Jerry West

 

One of the things that remind a man he is getting old is seeing the great players of his boyhood die off. There was another one today – Jerry West. Bill Russell and Jim Brown went in the last couple of years. Mantle, Musial, Williams, Unitas, Aaron, Berra, and most of the rest have been gone a while. Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax, and Oscar Robertson are the only ones I can think of who are still alive, and they are very old men. And we boys who followed them and collected their cards in the 1950s and early 60s are old enough.

Jerry West was special – a great offensive player whom Russell rated as also a great defensive player. He was one of my favorites. I still remember vividly how good he was.