Elgin Baylor, the Seattle University Athletics Hall of Famer who led the 1957-58 men’s basketball team to the NCAA title game before embarking on a highly-recognized NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers, will receive the Royal Brougham Legend Award at the 2015 MTR Western Sports Star of the Year Awards on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at Benaroya Hall, announced last Friday by the Seattle Sports Commission.
In two years at Seattle U, Baylor collected 1,803 points and 1,151 rebounds, averaging 31.1 points and 19.8 rebounds per game, still-standing school records. Seattle U went 45-9 (.833) during Baylor’s time, advancing to the 1957 National Invitational Tournament after winning 18 games in a row and the 1958 NCAA Tournament, where Seattle U defeated Wyoming, San Francisco, California, and Kansas State to reach the national finals.
Baylor was the first overall pick in the 1958 NBA Draft by the Minneapolis Lakers and played for the franchise for 14 seasons, earning All-NBA honors 10 times and playing in 11 All-Star Games. In commemoration of the NBA’s 50th season in 1996, Baylor was named one of the 50 greatest players in league history, and he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1977.
Baylor is no stranger to this awards presentation, earning Seattle Sports Star of the Year honors in 1958. Past winners of the Royal Brougham Legend Award, given to an individual for a lifetime of achievement in sports while exemplifying the spirit of Washington, include Marv Harshman, Don James, Bob Houbregs, Edgar Martinez, and Bobo Brayton.
Including Baylor in 1958, six people with ties to Seattle University have received the Seattle Sports Star of the Year Award over its 79-year history: Johnny O’Brien (1952), Pat Lesser Harbottle (1955), Jim Whittaker (1963), Tom Gorman (1972), and Bill Fenton (1973). Stephanie Verdoia is a nominee for the Female Sports Star of the Year Award this year, and fans have until this Wednesday, Jan. 14, to vote for her at http://ssy.seattlesports.org/ssyvoting/.
Tickets for the 2015 MTR Western Sports Star of the Year Awards are available online at http://www.seattlesports.org/site446.php, in person at the Benaroya Hall Box Office, or by calling 206-215-4747. Premium Reserved tickets are $100 and include access to the pre-show reception, show and post party, while reserved tickets can be purchased for $25 and include the show and post party.
