Earl Barton Gardner Jr. (September 18, 1923 – October 15, 2005) was an American professional basketball player.

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Earl Gardner

Personal information
Born	(1923-09-18)September 18, 1923 Montgomery County, Indiana
Died	October 16, 2005(2005-10-16) (aged 82)
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school	New Market (New Market, Indiana)
College	DePauw (1944–1948)
NBA draft	1948: – round, –
Selected by the Minneapolis Lakers
Playing career	1948–1949
Position	Small forward / power forward
Number	14
Career history
1948–1949	Minneapolis Lakers
Career highlights and awards
BAA champion (1949)
Career statistics
Points	89 (1.8 ppg)
Assists	19 (0.4 ppg)
Games played	50
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

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A 6'3" (1.90 m) forward from DePauw University, Gardner played one season which started as the BAA and ended as the NBA (1948–49) in the Basketball Association of America as a member of the Minneapolis Lakers. He averaged 1.8 points per game and was on the first team to win the NBA World Championship title.

After leading the New Market Flyers to 3 consecutive county titles, he graduated Valedictorian from New Market High School in 1941. He attended Wabash College for a while, and then enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he became an Ensign assigned to the USS Cassin. In 1946, he enrolled at DePauw University to complete his bachelor's degree. Later he received his master's degree from Indiana University.

Twice while at DePauw, he was named Little All-American, he led the Depauw Tigers in scoring for three seasons, scoring 683 points. After his professional playing, he entered the high coaching ranks and spent 23 years as Varsity Basketball Coach and 33 years as a guidance counselor and teacher.^[1]