021 - Bill Garner
Nicknamed Orbit … Because what else do you call a 7-footer with an 8-foot-11 reach and a launch angle that made NASA worry he’d beat Apollo to the moon? … Looked like he’d been hand-drawn—then yanked from top to bottom … High-waisted, too—more arms and legs than a Macy’s furniture showroom during clearance week … Two pro stints, five years apart—Art Kim’s Long Beach Chiefs in ’62, his Anaheim Amigos in ’67–68. Didn’t start. Still stood out. Not one to boast …
Only player to take the floor on the ABL’s final day and the ABA’s opening tip …
In between? Saw the world with Abe Saperstein’s Harlem Globetrotters—where the laughs were scripted, but the talent was real … Enjoyed the travel. Not the hotel beds. But added: “There’s a lot of swell hotel managers in this country. They really go out of their way to make me comfortable.” … First 7-footer to suit up for the Trotters since Wilt in ’58. Even wore Wilt’s old No. 13—only it hung a little looser … Teamed with Connie Hawkins, Meadowlark Lemon, and Curly Neal—playing in arenas, armories, barns, and bandboxes across the country and beyond … Started as a straightman—setting picks, selling jokes. Played it cool while others got the spotlight … By ’66, he was showboating in the Magic Circle, with Brother Bones whistling “Sweet Georgia Brown” through the loudspeakers—capping it off with a thunderous two-handed stuff shot … Selected by the Lakers in the eighth round of the ’62 NBA Draft, out of Portland University … Led the Purple and White Pilots as a junior, averaging 14.4 points and 12.1 boards per game … Voted first-team All-Region by coaches that same year … Regarded as the most feared post defender on the Coast since Bill Russell was swatting shots for USF in the mid-’50s—or so boasted the school’s ’61-62 media guide … Senior year: Limited by a wrenched knee and academic troubles … Born William Garner on June 17, 1940, in East St. Louis, Illinois. Friends called him Slim … After basketball? Grounded—finally. As a Metro bus driver. In the Missouri–Illinois area … Passed at 73 on April 5, 2014, in Florissant, MO. Orbiting again—just somewhere higher now.
Sources: Anaheim Bulletin, 10/14/1967 [Scored five points in ABA opener], against Oaks at Oakland]; Baltimore Evening Sun, 3/14/1966 [Trotters’ first 7-footer since Wilt]; Elmira Star-Gazette, 12/9/1965 [Sweet Georgia Brown]; Long Beach Press -Telegram,1/1/1963 [ABL folds], 2/21/1963 [Joined Hawkins’ Trotters after the ABL disbanded]; Long Beach Independent, 12/31/1962 [Scored two points for Chiefs on final day of ABL season], 7/1/1967 [Signed with Amigos]; Los Angeles Times, 8/24/1967; Sheboygan Press, 10/26/1965 [Orbit; hotel beds; one of team’s top showman, climaxes opening with dunk]; Shreveport Times, 3/23/1966 [Trotters history]; Wichita Eagle, 1/8/1965 [Tallest Trotter; teammate of Meadowlark Leon, Connie Hawkins]; Zanesville Times Recorder, 12/16/1964; archwaychapel.com, accessed 5/22/2014.; University of Portland, Pilot Profiles: 1961-62 Basketball Season.
Edited 10/26/2025 at 2:17 p.m.