E L G I N B AY L O R

85
“ELGIN BAYLOR NIGHT” LOS ANGELES
LAKERS PRESENTED CHAIR
A wooden chair presented to Elgin Baylor by then
Los Angeles Lakers teammate Tom Hawkins, on behalf
of his other Los Angeles Lakers teammates, on
March 21, 1969, at “Elgin Baylor Night.” The
event took place at the Los Angeles Lakers home
arena, The Forum, in Inglewood, California, where
Baylor was honored by more than 17,000 fans,
civic leaders, movie stars and then Lakers owner
Jack Kent Cooke for his many years of successwith
the Lakers. The 40-minute pre-game ceremony took
place before the Los Angeles Lakers played the visiting
Atlanta Hawks. An article from the Los Angeles
Herald-Examiner from Saturday March 22,
1969, states that on behalf of the team, Tom
Hawkins presented Baylor “A 100-year gold chair
that was made in Mexico.” The wooden chair is
painted gold and is hand carved with scroll and
foliate design throughout. The chair centers a
carved wooden cameo of the profile of a Mexican
leader. A metal gold plaque is affixed to the back
of the chair and reads “Presented to/ The Captain/
Cliff Anderson, Jay Carty, Wilt Chamberlain,
Mel Counts, Fred Crawford, Johnny Egan, Keith Erickson,
Tom Hawkins, Chick Hearn, Bill Hewitt,
Rod Hundley, Frank O’Neill, Bill Van Breda Kolff,
Jerry West/ Elgin Baylor Night/ March 21,
1969.“ The chair is accompanied by the Los Angeles
Herald-Examiner newspaper from March 22,
1969, and an “Elgin Baylor Night” program from
March 21, 1969. The program includes copies of
letters to Baylor, including one from Governor
Ronald Reagan, as well as stories from teammates,
pictures, NBA Baylor stats and personal stories.
The program is signed by Baylor in blue marker.
52 by 27 by 23 inches
$1,000-1,500
Julien’s Auctions | 51