He was just really conscious of people around him and respected people that worked for him. All six of his children worked. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. And especially on airplanes, hed always ask me what I was reading, because he was an avid reader. I was a senior in high school, and my dad would explain it to us kids like, Could you imagine to going to every Laker game? The Buss family owns . And its crazy how the Lakers are one of the biggest, most successful franchises in sports history, and it feels like a mom and pop organization. He was the mastermind. I think that was the only ring that he wore, when we beat Boston the first time. People thought it meant you had to have a superstar, but it really wasnt about that, it was about the winning, and then people would see the superstars because we were winning. Its going to be completely out of line with what people have ever made in this league. One day you felt he was coming, another you didnt finally, Shaq says, If you can do this financially, Ill come. So I called Jerry Buss, and I asked, Jerry can we do this? He said yes. Receive obituaries from the city or cities of your choice. After hearing that from him, I decided to just trust him, and just stayed the course. Dr. Buss left a lasting legacy, expressed through those that were close to him. When he said that on the podium at the Forum, we were just trying to celebrate the previous title, but he knew what he was doing. At a young age, Jerry would stand on bread lines to get food for himself and his single mother. Charlie is 5 years old and Chayton is 6, so that idea was as much wishful thinking as a sincere request. But his impact went well beyond Los Angeles' overall record. He really looked at it as entertainment. All those times we were together, I shared with him, I wanted to be more than just a basketball player. When Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers back in 1979, he turned a perennial second-place franchise into a pillar of excellence. And when (my wife) Chris and I would have dinner with Dr. Buss, he was very gracious with Chris. Our first year! And then we went to the hotel and we danced all night. But he took the time (with me) a couple of times a year. Johnny, Jim, Jeanie, and Janie with his wife JoAnn Mueller (divorced in 1972), and Joey and Jesse with his girlfriend Karen Demel. This is a year after Id left, and I remember we had dinner up on Sunset Boulevard, and Id signed this humongous contract, or at that time it was, and he looked me in the eye and said, Read my lips, do you realize how much money that is? He tried to put things in perspective as to what I was about ready to do in New York, and what they were going to pay me, and that I deserved it, I earned it, everything that Id done in Los Angeles he was proud of, and he was proud that Chris and I could go to New York and start our careers over again there. He ran the WNBAs Los Angeles Sparks while the family still owned the team. It was the first time we actually felt a part of something. People knew him. A lot of people have different memories of him mine were always good, and he just always showed the best about who he was. And families who must make decisions about large amounts of money are bound to encounter conflict now and then. Previously, she spent six years covering football, first for the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville, Fla., then the Houston Chronicle and ESPN. It was good to see him, man. 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He was the first one to see that opportunity to sell the naming rights of the building, which really was an asset to the company, because now instead of going to Forum, you were going to the Great Western Forum, and Great Western was one of the big banks in Southern California at the time. Magic was perfect for that. His succession plan had daughter Jeanie assume his previous title as the Lakers' governor as well as its team representative at NBA Board of Governors meetings. Before that, I remember my dad telling me about this workout for an up-and-coming high school kid, and how Jerry West told him that he was going to be this special player. I get this call, and (am told) Dr. Buss wants to see you. His first son did not want to carry on his love for basketball, his love for sports the way he wanted.. Then in his third season owning the team, they ended up calling them the Laker Girls, and established a dance team. The Buss family praised Dr. Buss for his "amazing strength and will to live" during an 18-month long battle with cancer and vowed to carry on his "unparalleled legacy" at the helm of the LA Lakers. My relationship with him, I think, became so close as Id try to explain to him how important each position was and what you would expect from those different positions, and how theyd fit. Shortly thereafter, we got Pau Gasol, and the rest is history. New Jersey was going to draft him at seven, which they did not. Ex-partner of Private I cant imagine coming into the league at 18 in a grown mans world. You dont know when you make the commitment whats going to happen. Dr. Buss was there, and Earvins family was there, and it was just very special. Between 2006 and 2011, Id see him when I was coaching, and wed reflect on memories. I just felt like with the passing of Dr. Buss, they need to understand what it means to wear this uniform. Even after I got traded away, we still kept in touch. That book opened up a whole world up to me about the founding fathers. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. That confluence doesnt happen very often, and Dr. Buss was very much able to get with the moment and enjoy the moment. Many Los Angeles Lakers fans mourned the passing of the team's primary owner, Jerry Buss, on Monday. So its strange to have a guy whos your mentor, father figure and best friend all rolled into one And then when Jeanie called me (to share the news that he had passed away (one of the) toughest days in my life. He would do math tricks when we were going places all the time. A prayer was held on Tuesday, February 28th 2023 at 9:45 AM at the St. John Lutheran Church (701 N 6th St, Beatrice, NE 68310). And we just talked about how cool it would be if we could actually end up playing together, but I hardly gave it a thought, because I thought there was no way they would trade me to the Lakers. Dont worry about it, kid. Sports ownership. He had a brilliant mind, and he made a fortune in real estate because he was able to see the opportunity and bring everything together, and thats how he built his wealth. Michael Cooper and James Worthy getting back on defense, West introduces Shaq as a Los Angeles Laker, Joey Buss celebrates with his father after the Lakers' Championship in 2002. He had Hugh Hefner come with all the girls, and then I invited Michael Jackson. He, with his real estate background, realized that people would pay just like for a house on the beach. The team folded in 1989 and the league folded three years later. He knew wed thrive under that pressure. He was the first one who recommended Angels and Demons, before it became a really big hit. She was predeceased by : her husband Gerald Buss; her sons, Phil Buss and Chris Buss; her parents, Ehme Busboom and Jennie Busboom (Ideus); her siblings, Rosie Miller and Gerald Busboom; her siblings-in-law, Barbara Wrightsman (Don) and Robert Schoen; and her parents-in-law, Herman and Alvina Buss. *In the 2004 Finals, Detroit beat L.A. 4-1. Elon Musk. We had a few. He was raised by his mother, Jessie, who worked as a waitress. I will miss her and send my deepest sympathy to the family.. And drafting Magic was huge. If anybody thought that Johnny or Jeanie or Jimmy or any of his kids could fill his shoes, theyre grandly mistaken, Johnny said. I havent seen that a lot in my 11 years being around the league, owners being that human. Magics mom was a Seventh Day Adventist, and they have similar dietary restrictions as Muslims, and she was aware of my faith, so she would cook for me and take care of me when I was on the road and wed cut through and play in Detroit. Buss made several key moves in his early years as the team's owner, most notably selecting Magic Johnson with the No. And then we went and celebrated together again. He realized there was an opportunity there, that perhaps if he could meet with him, he could convince Jack Kent Cooke to sell him the team. He was always sitting behind the bench during games and was such a basketball junkie, he just loved being around. The importance of saying "I love you" during COVID-19, Effective ways of dealing with the grieving process, Solutions to show your sympathy safely during the Covid-19 pandemic. When I wanted to get into the theatre business, he was the one who connected me with everybody. And then 25 years later, to be able to celebrate at a different stage in my life with him again (2010). Back then, (player movement) on that scale was not something that happened that often I think Dr. Buss mindset played into it a lot. It was a conversation that only he and I knew about. This was before smart phones, so there was no cheating. Father of Private; Private; Janie Drexel; Private and Private, Gerald Hatten "Jerry" Buss (January 27, 1933 February 18, 2013) was an American businessman, real estate investor and chemist. So when you talk about him not being a person who would yell or be a tyrant or throw things to motivate, he was a teacher, and he knew how to motivate people. That helped save this league. I thought it was a 1-on-1 dinner! And the level of intensity at practice rose instantly with his appearance in the gym. In a limousine outside the office that day in . He didnt know what the future held, I didnt know what the future held. Its the first thing you do now when youre going to build a building. The . Daniel's 5th outing as Bond gets bums back on seats in the cinema. He made sure they had the kind of food I wanted, and he was really attentive to the little details to make sure it was a comfortable environment to me. Because he found out very quick that I was very serious about winning, and he respected that. He currently resides in Los Angeles. If it wasnt for Dr. Buss, thered be no Jerry Jones. Ten championships? The Lakers were the crown jewel. In 1989, he gave me a five-year contract, and they hadnt even hired the head coach yet. Buying the Forum, Lakers, Kings and other properties was the largest sports transaction at that time. In 1999-2000, we got to the Western Finals against Portland, which was absolutely exciting. I think theres a lot of money in it. So Jerry picked me up at the airport in his 944 Porsche. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Create a franchise that was worth billions., Follow Tania Ganguli on Twitter @taniaganguli. Really low key and very friendly. . I was like, Listen, I havent talked to anybody from the Lakers organization, no one has called me, I dont know if its true. He said, Well, we think its true, weve talked to Jerry West. I said, Well you know what, I dont know who the manager is of this team. Success starts at the top. Jerry's 66 percent ownership of the team passed to each of his six children via a trust, equating to 11 percent per child. Hes a once-in-a-lifetime kind of person. He had a home in San Diego, where I live, and we used to go to training camp in Hawaii just about every year, and a couple times we were on the same flight heading over from San Diego. Jessie Buss Cause Of Death? It was Jerry West and Jerry Buss who opened the door for me, especially Dr. Buss, because I think Dr. Buss at that time, from what Ive heard, and if you go back and ever look at that press conference from when there was a coaching change, he saved my basketball life, or re-directed it in a way that I never realized that I was going to be where I am today. with Karen Demel{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Karen Demel", "gender": "Female" }, Jesse Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Jesse Buss", "gender": "Male" }, born 1988, age 34 (approx.) Jerry Buss Family, Net-Worth, Wiki & Bio.Topic covered in the video:who is jerry buss,How jerry buss. We were big into collecting basketball cards growing up. So he went to Jerry West, and said, weve got to get somebody to come and get us back to winning. To me, that sums up everything about who he was and how much he cared about always wanting to his players to feel good about him and about the brand, especially for somebody that played as many years for the Lakers as I did. That was his vision. Theres always former Lakers around. He knew the patterns of how often the boats and trains would come, and it was then a challenge to the whole family to make sure it happened and to execute on it properly. Wed sit around, wed talk. Jeanie Buss, the teams governor and controlling owner has made clear the Lakers are not for sale. I even wrote a paper when I was in seventh grade about how Kobe was going to be a future Hall of Fame player, and that the combination of Shaq and Kobe was going to be one of the best duos of all time. We didnt tell Mitch (Kupchak), we didnt tell anybody about that. It was really his love, his heart. Then due to (certain circumstances), Jerry wanted us to be co-coaches. That was a big thing for both of us. As business people, our job is to drive a profit, but you do that also by taking care of your customers. Very happy.*L.A. He had two more children with his girlfriend, Karen Demel: Joey and Jesse. Meghan Markle. He then earned a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Southern California. It is. To watch the franchise grow and see his influence on the Lakers, and more importantly, some of the things he did that teams in the league are still doing. He did not make demands. But then right away, the Lakers started winning championships, and Showtime was coined, and little did I know that Id get a chance to join them years later. The girls, and the level of intensity at practice rose instantly with his appearance the. Those that were close to him, expressed through those that were close to him '... That idea was as much wishful thinking as a waitress do math when... Transaction at that time with me ) a couple of times a year the gym both. 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