Jerry West Papers
Collection
Collection Number: A&M 3884
Papers of basketball icon Jerry West and research papers of author Jonathan Coleman for his collaboration on the autobiography of West. Jerry West (born 1938), born in Chelyan, West Virginia, played basketball for West Virginia University (WVU) and rose to fame as a player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) before turning to basketball coaching and management. The collection includes materials that West loaned to Coleman for use in co-authoring the book West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life, as well as Coleman's book drafts, various materials he collected for background research, interviews he conducted for the book, and his research notes.
Formats include correspondence, ephemera, typescript and printed book draft manuscripts, clippings, printed material, photographs, video and audio recordings on various media, artifacts, scrapbooks, and digital files, among other materials.
Subjects include West's time at East Bank High School; his college recruitment and basketball career at WVU; his employment with the Lakers; the West by West book; West's career as a basketball coach for the Lakers and manager for the Memphis Grizzlies; his family life; events honoring West; various individuals, including Chick Hearn, Rodney "Hot Rod" Hundley, Ann Dinardi, Jerry's brother David West, and the West and Creasey families; and other subjects.
For more information on Jerry West, see the Historical Note.
Special access restriction applies.
Researchers may access digitized and born digital materials by visiting the link attached to each item or by requesting to view the materials in person by appointment or remotely by contacting the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department at https://westvirginia.libanswers.com/wvrhc.
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
Jerry Alan West (born May 28, 1938) is a retired basketball player who played his entire professional career for the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA before turning to coaching and management. He was born in Chelyan, WV to Cecil Sue West and Howard Stewart West. His brother David died in the Korean War.
West played basketball at East Bank High School, excelling enough to be invited to an all-star game in 1956. He then attended WVU, where he boarded in the house of Ann Dinardi and played for the basketball team under Coach Fred Schaus, earning a number of honors and awards.
After graduating in 1960, he began a very successful 14-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, and co-captained the 1960 U.S. Olympic gold medal team in Rome. His nicknames include "Mr. Clutch," for his ability to make big plays in clutch situations; "The Logo," in reference to his silhouette being used in the NBA logo; and "Zeke from Cabin Creek," for the creek near his birthplace of Chelyan, West Virginia. West married his college sweetheart, Martha Jane Kane, in 1960. They had three sons, David, Michael, and Mark, before divorcing in 1976 or 1977. He married Karen Christine Bua in 1978, and they had two sons, Ryan and Jonnie.
After his playing career, West was head coach of the Lakers from 1976-1979. He then worked as a player-scout for three years, and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980. He became general manager of the Lakers in 1982, and served as general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies from 2002-2007.
19.1 Linear Feet (19 feet 1/2 in. (6 document cases, 2 1/2 in. each); (18 document cases, 5 in. each); (4 large flat storage boxes, 4 in. each); (6 large flat storage boxes, 1 1/2 in. each); (1 large flat storage box; 2 in.); (1 large flat storage box; 3 in.); (3 large flat storage boxes, 5 in. each); (4 large flat storage boxes, 3 1/2 in. each); (1 artifact box, 4 1/2 in.); (4 records cartons, 15 in. each))
213 Gigabytes (2617 files, formats primarily include .jpg, .tif, .wav, .wma, .iso, .mp4, .pdf)
English
Papers of basketball icon Jerry West and research papers of author Jonathan Coleman for his collaboration on the autobiography of West. Jerry West, born in Chelyan, West Virginia in 1938, played basketball for West Virginia University (WVU) and rose to fame as a player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) before turning to basketball coaching and management. The collection includes materials that West loaned to Coleman for use in co-authoring the book West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life, as well as Coleman's book drafts, various materials he collected for background research, interviews he conducted for the book, and his research notes. Formats include correspondence, ephemera, typescript and printed book draft manuscripts, clippings, printed material, photographs, video and audio recordings on various media, artifacts, scrapbooks, and digital files, among other materials. Subjects include West's time at East Bank High School; his college recruitment and basketball career at WVU; his employment with the Lakers; the West by West book; West's career as a basketball coach for the Lakers and manager for the Memphis Grizzlies; his family life; events honoring West; various individuals, including Chick Hearn, Rodney "Hot Rod" Hundley, Ann Dinardi, Jerry's brother David West, and the West and Creasey families; and other subjects. See the Scope and Content Note for more details. For more information on Jerry West, see the Historical Note.
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Two letters separated to A&M 435, Rare Signatures: one from Ronald Reagan to West, 1987; one from Earvin "Magic" Johnson to West, 1991.
Part of the West Virginia and Regional History Center Repository