LeBron James did not start the Players Union, but it seems some Lakers players were involved
The NBA players, for the first time, really showed what a united front from the stars was at the 1964 All-Star game at the old Boston Garden. That was when the game’s top talent threatened to back out of the All-Star game a few hours before tip-off unless they were recognized as a union.
The negotiation by fire with team owners and their star players was led by Lakers greats Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Oscar Robertson. Just before the first televised All-Star game, they announced the players would not play unless they were guaranteed benefits forwarded to the commissioner’s office the previous summer. Those benefits were as follows.
- The players wanted a pension plan.
- Athletic trainers on every team.
- Improved playing conditions
- How about this for back to backs? The players wanted no more Sunday afternoon games after Saturday night games.
Back then the NBA was nothing like it is today. It was a nine-team league that did not have a large national following. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were about 16 years away from saving the NBA.
The minimum player salary was $7,500. Stars never made more than $28,500. (Today, the average NBA salary is $7.7 million.)
Lakers owner Bob Short threatened Jerry West and Elgin Baylor in two different ways.
He used an Irish cop to threaten Baylor:
"‘Tell Elgin Baylor if he doesn’t get out there, he’s through,’ Baylor’s response: Sorry, Bob."
He threatened Jerry West personally in Baylor’s presence.
Here’s what Jerry West recollects via the Los Angeles Times.
"“I was young and just trying to feel my way along and build a career for myself,” West said. “[Short] said to us very threateningly, ‘If you don’t play in this game, you’re probably never going to play again.’ I then said, ‘I’m never going to play a game.’ I am pretty defiant.”"
Finally, the commissioner met the demands of the players, recognizing the players association and agreed to the other stipulations.
In all the game was delayed 15 minutes. By the way, the East beat the West, 111-107.
Now that we know that it is possible for the players to invoke change. There’s only one question left.