Baylor, Elgin
Basketball
b. Sept. 16, 1934, Washington, DC
Baylor played both football and basketball for a year at the tiny College of Idaho, then transferred to the University of Seattle. After sitting out a year to establish his eligibility, he led the nation in rebounding and was third in scoring as a junior in 1956/57. As a senior, he was a consensus All-American forward, second in the nation in scoring with 31.5 points a game and third in rebounding.
The financially troubled Minneapolis Lakers signed Baylor to an NBA contract in 1958 and season ticket sales immediately surged. According to owner Bob Short, Baylor's signing probably saved the franchise from bankruptcy.
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Baylor, a remarkable combination of strength and grace, could power to the basket and perform acrobatic moves to score once he got close. He was also an excellent passer and rebounder.
The Lakers moved to Los Angeles in 1960, when they also signed guard Jerry West. Baylor averaged more than 30 points a game in each of his first three seasons in Los Angeles, teaming with West to form the NBA's most potent two-player scoring combination. He scored 71 points against the New York Knicks in 1960, a league record broken by Wilt Chamberlain in 1962.
Baylor broke a kneecap in a 1965 playoff game and came back slowly the following season. He was never quite the same player after that, though he averaged more than 26 points a game in 1966-67 and 1967-68 and more than 24 points in 1968-69 and 1969-70, his last full season.
After missing almost the entire 1970-71 season because of a torn Achilles tendon, Baylor attempted to come back in the fall of 1971, but retired after just nine games.