The Post-Journal

SCCS Grad, Bona Great Carter Passes Away

George Carter puts up a shot.
Silver Creek graduate and St. Bonaventure star George Carter passed away recently. Photo courtesy of St. Bonaventure Athletics.

ST. BONAVENTURE — The St. Bonaventure Department of Athletics mourns the loss of George Carter, Class of 1967, who passed away recently.

Carter earned his rightful spot as one of Bonaventure’s best-ever men’s basketball players when he was named to the program’s All-Time Team as part of Bona’s Centennial Season celebration last year. In three seasons on the basketball court, the Silver Creek native became a member of the 1,000-point club with 1,322 points and averaged 19.4 points per game. Today, he ranks fifth in school history for career rebounds with 849 including a career-high 305 in 1966-67. His career scoring average per game is ninth in Bonnies history while his 12.5 rebounds per game stand behind only Bob Lanier in the Bona record books. He also served as a team captain during his Bonaventure days.

He was drafted 81st overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 1967 NBA Draft, and was such a brilliant athlete that he also was drafted by the Buffalo Bills and the New York Mets, making him the only athlete born in Western New York to be drafted by three professional sports teams. After serving two years in the military, he played in the ABA, first with the Washington Capitals where he was an all-star in 1970, and then with the Virginia Squires where he played alongside Julius Erving. He also played for the Pittsburgh Condors, Carolina Cougars and New York Nets.

During his ABA and NBA careers, he averaged over 18 points and nearly seven rebounds per game between 1967 and 1976. He also played professionally in France. When he retired, he finished his ABA/NBA career with over 8,000 career points.

He was inducted into the St. Bonaventure Athletics Hall of Fame in 1974. He was also a member of the Greater Buffalo Hall of Fame, earning induction in 2012, and received a spot in the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame in 1984.


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