The fans of the Minneapolis Lakers seemed to lose interest in the basketball team after their great star George Mikan retired. By 1958 Bob Short, who owned the Lakers, was running out of cash. Short offered the team for sale to anyone who would pay him $250,000. There were no buyers, which turned out to be a lucky break for Mr. Short.
Short transferred the team to Los Angeles, and there the Lakers became an instant success. In 1964 he sold the basketball team to a Canadian millionaire named Jack Kent Cooke. The price was $5,175,000.
From The Giant Book of More Strange But True Sports Stories by Howard Liss. Illustrations by Joe Mathieu.
This was really interesting. I know nothing about Sprots and always wondered where the name “LA Lakers” came from. Minnesota of course! Also, I didn’t know Jack Kent Cooke was Canadian.