To the Editor: Jerry West, who passed away on Wednesday, was the greatest basketball player and general manager of all time. Everyone knows that.
To me, he was also a Hall of Famer.
I will always remember as a child in the 1960s, riding my bike with a friend to the Sears in Pomona to see West. We were a little late, and the clerk told us that West was no longer there.
As we walked towards the exit with our heads down, a man came up from behind and said, “Did you want to see me?” We turned around and there was West.
“He signed our basketballs and walked us to his Lakers Gold Porsche. He was a very kind and humble guy. He told us he just bought the car and was trying to figure out what to do with it.”
We were three poor kids from Pomona, but West treated us as equals, and decades later, I still try to follow the example he set that morning.
Jerry West, thank you for all the basketball memories, but most importantly, thank you for teaching me how to treat people.
Stephen Blum, Ventura
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To the Editor: In 1965, a friend and I were visiting friends to watch that year’s Academy Awards ceremony on April 5. Shortly after the telecast, one of the girls at the party told me that she often babysat the children of her next-door neighbor, Jerry West.
Being die-hard Lakers fans, my friend and I begged to be introduced to West.
It was just after 11 p.m. when West arrived home from the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena after a close NBA playoff win, and after being introduced to West and his wife, our two kids peppered him with questions about the team and even Elgin Baylor’s sore knee.
West answered our questions thoroughly, honestly, and with the utmost respect. We will never forget that moment in our youth when we were both 16 years old and playing with “Mr. Clutch.”
Fred Gober, Playa Vista
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To the Editor: It’s rare that I read a newspaper that makes me smile through tears, but Mike Cooper’s wonderful obituary of Mr. Laker Jerry West reminded me not only of the greatness and heartbreak of West’s life and career, but also of a golden era of Los Angeles sports.
The NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball were all still new to Los Angeles, with the Rams first making the cut in 1946.
Those of us kids from that golden age may have been lucky enough to watch Lakers highlights on the big screen at a theater in downtown Los Angeles, or see the Dodgers beat the Chicago White Sox in the 1959 World Series, or watch the Rams in the top tier seats at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and attend a Times charity game for free.
Many players took part in this special time, including Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Duke Snyder, Dick “Night Train” Lane, and many more. If you couldn’t watch the game, you could read Jim Murray’s article in the Times.
Life was good.
Robert Ferguson, Atascadero, California