{"id":33670,"date":"2022-10-22T17:30:28","date_gmt":"2022-10-22T22:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/?p=33670"},"modified":"2022-10-24T10:37:37","modified_gmt":"2022-10-24T15:37:37","slug":"jerry-buss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/jerry-buss\/","title":{"rendered":"Rags To Riches: How Jerry Buss Became The Greatest Owner In Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Dr. Jerry Buss was a larger-than-life character whose impact on US sports can still be felt today, nearly a decade after his passing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Buss was an American\nbusinessman and the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers from 1979 until he\ndied in 2013. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following his death,\nLakers legend Kobe Bryant called Buss \u201cthe greatest owner in sports ever.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
High praise indeed,\ncoming from one of the greatest basketball players ever, who also tragically\nlost his life seven years after Buss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this article, we look\nat the story behind the success. How did Jerry Buss make his fortune, how did\nthe teams he owned perform, and what is his lasting legacy? Keep reading to\nfind out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Humble Beginnings <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Gerald Hatten \u201cJerry\u201d\nBuss was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on January 27, 1933, at the height of\nthe great depression era in the US. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
His father, Lydus,\nabandoned Buss and the rest of his family when Jerry was a young child. This\nleft his mother, Jessie, to raise Buss and his three younger siblings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The family moved to Los\nAngeles when Buss was nine before relocating to Kemmerer, Wyoming, three years\nlater when Jessie married a plumber named Stub Brown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brown would make a\nmassive impression on the young Jerry in business and personality traits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After moving to Wyoming,\nBuss started working for his stepdad\u2019s plumbing company while still in school.\nJerry would wake up at 4.30am to dig ditches for hours before heading to\nschool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This undoubtedly formed\nthe strong work ethic that was the platform for his later business success.\nStill, they weren\u2019t happy times for the future Basketball Hall of Fame\ninductee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Jerry\u2019s\ndaughter, Jeanie, Buss felt like an outsider in Wyoming and was never accepted\nby his stepfather. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a 1998 interview, she\nexplained this lack of acceptance \u201cmade him a very compassionate person.\u201d This\ncompassion and care for others were evident in Buss\u2019s generosity later in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the time he\u2019d reached\nhigh school, Jerry had secured a job in a local hotel, where he would make two\ndollars a day. Despite his extracurricular work commitments, Jerry never took\nhis eye off the ball academically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like his biological\nfather, who went on to teach statistics at Berkeley, Jerry loved math and\nscience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He earned a scholarship\nto attend the University of Wyoming, graduating two and half years later with a\nBachelor of Science degree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He left Wyoming to\nreturn to LA, where he continued his studies at the University of Southern\nCalifornia (USC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the age of 24, Buss\nearned an MS and Ph.D. in physical chemistry and was ready to truly make his\nmark on the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDr. Jerry Buss. [Image: Twitter\/DantheLakersFAN]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Businesses And Investments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Jerry Buss\u2019s first job\nout of college was working as a chemist for the Bureau of Mines. He also held\nearly positions in the aerospace industry and USC\u2019s chemistry faculty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Successful First Investment\nIn Real Estate<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Everything changed for\nBuss when he took the $1,000 he had saved and made his first property\ninvestment in West Los Angeles in 1959. This was the start of a lifetime of\noutstanding business success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the early 60s Buss\nand his business partner, Frank Mariani, established Mariani\u2010Buss Associates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the end of the 70s, Buss\nsaid the company owned around 700 properties across California, Arizona, and\nNevada. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was estimated his\nreal estate investments helped him achieve an empire worth $350 million<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Buss Buys LA\nStrings<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Buss entered the sports\nworld when he became the owner of the Los Angeles Strings in 1974. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The franchise competed\nin World TeamTennis, a mixed-gender tennis league that featured global\nsuperstars like Billie Jean King, Rod Laver, Bj\u00f6rn Borg, and John McEnroe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The league eventually\nclosed in 1978 (although it has returned since), and Jerry Buss would make\nanother LA sports investment the following year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This one, though, would\nchange the face of US sport as we know it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Success With LA Lakers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
In 1979, Buss purchased\nthe NBA\u2019s LA Lakers, the NHL\u2019s LA Kings, The Forum indoor arena, and a\n13,000-acre Sierra Nevada ranch in a deal worth $67.5 million. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was the beginning\nof a golden era for Los Angeles sports, and Buss\u2019s public profile rose with the\nsuccess of the Lakers, in particular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Laker fans didn\u2019t have\nto wait long for the trophies to start rolling in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They won the NBA\nchampionships in 1980, led by the established center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and\n20-year-old rookie point guard Magic Johnson. <\/p>\n\n\n\nMagic Johnson and Jerry Buss. [Image: Twitter\/LakersGlobal]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The team was dominant\nthroughout the regular season and the playoffs, finishing with a combined\nrecord of 72-26.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was the first of 10\nchampionships the Lakers would secure during Buss\u2019s ownership. No other team\ncan come close to matching that number since 1980. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Jordan-led Chicago\nBulls are the next best with six wins and were one of the reasons the Lakers\n(and pretty much everyone else) were starved of success in the 90s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Lakers would rebuild\nanother all-time great team following the acquisition of the then 17-year-old\nKobe Bryant and Shaquille O\u2019Neal from the Orlando Magic in 1996. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Between 2000 and 2002,\nthe Lakers, who were then coached by Phil Jackson, became just the fifth team\nin the history of the NBA to achieve a \u2018three-peat\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
By winning the\nchampionship three years in a row, the Lakers became the first team to achieve\nthe feat since the Chicago Bulls, who did so from \u201891-\u201893 and \u201896-\u201898, also\ncoached by Jackson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it wasn\u2019t just\nsuccess on the hardwood that defined Buss\u2019s ownership of the Lakers; he\nrevolutionized basketball in terms of entertainment too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Buss introduced\ncheerleaders, added music during breaks, and even recruited a house band to\nplay live at Laker games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because of Buss,\nwatching sports is no longer just about the sport. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyone can attend an NBA\nmatch and be entertained because Buss had a vision that sports should give an\nall-around experience for spectators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
LA is a city full of\nstars and celebrities. Jerry Buss took advantage of this and is part of the\nreason why you will see different A-list celebs from any industry courtside at\nan NBA game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He turned a former\nrestaurant in the Forum into a nightclub, bringing glitz, glamour, and celebrities\nto the league at a key time in the late 70s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also redefined the\nconcept of premium seating when he created the Forum Club. This VIP club\nallowed celebs and the mega-rich to attend games, enjoy refreshments and\nentertainment beforehand, then take courtside seats for the action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not only were the Lakers\nthe team to watch, but the Forum was the place to be in Los Angeles in the 80s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Less Success With LA\nKings<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
There is a reason why\nJerry Buss was known primarily for being the owner of the LA Lakers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The LA Kings, the other\nsports team he acquired in 1979 didn\u2019t have nearly the same success as the\nLakers under his ownership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s not to say it was\nboring – nothing ever was with Jerry Buss – but the Kings did not win any\nStanley Cups before he sold the team to Bruce McNall in 1988. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Kings were okay\nduring Buss\u2019s tenure; they made the playoffs most years but never troubled the\nlater rounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arguably the best thing\nto happen to the LA Kings for decades happened shortly after Buss sold the\nteam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They traded for the\nGreat One, Wayne Gretzky, who had just been named the NHL playoffs MVP on the\nway to winning the Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This made more headlines than anything Jerry Buss ever did with the Kings, and there is no doubt that basketball and the Lakers were his priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Buss Empire Grows With LA Sparks<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
WNBA team, the LA Sparks,\nwas owned by Jerry Buss from 1997 to 2006. He became the owner of the Sparks\nwhen the WNBA formed for its inaugural season in \u201897. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like the Lakers, the\nSparks enjoyed a lot of success under Jerry Buss\u2019s ownership, winning\nback-to-back championships in 2001 and 2002.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ex-Lakers player Michael\nCooper took over the Sparks as head coach in the 2000-01 off-season, and\nsuccess soon followed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the second year in a\nrow, the team posted a 28-4 record in the regular season, the best in league\nhistory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, this time, they\ncarried their regular season form into the playoffs, winning the WNBA title and\ndropping just one game throughout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Sparks\u2019 2002 season\nwas another memorable one, as the team clinched their second successive\nchampionship, and Lisa Leslie made headlines as she became the first woman in\nWNBA history to dunk in a game. Air Leslie!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The three-peat was not\nto be in the 2003 season, where the Sparks made the Finals but were beaten by\nthe Detroit Shock. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, the two WNBA\nchampionships won back to back made 12 basketball championship wins in total\nfor Jerry Buss\u2019s teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Buss Family <\/h2>\n\n\n\nJerry Buss with his children. [Image: Twitter\/ACoachsDiary]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Jerry Buss has six\nchildren. Johnny, Jim, Jeanie, and Janie with his wife JoAnn Mueller (divorced\nin 1972), and Joey and Jesse with his girlfriend Karen Demel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
All six of his children\nworked for the LA Lakers when he died in 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Buss owned a majority\n66% share of the Lakers and passed this down equally to his children, who now\nown 11% each. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since his death, there\nhas been some success, most notably the championship win in 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Laker tradition of bringing the biggest players to LA has continued, too, most notably with Lebron James – who has taken home a salary of around $40 million per year with the Lakers since joining in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeanie Buss, who worked in numerous roles for her father over the years, has taken the most prominent role of all Jerry\u2019s children. <\/p>\n\n\n\nJerry with daughter Jeanie, CEO of LA Lakers. [Image: Twitter\/JeanieBuss]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
She was named team president and Lakers representative on the NBA Board of Governors following her father\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She became the first\nfemale controlling owner to win an NBA championship when the Lakers clinched\ntheir first title since Buss died in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Family Feuds <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not all been smooth\nsailing, though, despite Jerry\u2019s wishes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeanie fired her\nbrother, Jim, as Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations in 2017,\ncausing a significant power struggle in the organization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She also terminated the\ncontracts of two other senior Lakers staff, partly because they kept Magic\nJohnson (then-named President of Basketball Operations) in the dark on some\ntrade decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeanie accused Jim and\nJohnny Buss of \u2018trying to bust the [Buss family] trust\u2019 and leave the rest of\nthe family in minority ownership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This would have meant\nsome siblings selling their 11% stake in the team (valued at $3 billion at the\ntime) and preventing Jeanie from continuing as the controlling owner of the\nLakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following some hefty\nlegal battles and boardroom politics (including a restraining order) Jeanie\nBuss and her other siblings, who were still on board with their father\u2019s\nvision, prevailed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Buss family still\nmaintains the controlling stake in the Lakers today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Janie Buss,\nJerry\u2019s dying wish was \u2018to leave the Lakers to all of us, and that we would all\nget along. He would be sickened if he saw what was going on with my brothers.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It seems, for now,\nJerry\u2019s wish is being fulfilled. Well, except for the getting along part. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Lasting Legacy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Jerry Buss died on\nFebruary 18, 2013, aged 80. It was later revealed that he had been hospitalized\nfor cancer treatment in 2012. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He eventually passed\naway due to kidney failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His death brought\nwidespread reactions from the sports world and beyond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
NBA commissioner David\nStern said, \u201cThe NBA has lost a visionary owner whose influence on our league\nis incalculable and will be felt for decades to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many friends and\ncolleagues also commented on Buss\u2019s personality and generosity in their\ntributes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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