Dr. Jerry Buss
In 1979, Jerry Buss ushered in an era of success unrivaled in the history of Southern California professional sports when he acquired the Los Angeles Lakers. In what was at the time the largest ever sports transaction, Buss purchased the Lakers, the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League, The Forum in Inglewood and a 13,000-acre Kern County ranch in June of that year. The rest, as they say, is history. Under his watch, the Lakers advanced to the NBA Finals nearly every other year, totaling 16 appearances in all while claiming 10 Larry O’Brien trophies.
While the success of the Lakers is directly attributable to the combined efforts of great players, outstanding coaches, intelligent management and imaginative marketing, it was this teamwork, fostered by Buss, that helped create the enormous popularity and acceptance that the NBA enjoys today.
A graduate of the University of Wyoming with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Buss earned his Ph. D in Physical Chemistry from the University of Southern California. After a brief career in the aerospace industry, Buss and Frank Mariani, an aerospace engineer, drew upon their scientific training to launch a career in real estate. For Buss, the venture was intended only to provide income which would enable him to pursue his love for teaching. Soon, however, the real estate firm of Mariani-Buss Associates was expanding so fast that its demands would not allow time for other professions.
Ultimately, Buss was able to parlay his original $1,000 investment in a West Los Angeles apartment building into assets that eventually enabled to him to achieve his second love, ownership of a major league sports team.
From the year he entered the NBA, Buss initiated numerous innovative marketing changes. Perhaps most notably, Buss struck a major advertising agreement with Great Western Bank in 1988 that resulted in the Lakers’ former home being named the Great Western Forum. Many of the marketing strategies he employed are now emulated today by various NBA franchises as well as teams in other leagues.
In addition to his role with the Lakers, Buss served two terms as President of the NBA Board of Governors. Among other accomplishments, he helped launch Prime Ticket Network (now FS West/Prime Ticket) in 1985. Changing the face of sports television, Prime Ticket televised all of the Lakers home games and shortly became the nation’s premier regional sports cable network. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch purchased the network in 1996, making the valuable commodity the center piece of the FOX family of regional sports networks. On October 30, 2006, Buss’ pioneering spirit enabling fans to never miss a home game earned him a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame in a ceremony attended by current Lakers players and staff, Hall-of-Famers Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, Jerry West and Phil Jackson, celebrities, the Honorary Mayor of Hollywood Johnny Grant, Lakers fans, close friends and family.
Yet for all of his accomplishments in the business and sports world, Buss was equally respected for his philanthropic efforts on behalf of highly divergent causes. While he was specifically drawn to supporting education, the needs of disadvantaged youth and the elderly, his contributions were all encompassing and as diverse as the community in which he lived and worked.
For his efforts he was honored by such organizations as the City of Hope, NAACP, the B’nai B’rith, United Negro College Fund, United Indian Development Associations, American Hebrew University, National Organization of
Women, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Los Angeles Human Relations Commission and Heart of Los Angeles Youth among many others. He also funded scholarships at his alma maters, Wyoming and USC, while also having endowed the Magic Johnson Scholarship at Michigan State University.
Buss and his entities annually donated thousands of dollars, tickets, merchandise and autographed items to support countless neighborhood schools, libraries and churches as well as non-profit organizations which attend to the needs of communities in Southern California. Among his donations, Buss made a personal contribution of $100,000 in April of 2009 to New Image Shelter to support their efforts on behalf of homelessness in Los Angeles. In addition, when natural disasters and tragedies struck, such as the Southern California wildfires in 2003, 2007 and 2008, Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in Southeast Asia, Buss and the Lakers were quick to offer assistance with sizable donations to charities providing immediate frontline disaster relief and long-term recovery support for those in need.
An avid poker player, Buss, who hosted tournaments to benefit charities such as Smile Train, reached a level of proficiency where he achieved success competing against the best professionals in the highest level tournaments.
On August 13, 2010, Buss was honored for his three-plus decades of excellence leading the Lakers when he was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010. One of eight individuals and two teams comprising the 2010 class, Buss is one of four members of the Lakers organization to enter the Hall as a contributor (Chick Hearn, Pete Newell, Buss, Tex Winter).