Elgin Baylor Biography - Named After Watch, Revives Lakers, Off To Los Angeles, Chronology, Nba Legends: Elgin Baylor
1934-
American basketball player
He never played a championship team or won a scoring title; he played well before the made-for-video era and disdained self-promotion. But teammates, opponents and longtime observers of the game eagerly proclaim forward Elgin Baylor as one of pro basketball's greats.
Baylor was an All-NBA First Team choice 10 times in his career, and he participated in 11 All-Star games, sharing the MVP award in the 1959 classic with Bob Pettit of St. Louis. In his 14 NBA seasons, he scored 23,149 points, averaging 27.4 per game. Baylor also had 11,463 rebounds and 3,650 assists.
Additional Topics
Baylor was born in Washington, D.C., and named Elgin after the watch his father, John, was looking at the
Elgin Baylor
moment Baylor was born. He didn't play basketball until about age 14, but as a senior at the all-black Spingarn High School in Washington, he became the first African-American named to the all-metropolitan team. Baylor struggled academically, however, and enrolled at…
Baylor left after his junior season when the Minneapolis Lakers made Baylor their first overall draft choice; they signed him in 1958. The Lakers, led by Hall of Famer George Mikan, had been the league's first dynasty, winning five championships in six years from 1949-1954, but had fallen on hard times, financially as well as in the standings. Its record in 1957-58 was 19-53. Season ticket …
When the Lakers started the 1960-61 season in Los Angeles, Jerry West joined Baylor and the two would form a potent, outside-inside tandem. Baylor averaged about 35 points per game during the team's first three seasons on the West Coast, including 38.3 in 1961-62. During that time, men were expected to perform military duty. Baylor missed 40 percent of his team's regular-season games…
Had Elgin Baylor been born 25 years later, his acrobatic moves would have been captured on video, his name emblazoned on sneakers, and his face plastered on cereal boxes. But he played before the days of widespread television exposure. All we have now to showcase his prowess are the words of those who saw one of the greatest player that ever played basketball. Baylor's longtime teammate Jer…
The expansion team New Orleans Jazz (now Utah) named Baylor an assistant coach in their first season in 1974. He became head coach in December 1976, replacing Butch van Breda Kolff. He left after the 1978-79 season, compiling an 86-135 record. In 1986, Baylor became vice president of basketball operations for the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers, who were considered a second-fiddle to their city…
"Because his career had paralleled the succession of the juggernaut Boston Celtics teams in the 1950s and 1960s, Baylor never played on a club that won an NBA championship," the NBA.com wrote on its Web site. "His best years as a scorer coincided with Wilt Chamberlain's peak years, and Baylor never captured a scoring title." Some of Baylor's most acrobatic…
"Celtics, Lakers Work OT to Start Rivalry." NBA.com, http/www.nba.com:/history/finals/19611962.html, (December 23, 2002).: "Hall of Famers: Elgin Baylor." Basketball Hall of Fame Web site, http://www.hoophall.com/halloffamers/Baylor.htm (December 16, 2002). Laws, Bob. "Clippers Beat Themselves—Again." Santa Monica Mirror, http://www.smmirror.com/vol…
Citing this material
Please include a link to this page if you have found this material useful for research or writing a related article. Content on this website is from high-quality, licensed material originally published in print form. You can always be sure you're reading unbiased, factual, and accurate information.
Highlight the text below, right-click, and select “copy”. Paste the link into your website, email, or any other HTML document.
User Comments Add a comment…