This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/2/2021
Standing at 6' 5", Elgin Baylor didn't have the dominating post presence of a gargantuan like Wilt Chamberlain or Bill Russell, but he sure did play like it. Nicknamed "Mr. Inside", Baylor was the premiere player of his day and broke his own NBA record of 64 points in a game by posting 71 points (and 25 rebounds) against the Knicks in November, 1961. Much like the great Babe Ruth, Baylor was the savior of the Minneapolis Lakers franchise; a last place team with financial troubles that needed a box office draw. Minneapolis owner Bob Short convinced Baylor to forego his final year of college and drafted him #1 overall in the 1958 NBA draft. "If he had turned me down then, I would have been out of business. The club would have been bankrupt" Short said in a 1971 interview with the Los Angeles Times. Baylor never disappointed, averaging over 27 points per game over his 14-year career, including an incredible 38.3 clip in 1961, with nine seasons of 12 or more rebounds per contest. Brought back from the brink of extinction, the Lakers moved to Los Angeles two years after Baylor joined the team and is now the most storied franchise in NBA history. Presented is one of the most significant jerseys that MHCC has had the honor to offer, a 1960s Los Angeles Lakers home gamer worn by legendary Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor. This style of jersey was put into service following the Lakers' move to Los Angeles and was utilized through the 1966 season, when Jack Kent Cooke purchased the team and changed the design and colors to the now iconic purple and gold. This style was so popular that it has been used on several occasions for throwback jersey nights in Los Angeles. The Tierman manufacturing tag is sewn to the front center of the tail of the jersey, which shows evidence of laundering and wear. Loose threads and puckering of the twill letters and numbers matches what you'd expect of a jersey worn throughout a season. The jersey is all original without alterations. LOA from Sports Investors Authentication.