Jerry West on Elgin Baylor
The Logo told the Sacramento Bee of his affection for Elgin Baylor and his dismay when the Clippers pushed Baylor out the door after 22 years as an executive with the team.
Jerry West said: "I have so much admiration for Elgin. ... Words cannot describe how well he treated me when I came in as a rookie, what an incredibly classy, wonderful person he is. Yesterday was a sad day for me."
West was a rookie on the 1960-61 Lakers, the team's first season in Los Angeles. On that club, Baylor was the superstar and he averaged 34.8 points and 19.8 rebounds per game, while West, the newcomer from West Virginia, scored 17.6 points per game and shot only 41.9% from the field.
The pair played 12 seasons with the Lakers but they never won an NBA title on the court together. Baylor retired, because of injuries, nine games into the 1971-72 season. That season the Lakers, led by West, Wilt Chamberlain and Gail Goodrich, won their first NBA championship in L.A.
West also told the Bee that's he writing an autobiography: "it's going to include the things that made me borderline insane at times. It will be honest. I'm a complex person. Nothing has ever satisfied me. That's just who I am."
-- Barry Stavro
Photo: From left, Lakers Coach Butch van Breda Kolff, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Bill Hewit and Keith Erickson during the fourth quarter of a 1968 game against the Warriors. Credit: Los Angeles Times
