Anytime an athlete or former athlete becomes part of a story in Sports Illustrated magazine it’s sort of a big deal.

For 89-year-old Forest “Frosty” Able it was a long time coming, and a complete surprise regarding several basketball players who had underwhelming careers in the NBA. The magazine peered into the NBA record books and found 10 players who had been college stars, drafted into the pro league only to see or speak of playing time … less than one minute of action before being cut from the team and league.

Able had been a star at Western Kentucky University for coach Ed Diddle back in the early 1950s after playing his freshman year at the University of Louisville. He had been an all-state high school player at Fairdale in Jefferson County, which turned out to be a school he would later coach at for 11 years.

But it was his brief time with the Syracuse Nationals that the March 2022 issue of Sports Illustrated wrote about.

At Western, Able was a rugged 6-3 guard scoring 1,221 points in his three years in Bowling Green. His play earned him the teams MVP his senior year and even notoriety on a few All-American teams his senior year in 1956.

Syracuse took notice, and Oct. 28, 1956, the kid from Fairdale High School was the 20th overall NBA draft pick in the third round. His new teammates were future stars Al Bianchi, Earl Lloyd, Dolph Schayes, Johnny “Red” Kerr and Paul Seymour. The coach was Al Cervi.

For Able, in the beginning, it looked like a good fit with Syracuse. A team full of veterans and a chance to gain experience, his knack for being a slick ball handler along with his ferocious defense, indicated he just might be in the NBA for a long time.

Things were looking up for Able when in the second game of the season, his coach summoned him into the game against the Rochester Royals.

“I was a nervous wreck,” Able told Sports Illustrated, adding that quickly the ball was stolen from him and soon after during a timeout, he was pulled from the game never to play again in the NBA.

He was released soon after. “They knew I wasn’t gonna make it,” he said.

Actually, he got quite a bit done during his brief time in the game. Official NBA statistics revealed he had two field goal attempts, one assist and one rebound. It did not show his one turnover. Still not bad for one minute.

Able’s son Todd asked the question, “How many players do you know who played in the NBA?” His father did.

Forest Able returned to Kentucky, taught school for a while, and in 1959 became the basketball coach at his old high school, Fairdale.

That’s where he crossed paths with Lloyd “Pink” Gardner.

Gardner had ambitions of being a star basketball player at Fairdale. Much like his coach had been, when Gardner was cut from the team, looking back on it, he says it was the most defining moment of his life.

Give Able credit for recognizing talent, or lack of. He did see in Gardner there was a place for him on the team. Lloyd’s life was forever changed when he became manager and trainer for his high school team.

“He told me he’d enroll me in Creamers Trainers’ School and get me a scholarship at Western working for coach Diddle,” Gardner said of Able.

True to his word, following graduation from Fairdale in 1962, Gardner headed to Bowling Green. During his time at Western he worked with Diddle and later coach John Oldham. After Western, he used his connection with former Hilltoppers to land a key role as trainer for the professional ABA Kentucky Colonels.

Gardner has maintained his close association with Able and Fairdale High School over the years, never forgetting where it all started.

First, becoming an assistant basketball coach at Fairdale under Stan Hardin, and then putting his own name in the record books by winning the Kentucky High School State Basketball Championship in 1994.

For 30 years Able was a teacher at Fairdale, even driving a school bus for 21 years. Now experiencing some health issues, he has never lost his love for Fairdale or Western. By the way, Al Cervi, the coach who pulled Able out of that game against the Royals, was sent packing himself after a 4-8 start that same season.

Even though Forest Able played one minute in the NBA, he is still in select company. The league is 75-years-old and only 4,400 players have made a box score.

— There’s no excuse, get up, get out and get going! Gary P. West can be reached at westgarypdeb@gmail.com