Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty takes viewers back to the 1980s, when the Los Angeles Lakers ushered in an era of NBA dominance. Before they can taste success and glory, however, the team must go through a phase of transition. One of the first events of the transition is for the team to see a change of ownership. Owner Jack Kent Cooke is forced to sell the LA Lakers to businessman Jerry Buss. If you’d like to learn more about Cooke’s decision to sell the NBA outfit and the reasons behind it, here’s everything we’ve gathered about it! SPOILERS FORWARD!
Who was Jack Cooke?
Jack Kent Cooke was an American businessman born on October 25, 1912. After spending the early years of his life in Hamilton, he attended the Malvern Collegiate Institute in Toronto, Ontario. Cooke was later hired by Roy Thomson to run radio station CJCS in Stratford. The two eventually became partners leading to the beginning of Cooke’s corporate career in broadcasting and media. Over the years, he bought and managed various media such as television networks and newspapers.
In 1951, Cooke began his quest for sports ownership with the purchase of the Toronto Maple Leafs, a minor league baseball club. After some success with the Leafs, Cooke set his sights on buying a Major League Baseball club and tried to buy the St. Louis Browns, Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers. However, Cooke was unable to buy either team and sold the Leafs in 1964. Meanwhile, Cooke also invested in the American sports market, owning sports teams such as the Washington Redskins, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Kings and Los Angeles. Angel Wolves. On April 6, 1997, Cooke died of heart failure at the age of 84.
Why did Jack Cooke sell the Lakers to Jerry Buss?
After buying the LA Lakers from Bob Short for $5 million in 1965, Cooke played a major role in increasing the team’s popularity. Under his ownership, the Lakers moved from the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena to The Forum, which remains the team’s home field. The team was successful on the field, reaching seven NBA finals and winning the title in 1972. So Cooke’s passion and dedication to the LA Lakers was evident. In 1979, however, he sold the Lakers to businessman Jerry Buss.
Cooke was married to Barbara Jean Carnegie for 45 years, from 1934 to 1979. However, when the couple filed for divorce, Cooke was expected to pay $42 million in settlements. The figure was the highest divorce settlement in US history at the time. To pay off the money from the divorce settlement, Cooke was forced to sell one of his most prized assets in the form of the LA Lakers. Jerry Buss bought the team (along with The Forum and LA Kings) for a combined $67 million. Cooke then used the money from the sale to pay for the divorce settlement. On the other hand, the Lakers thrived under Buss and dominated basketball in the 1980s. Known as the ‘Showtime’ era, this era is the basis of the drama series ‘Winning Time’.
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