VERN MIKKELSEN

Card #1489
Cut Signature 1/6/21

CHUCK MENCEL

Cards #1481 & 1482

TTM 12/18/20 (7 days)

ED FLEMING

Card #1327
Cut Signature 2/14/20

DICK SCHNITTKER

Card #1142
TTM 3/25/19 (18 days)

ED KALAFAT

DICK GARMAKER

ELGIN BAYLOR

Oh, what could have been?  A lot of folks around my age, a generation or more removed from the existence of the Minneapolis Lakers, know of them as the NBA's first dynasty.  I get the feeling that we do not all realize they had fallen on seriously hard times during the post-George Mikan era, and were in danger of folding altogether after finishing at the rock bottom of the NBA standings in 1957-58.  The Lakers selected Elgin Baylor first overall in the 1958 NBA Draft and found themselves in the Finals at the end of his 1958-59 rookie season.

While Baylor may have saved the Lakers from folding, he could not save them from moving to Los Angeles.  After his second season in Minneapolis, the team headed west.  In L.A., Baylor would team with fellow Hall of Famers Jerry West and (later on) Wilt Chamberlain to lead the Lakers to seven NBA Finals appearances, though they would lose each time to the Boston Celtics.  The Lakers would finally break through in 1972.  Baylor retired earlier during that season and did not appear in the Finals, but he was awarded his first NBA Championship ring anyway.

BUD GRANT

If you're reading this blog and following this collection, you already know Bud Grant is the stoic Hall of Fame coach who led the Vikings to four Super Bowl appearances.  He is a giant of Minnesota sports on that alone.  In case that's not enough, though, Grant was a three-sport star for the University of Minnesota in the late 1940s, lettering in baseball, basketball, and football.  After college, he played two seasons of pro basketball for the Minneapolis Lakers, and was a part of their 1950 NBA Championship team.  He left the Lakers for the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL.  He played two years there, at two different positions: in 1951, as a defensive end, he led the league in sacks.  In 1952, he switched to offense and finished second in the NFL in receiving yards.  Bud Grant is still the only man to play in both the NBA and NFL.  But most importantly, he is the greatest coach in Vikings history.

CLYDE LOVELLETTE

Clyde Lovellette was one of the most dominating and decorated players of the '50s.  He was the first player in basketball history to win an NCAA Championship, and Olympic Gold Medal, and an NBA Championship.  The three-time All-American from Kansas helped lead the Lakers to the 1954 NBA title in his rookie season.  He won two more championships as a member of the Celtics in the early 1960s and appeared in four NBA All Star Games.

Clyde Lovellette was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988.

BOBBY "SLICK" LEONARD

"Slick" began his pro career with the Lakers in 1956-57 and was a key backcourt component during their last four seasons in Minneapolis.  Prior to that he was an All-American and NCAA Champion with the Indiana Hoosiers.  Following his playing career, he won three ABA titles during his twelve year run as the head coach of the Indiana Pacers.  He has broadcasted for the Pacers for nearly 30 years, and is still going strong for them at 81.

JOHN KUNDLA

John Kundla was a basketball pioneer.  He coached the NBA's first dynasty, the Minneapolis Lakers, to five championships in his first six seasons.  After the Lakers moved to Los Angeles, he remained in Minnesota to coach his alma mater Golden Gophers for nine seasons.  Mr. Kundla was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.  Now 97 years old, he still calls Minneapolis home.

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