Elgin Baylor died last month at the age of 86. The Los Angeles Lakers legend has unfortunately not endured through history the way some of his contemporaries have, and if there are memories of Baylor, it’s of an inept, grandfatherly general manager. To have that be his legacy, would be an injustice to his impacts on and off the court.
On the court, Baylor was a high flying Hall of Famer, a great teammate, and the blueprint for every athletic wing in the NBA today. Off the court, he fought against racial discrimination, and helped serve this country. Baylor had an incredible career, but is often seen as an afterthought in an era dominated by Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain.
Baylor also completed one of the most challenging seasons for a player in NBA history. In the 1961-62 season, Baylor was an active duty Army reservist, and wasn’t able to practice with his team. His only way onto the court would be when he was given a weekend pass. Despite these obstacles, he averaged an astonishing 38 points and 19 rebounds in 44 minutes per game.
In the playoffs, he had nearly the same statline, and along with Jerry West, led the Lakers to the finals against the mighty Boston Celtics. Despite Baylor’s video-game-esque statline of 61 points, 22 rebounds in Game 5, and a herculean 40 points and 18 rebounds per game average in the series, the Lakers lost by three points in game 7.
By any statistical measure, Baylor is an all-time great. His career scoring average of 27.4 points per game is third all time, only behind Chamberlain and Michael Jordan. The 38 points per game in the aforementioned ‘military season’ is the fourth highest scoring average in a season. Baylor was one of only four players with career averages of more than 25 points and 10 rebounds. He could spread the ball around too, as Baylor ranks 20th on the all time triple-double list. All of this was done without the benefit of a three point line.
Sadly, despite playing in seven NBA finals, Baylor never won a championship. However, he left the game with dignity. Nine games into his final season, a 37 year old Baylor, past his prime, was hurting the Lakers. It would have been easy for Baylor to ride the bench for an easy ring, but Baylor wasn’t that type of player. He always put the team before himself. He proceeded to retire, and the Lakers went on to win the championship that season. Baylor retired third on the all-time scoring list.
Baylor also served his country, along with playing in the NBA, in the late 1950s and 60s, in an era dominated by racial tension and segregation across America. In 1959, like so many other black Americans, he was denied a room in a hotel simply because of the color of his skin. On January 16, 1959, the Lakers were scheduled to play the Cincinnati Royals in Charleston, West Virginia.
When they arrived at the Kanawha Hotel, the desk clerk took one look at them, specifically Baylor, Boo Ellis, and Ed Fleming, and told team captain Vern Mikkelsen, “The three colored boys will have to go somewhere else. This is a nice, respectable hotel. We can’t take the colored boys.” (ESPN)
The entire lakers team left, and went to a motel that allowed black guests. Later on, Baylor went to eat, and was denied service in a restaurant. An infuriated Baylor decided to boycott the game to call attention to the inequality and contempt Black people were victim to. He confided with a white teammate: “I’m a human being. All I want to do is be treated like a human being. I’m not an animal put in a cage and let out for the show. They won’t treat me like an animal.”
After Baylor’s boycott, the Lakers would demand non-segregation clauses in contracts when arranging games. Baylor would continue to push for progress during the 1964 NBA All-Star game. The previous summer, the NBA had agreed to give the players certain concessions, improved playing conditions, athletic trainers on every team, and a pension plan.
The league was dragging their feet on these promises, and in response, Baylor, Robertson, Jerry West, and other star players locked themselves in a locker room, and wouldn’t come out until the league had guaranteed the benefits they were originally promised. Lakers owner Bob Short said “Tell Elgin Baylor if he doesn’t get out there, he’s through.” Baylor stood his ground, and the gambit paid off. The rest of course, is history.
Article by Ethan Lenkin of Thomas Wootton High School
Photo Courtesy of SI.com