George Nostrand

{{Short description|American basketball player}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = George Nostrand

| image = George Nostrand 1948.jpg

| caption = Nostrand in 1948

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 8

| weight_lb = 195

| birth_date = {{birth date|1924|1|25}}

| birth_place = Uniondale, New York

| death_date = {{death date and age|1981|11|8|1924|1|25}}

| death_place =

| nationality = American

| high_school = Uniondale (Uniondale, New York)

| college = High Point (1941–1944)
Wyoming (1944–1945)

| career_start = 1946

| career_end = 1950

| career_number = 16, 11, 9, 14, 6, 3, 18

| career_position = Center / forward

| years1 = 1946

| team1 = Toronto Huskies

| years2 = 1946–1947

| team2 = Cleveland Rebels

| years3 = 1947–1949

| team3 = Providence Steamrollers

| years4 = 1949

| team4 = Boston Celtics

| years5 = {{nbay|1949|start}}

| team5 = Tri-Cities Blackhawks

| years6 = {{nbay|1949|full=y}}

| team6 = Chicago Stags

| highlights =

| bbr = nostrge01

}}

George Thomas Nostrand (January 25, 1924 – November 8, 1981) was an American professional basketball player.

A {{convert|6|ft|8|in|m|adj=on}} forward/center from High Point University (1941–1944) and the University of Wyoming (1944–1945), Nostrand played four seasons (1946–1950) in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Toronto Huskies, Cleveland Rebels, Providence Steamrollers, Boston Celtics, Tri-Cities Blackhawks, and Chicago Stags. He averaged 8.2 points per game in his professional career.[https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/n/nostrge01.html Career statistics].

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. The advertisements promised that anyone taller than Nostrand would receive free admission to the opening game.{{Cite web |url=http://www.nba.com/history/firstgame_feature.html |title=NBA.com: The First Game |website=NBA.com |access-date=2007-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120907125725/http://www.nba.com/history/firstgame_feature.html |archive-date=2012-09-07 |url-status=dead }}