Jack Nicholson was not an A-list star when the Lakers became Hollywood's team. (AP)
We watch the Lakers-Orlando NBA Finals on ABC and part of the fun is seeing what stars are sitting courtside. There are of course the old guard like Jack Nicholson, Dyan Cannon and Penny Marshall. Then we have the new class of stars like High School Musical star Zac Efron, Spiderman himself Toby Maguire and king of the world Leonardo DiCaprio.
The Lakers are Hollywood’s team, but it took years of hard work by a number of dedicated people to build the Lakers mystique.
So what we have for you is a two-part real Hollywood story.
The Lakers came to Los Angeles in 1960 when Bob Short, a Minneapolis businessman, moved the team to Southern California. He hoped to build on the success of the Dodgers who had moved west from Brooklyn just two years earlier. His goal was to increase the worth of his NBA franchise.
Short had a reputation for not liking to spend money and in the early days of the franchise that was shown to be true quite often.
My story begins with a recent conversation I had with Dr. Ernie Vandeweghe. He served as the team’s physician from the first day the Lakers hit town in 1960. But Vandeweghe was much, much more than the team doctor. He became a very important part of the team's inner circle from 1960 through the early 1980’s when he retired from his post.
Vandeweghe was born in Montreal and his family would later move to the Long Island town of Oceanside. He would go on to play basketball at Cornell where he became a star. In 1949 he would be drafted by the New York Knicks.
But what made Vandeweghe special was ability to craft deals.
His first major deal was made as a young college grad who worked out a contract that allowed him to play only Knicks home games so that he could pursue his dream of becoming a doctor. The deal worked out great for both he and the team. Vandeweghe played six years for the Knicks before becoming a successful orthopedic surgeon first for the U.S. Air Force in Germany and then at the UCLA Medical School.
Vandeweghe: ”I recall meeting with Short my first day on campus. He told me that he wanted me to be the team doctor because of my knowledge of sports medicine as well as my background in NBA. He said there are a number of things that you can help me accomplish."
One of the first things Vandeweghe did was help Short find a voice for the team. He explained to Short the importance of having someone who could sell the team to the fans on radio.
Vandeweghe: ”My first and only choice for the Lakers voice was Chick Hearn who at the time was the voice of USC football and basketball. I had heard him do basketball and I thought that he would be the perfect voice of the Lakers. The Dodgers had Vin Scully and we needed a passionate voice that could make our fans enjoy the game and I knew Chick was that man.”
Short did not want to pay Hearn. He felt that the team’s radio station should provide an announcer. That led to an argument between Vandeweghe and Short. So to prove his point in March of 1961, Vandeweghe with his own money paid Hearn to do the games for the rest of the season. Then in 1962 he became the official voice of the Lakers.
(Hearn would be the voice of the Lakers from the day Vandeweghe hired him in 1961 until 2002 when he died after a freak injury at his home where he fell and hit his head. He was credited with inventing the basketball phrases slam dunk, air ball and "no harm, no foul." Hearn became only the third broadcaster to be inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Like Vin Scully on the Dodgers broadcasts the Lakers would simulcast their radio and TV broadcasts so that Hearn could be heard on both outlets at the same time. )
Vandeweghe: ”We needed to make sure that we had established stars on the team. We had that nailed with Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, two of the best players in the NBA . That combo gave us star quality players and with an outstanding passionate broadcaster like Hearn, I felt that we had something to build upon.”
The 1962-63 Lakers would win the West and go on to the NBA Championship where they would lose to the Boston Celtics in six games.
Despite their winning ways, by the 1964 season Bob Short was growing tired of Southern California. He wanted to sell the team. The businessman from Minnesota wanted out of basketball.
But the man who would forever change basketball in Southern California was about to make his mark.
For more info: Colin Ward-Henninger, The Lakers Examiner, Ginger Liu our Inside Hollywood Examiner, Liz Barrett our Celebrity News Examiner and as always our good friend Paula Duffy, the National Sports Examiner who frequently covers the Lakers.
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