Success Is Part of Tradition for Yardley’s Grandson
If 6-foot-7 sophomore Kyle Caldwell ever walks around the Newport Harbor campus wearing an orange suit, red pants or leopard-spotted jeans, it means he’s showing off his grandfather’s wardrobe.
“I loved his clothes,” Caldwell said. “They were vibrant colors. You name it, he had it.”
Caldwell’s grandfather, George Yardley, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996. He died in 2004 at 75, just months before Newport Harbor named its gym floor Yardley Court.
Now Yardley’s grandson is following in the family sports tradition by becoming a standout in volleyball and basketball.
And each time Caldwell walks onto Yardley Court, he’s inspired by a man who was more than just one of the best professional basketball players of the 1950s. He was a grandfather who loved to watch his grandson compete.
“I just remember him being at all my games and supporting me,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell’s mother, Anne, is Yardley’s daughter. She was a top volleyball player at Newport Harbor. So was her brother, Rob, who played at Stanford. Caldwell’s father, Bruce, starred at Newport Harbor.
George Yardley was the trend-setter, becoming a two-time All-American basketball player at Stanford, then playing in six consecutive NBA All-Star games (1955-60). He was 6-5 and became the first player to score 2,000 points in one season.
“He changed the game by inventing the jump shot, pretty much,” Kyle said.
For the last seven years of his life, Yardley lived with his daughter and two grandsons. He died Aug. 12, 2004, of Lou Gehrig’s disease. Anne remembers how happy he was to see the drawings of the proposed Yardley Court.
“Tears were running down his face,” she said. “I think that court naming was more important than going into the Hall of Fame.”
Caldwell is the kind of two-sport athlete his grandfather always appreciated. Last summer, he stamped himself as one of the top volleyball players in the nation for his age group when he earned all-tournament recognition at the Junior Olympics in Kentucky.
He broke his right ankle in July and was out for four months after surgery and the insertion of eight pins and a plate. He returned to basketball in January and made all-league. Now he’s back playing volleyball, though not as strong as he could be after his absence from the weight room during his injury.
“I’m still trying to get back in shape,” Caldwell said.
He was strong enough last week to contribute 13 kills as Newport Harbor knocked off Southern Section Division I power Manhattan Beach Mira Costa in four games.
College coaches already know his name and have him ranked among the top volleyball prospects for 2008.
“He’s got a tremendous amount of potential,” Sailor Coach Dan Glenn said.
As for basketball, Coach Larry Hirst said, “When he gets in a full season’s shape, he’s going to be real good.”
And there’s another Caldwell to follow. His brother, Cody, is a 13-year-old volleyball-basketball player in the making.
The coaches at Newport Harbor were concerned about putting too much pressure on the grandsons by naming the court after Yardley.
“We were very cognizant of the fact we were going to have a couple Yardley grandchildren coming through,” Hirst said.
But Kyle’s reaction was swift.
“That would be so cool,” he said.
Kyle Caldwell still doesn’t know whether he’s a volleyball player who plays basketball or a basketball player who plays volleyball. He likes whichever sport is in season.
The influence and impact of his grandfather, however, is clear. Yardley used to lobby and remind Caldwell about the advantage of shooting bank shots.
“You make it in the square,” he’d say, “it will go in the hoop.”
And there were all the wacky trinkets that he kept, from flying pigs to trains to a bubble contraption that made a strange noise. Plus, his colorful clothes.
What teenager would dare to have the self-confidence to wear his grandfather’s clothing? Caldwell, that’s who. He wore Yardley’s red pants to his basketball banquet this month.
Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
