Calkins: Before Elon Musk, there was Jerry West.
Jerry West, president of basketball operations for the Memphis Grizzlies, answers a question during the Grizzlies' media day on Monday, Oct. 4, 2004, in Memphis. Under West’s leadership, the Grizzlies won 50 games for the first time in franchise history and made three consecutive playoff appearances. (Mark Humphrey/AP Photo file)
Geoff Calkins
Geoff Calkins has been chronicling Memphis and Memphis sports for more than two decades. He is host of "The Geoff Calkins Show" from 9-11 a.m. M-F on 92.9 FM. Calkins has been named the best sports columnist in the country five times by the Associated Press sports editors, but still figures his best columns are about the people who make Memphis what it is.
“Nobody believed Jerry West would take a job with the Grizzlies. He was too famous, too big, for this town. But West never thought that.”
Related story:
Jerry West, a 3-time Hall of Fame selection and the NBA logo, dies at 86
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