George Thomas Nostrand was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player.

A 6'8" forward/center

Center (basketball)

The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...

 from High Point University (1941-1944) and the University of Wyoming

University of Wyoming

The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...

 (1944-1945), Nostrand played four seasons (1946-1950) in the National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 as a member of the Toronto Huskies

Toronto Huskies

The Toronto Huskies were a team in the Basketball Association of America during the 1946–47 season, based in Toronto, Ontario...

, Cleveland Rebels

Cleveland Rebels

The Cleveland Rebels were a Basketball Association of America team based in Cleveland, Ohio.-Franchise history:The Rebels were an inaugural franchise in the BAA's first season...

, Providence Steamrollers

Providence Steamrollers

The Providence Steamrollers were a National Basketball Association team based in Providence, Rhode Island. As of November 2011, the Steamrollers remain the last pro sports franchise from one of the Big Four leagues to be based in Rhode Island....

, Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...

, Tri-Cities Blackhawks, and Chicago Stags

Chicago Stags

The Chicago Stags were a National Basketball Association team based in Chicago, Illinois, U.S..- Franchise history :The Chicago Stags were founded in 1946 and folded in 1950. Despite their short history, they were able to acquire the draft rights to a young Bob Cousy in a trade with the Tri-Cities...

. He averaged 8.2 points per game

Points per game

Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of points by number of games. The terminology is often used in...

 in his professional career.

Nostrand is perhaps best known for appearing in a series of Canadian newspaper advertisements to promote the first National Basketball Association game, a November 1, 1946 contest between Nostrand's Toronto Huskies and the New York Knicks

New York Knicks

The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

. The advertisements promised that anyone taller than Nostrand would receive free admission to the opening game.