "	" .289"	" .700"	"2.8"	"1.9"	"7.6"
" colspan=2 style=text-align:center; "Career"	"307"	"19.4"	" .344"	" .737"	"1.8"	"2"	"9.8"

External links