Dave Bing

Did You Know?

• Bing was roommates with Jim Boeheim at Syracuse University.
• Bing led Detroit's effort to host the 2004 Democratic National Convention, but the city lost to Boston.

Early life

Bing was born in Washington, D.C., to Juanita, a housekeeper, and Hasker, a bricklayer and deacon. He was the second of four children in a two-bedroom home. His father nicknamed him "Duke" because Bing always wanted to be top dog. At age five, he suffered a traumatic eye injury when a rusty nail from a homemade hobby horse poked his left eye; the family could not afford surgery, leaving his vision diminished.

His father later sustained a severe head injury from a falling brick on a construction site, which led Bing to vow never to work in that profession. In athletics, older children told Bing he was too small for basketball, but he played well, even triumphing over future Motown musician Marvin Gaye, who chose to sing on the sidelines after poor play. Bing focused primarily on baseball, a fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers and Jackie Robinson. At Spingarn High School, head basketball coach William Roundtree encouraged him to revisit basketball, and Bing became a double-digit scorer known for his jump shot and driving ability.

He also competed in baseball until a scheduling conflict forced him to choose; he opted for basketball, believing it offered a better chance at a college scholarship, following the path of Elgin Baylor. In high school, he was a three-year letter winner, all–Inter High, all-Metro, and all-East member, and in 1962 he was featured in Parade magazine and made the All-American Team.

Professional career

Bing played as a lean, athletic, and explosive point guard who both distributed the ball and scored more than most at his position. Selected second overall in the 1966 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons, he wore jersey number 21 because player-coach Dave DeBusschere already had No. 22. He scored 1,601 points (20.0 per game) as a rookie, winning the 1967 NBA Rookie of the Year Award and making the All-Rookie First Team. The next year he led the NBA in scoring with 2,142 points (27.1 per game).

On November 23, 1968, he recorded a triple-double of 39 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists. A detached retina from a preseason game in 1971–72 caused him to miss 2½ months, playing only 45 games that season. With the Pistons, he made six NBA All-Star Games and was named to the All-NBA First Team in 1968 and 1971. He then played two seasons with the Washington Bullets, earning another All-Star selection in 1976 and winning the game's MVP Award.

He finished his career with the Boston Celtics, averaging 13.6 points, and retired after the 1977–78 season. Overall, he averaged 20.3 points, 6.0 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 901 games, scoring 18,327 points with 5,397 assists.

Business career

When Dave Bing was 22 and earning $15,000 from his NBA contract, the National Bank of Detroit turned down his mortgage application. That rejection pushed him to take offseason jobs at the same bank, working as a teller and in customer relations and mortgage departments. After retiring from basketball, he took a $35,000 job at Paragon Steel, a steel processing company, where he spent two years in shipping and sales. In 1980, he launched Bing Steel with four employees, using $250,000 in loans and $80,000 of his own savings.

The company lost all that money in six months, so it stopped manufacturing and became a middleman instead. General Motors became its first big client, and by the second year the business turned a profit on $4.2 million in revenue. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan named Bing the National Minority Small Business Person of the Year. By 1985, Bing Steel had two plants, 63 employees, and $40 million in revenue; its assets were sold in 2009.

The company later became the Bing Group, a Detroit-based conglomerate that supplies metal stampings to automakers. At the 1990 NBA All-Star Game, Bing received the Schick Achievement Award for his work after his playing career.

Mayoralty

Bing announced his candidacy for mayor of Detroit on October 16, 2008, to finish the term of Kwame Kilpatrick, who had resigned after being charged with perjury. He finished first in a 15-candidate non-partisan primary on February 24, 2009, and on May 5, 2009, was elected with 52.3% of the vote, defeating interim mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr. Bing had moved to a residence within city limits shortly before his campaign, having previously lived in suburban Franklin, Michigan.

He was reelected to a full term on November 3, 2009, with the inauguration at the Fox Theatre. Bing opted for a low-key presence, forgoing many mayoral benefits and not accepting a salary during at least his first year. He made unpopular decisions. When he took office, the city had a $30 million budget deficit and $332 million in accumulated deficit, with over $15 million in long-term liabilities.

Fiscal troubles persisted, but by the end of his term the deficit had decreased by $7 million from when he assumed office. Due to the automotive industry's importance, Bing was involved in discussions about the 2009 auto bailout, including with Vice President Joe Biden, whom he had known at Syracuse University.