Lakers Seeking New Home

Feb. 5, 1960: The Lakers were inching closer to a new home in Los Angeles. The team's owner, Bob Short, was complaining about life in Minneapolis while the team was adjusting its schedule to play two games in February at the new Los Angeles Sports Arena. Short said the Lakers' previous owners should have sold two veterans, George Mikan and Jim Pollard, to get some money before they retired. "Other teams better fixed financially can get by with letting their veterans retire," Short said. "In this business when you want to stay ahead of the sheriff you keep moving." Speaking of moving, the Lakers announced two days later plans to play the St. Louis Hawks in L.A. on Feb. 21-22. Short said he wanted to see if fans would support games on consecutive nights. If the Lakers moved to L.A. without another NBA team heading west, back-to-back games would be scheduled to reduce travel costs. More than 10,000 fans attended a Lakers game at the Sports Arena despite what The Times called "inclement weather." Wonder what it was like in Minneapolis that day? --Keith Thursby