RIP Elgin Baylor
- Thread starter paultzman
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Overlooked sometimes by some as one of the truly all-time greats. But, there's no doubt about it, he was ahead of his time and a top 6 or 7 player all time. Classy guy too. R.I.P.
Elgin’s passing made me think about a basketball achievement that I consider to be one of the greatest in sports, that is a player totaling a hundred combined points and rebounds in a game. Since Chamberlain scored a hundred in one game he is one player who did it. I know he scored sixty five in another game with thirty five rebounds so he did it at least twice and I suspect he did it five or more times in the early sixties when he was at his peak.
Probably no other player has accomplished this but if anyone else did it it would be Elgin. I have no way of finding this out but if anyone can it would be interesting if was done by anyone but Wilt.
Probably no other player has accomplished this but if anyone else did it it would be Elgin. I have no way of finding this out but if anyone can it would be interesting if was done by anyone but Wilt.
RIP Elgin. :-( Thanks for all the memories of watching you play.
beast of the east
Active member
That's way incorrect. By the time Chamberlain arrived, Baylor was past his prime. I never saw Baylor in his prime, but at his best was better than West from what I've heard and read, and not even close. To me, West was about his good as he could possibly be with his skill set, so that's saying a lot about Baylor.MainMan post=427326 said:
beast of the east
Active member
I often wonder about rebound stats in that era. I read a book once that said Jerry Lucas would go after the end of quarter shots, that were often prayers, long distance and off balanced. He'd grab a defensive rebound at the buzzer and run to the scorer and say, "Make sure you got that." I believe he averaged double digit rebounds.NCJohnnie post=427319 said:
On the other hand, the best big men were so much ahead of everyone else, and certainly bigger than guards, that the very best piled up amazing rebound stats that would be difficult to duplicate today where just about everyone is mobile and can jump through the roof.
Watched him play at the old MSG, in the early sixties, and he was unstoppable. Knicks had RichGuerin, Willie Naulls and Jumpin Johnny Green, but Elgin, Jerry West, Rudy LaRusso and Leroy Ellis were too much. High scoring game. Baylor had moves near basket like Walter Berry.
beast of the east
Active member
They used to say that Elgin Baylor was Dr. J. before Julius Erving, and Julie Erving was Michael before Michael Jordan. (Connie Hawkins gets an incomplete here). Jordan was perhaps and arguably King James before Lebron.
Certainly there were others, but Elgin Baylor changed the way forwards played basketball or at least was among the very first bigger men to play that way. It redefined the game.
Jerry West was incredible. His 60 foot game tying shot in the playoffs vs. The Knicks was an actual shot, not a wild heave that went in. Coaches would teach the way West's last dribble before going up for a jumper was a little more forceful so he would catch the ball higher as he would go up to shoot, and the ball's force would be in the direction he was jumping (up). His defense was superb for a guy who carried so much of the scoring load. You'd be hard pressed to say a backcourt of Oscar and West from that era would play second fiddle to anyone other pair in history.
RIP to an all time great. Maybe the B in basketball could stand for Baylor. His legacy has kind of been diminished as the game evolved, but he was that good, that smooth, that creative - way ahead of his time.
Certainly there were others, but Elgin Baylor changed the way forwards played basketball or at least was among the very first bigger men to play that way. It redefined the game.
Jerry West was incredible. His 60 foot game tying shot in the playoffs vs. The Knicks was an actual shot, not a wild heave that went in. Coaches would teach the way West's last dribble before going up for a jumper was a little more forceful so he would catch the ball higher as he would go up to shoot, and the ball's force would be in the direction he was jumping (up). His defense was superb for a guy who carried so much of the scoring load. You'd be hard pressed to say a backcourt of Oscar and West from that era would play second fiddle to anyone other pair in history.
RIP to an all time great. Maybe the B in basketball could stand for Baylor. His legacy has kind of been diminished as the game evolved, but he was that good, that smooth, that creative - way ahead of his time.
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I am old enough to have watched Elgin Baylor play against the Knicks live and on watched him play on t.v. though it was probably a little bit past his prime. I remember thinking that he hung in the air longer than anyone else. He could jump incredibly high too. Plus he could hit from outside. And lastly he was a heady player. Like Dave DeB, but much more physical skills.
The incomparable Oscar Robertson said Elgin was a super all-time great and that says it all for me.
A D.C. guy Elgin took University of Seattle to the NCAA Championship game.
I loved the 60-70 Knicks (ended when college BB too over mid 70's for me), but those 60's Celtics/Lakers matchups were legendary.
Rest in Peace, a grand man, Elgin Baylor.
The incomparable Oscar Robertson said Elgin was a super all-time great and that says it all for me.
A D.C. guy Elgin took University of Seattle to the NCAA Championship game.
I loved the 60-70 Knicks (ended when college BB too over mid 70's for me), but those 60's Celtics/Lakers matchups were legendary.
Rest in Peace, a grand man, Elgin Baylor.
jerseyshorejohnny
Well-known member
[URL]https://www.legendsofbasketball.com/hoop-du-jour-elgin-and-the-lakers-cornfield-angel/[/URL]
Worth the time to read IMO
Peter Vecsey
Worth the time to read IMO
Peter Vecsey