Joseph Dumars Jr., father of Detroit Piston...

Joseph Dumars Jr., father of Detroit Piston guard Joe Dumars, was buried at Natchitoches, La., as more than 1,500 people jammed the auditorium, television reporters and photographers recorded the event and the procession behind the hearse stretched for nearly a mile.

The funeral was two days after the Pistons won their second consecutive NBA championship and was attended by Detroit Coach Chuck Daly and about a dozen of the team’s officials.

No other players attended, general manager Jack McCloskey saying: “We didn’t want it to turn into a big media event. We didn’t want to interfere. We felt if they came it would be too much of a TV thing.”